Protected by a liberal media, the liberals never get labeled as being anti-science.....even though they are. Hypocrite much?
Democrats Have a Problem With Science, Too - Tara Haelle - POLITICO Magazine
"Still, given the objections to climate science and evolution heard so often from the right, articles lamenting those anti-science views remain commonplace. Less common, though, are those pointing out the donkey in the room: that, when it comes to certain issues, Democrats, too, conveniently ignore science or promote agendas that contradict the scientific consensus. Those examples just arent as easy to see.
In fact, I will freely admit I had trouble at first finding examples. Concerns about vaccine safety and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are often held up as evidence of anti-scientific beliefs among liberals. But opinion polls about those two issues rarely ask about political affiliation the way polls about climate change and evolution do. The exception is a 2009 Pew Research survey, which indicated that Democrats and Republicans appear to support child vaccination equally (71 percent of both favor it). Interestingly, the same survey reveals that there is less difference than one might think between political affiliations on views about evolution. More Democrats (36 percent) than Republicans (23 percent) believe in natural evolution, but Republicans lead by only 4 points in believing in evolution by supreme guidance. Only 9 points separate Republicans (39 percent) from Democrats (30 percent) in believing the earth has always existed in its present form. These results undermine the common assumptions that vaccine hysteria is limited to the left, and creationism is limited to the GOP.
The few times writers have attempted to point out the lefts problems with science, they have gotten shot down for false equivalencefor holding up both parties as equally anti-science so as not to seem biased when one of those parties is in reality more anti-science than the other.
But such cries of false equivalence miss the point. The issue isnt whether the Democrats are anti-science enough to match the anti-science lunacy of Republicans. The point is that any science denialism exists on the left at all. If there is grime in my bathroom and grime in my kitchen, I dont stand there and contemplate which one has more filth; my house wont be clean until I have scoured both.
The fact is, theres plenty of anti-science grime on the left that needs to be cleaned up."
"But digging a little deeper reveals plenty of bills that ignore the scientific consensus. Sure, they are mostly at the state level. But then, so are the Republicans bills pushing creationism into schools.
Take anti-GMO sentiment, for example. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) notes in its statement on the issue that 25 years of research involving more than 500 independent research groups has found genetically modified foods to be no riskier than foods resulting from conventional breeding. Eating a GM tomato is just as safe as eating a non-GM tomato. The AAAS therefore opposes GMO labeling because it could mislead and falsely alarm customers. Though some polling has shown GMO labeling support to be about equal among Republicans, Democrats and Independents, looking at GMO-related legislation tells another story."
"Another form of science denialism, or at least alarmism, is chemophobia, an irrational fear of toxic chemical exposure in situations where there is no scientific evidence of danger. Chemical safety laws attempting to ban bisphenol A (BPA)a synthetic compound used in canned-goods packaging and in hard plastics such as water bottles, whose removal is leading to the use of less tested alternativesand formaldehyde lack any scientific basis. There is no evidence that either of these chemicals is harmful to human health in the amounts they are used in common household products. Yet 99 percent of Democrats voted in support of the state laws banning them, according to one advocacy organization. While that number seems hard to believe at face value, its not far off: A look through the sponsors of various chemophobic bills reveals, once again, that all but a handful come from the left."
"But from anti-GMO and chemophobic legislation to exaggeration of nuclear power risk, the left does have its share of problems with science. Instead of debating who is worse, the focus should be on cleaning out the grime from the whole house."
Democrats Have a Problem With Science, Too - Tara Haelle - POLITICO Magazine
"Still, given the objections to climate science and evolution heard so often from the right, articles lamenting those anti-science views remain commonplace. Less common, though, are those pointing out the donkey in the room: that, when it comes to certain issues, Democrats, too, conveniently ignore science or promote agendas that contradict the scientific consensus. Those examples just arent as easy to see.
In fact, I will freely admit I had trouble at first finding examples. Concerns about vaccine safety and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are often held up as evidence of anti-scientific beliefs among liberals. But opinion polls about those two issues rarely ask about political affiliation the way polls about climate change and evolution do. The exception is a 2009 Pew Research survey, which indicated that Democrats and Republicans appear to support child vaccination equally (71 percent of both favor it). Interestingly, the same survey reveals that there is less difference than one might think between political affiliations on views about evolution. More Democrats (36 percent) than Republicans (23 percent) believe in natural evolution, but Republicans lead by only 4 points in believing in evolution by supreme guidance. Only 9 points separate Republicans (39 percent) from Democrats (30 percent) in believing the earth has always existed in its present form. These results undermine the common assumptions that vaccine hysteria is limited to the left, and creationism is limited to the GOP.
The few times writers have attempted to point out the lefts problems with science, they have gotten shot down for false equivalencefor holding up both parties as equally anti-science so as not to seem biased when one of those parties is in reality more anti-science than the other.
But such cries of false equivalence miss the point. The issue isnt whether the Democrats are anti-science enough to match the anti-science lunacy of Republicans. The point is that any science denialism exists on the left at all. If there is grime in my bathroom and grime in my kitchen, I dont stand there and contemplate which one has more filth; my house wont be clean until I have scoured both.
The fact is, theres plenty of anti-science grime on the left that needs to be cleaned up."
"But digging a little deeper reveals plenty of bills that ignore the scientific consensus. Sure, they are mostly at the state level. But then, so are the Republicans bills pushing creationism into schools.
Take anti-GMO sentiment, for example. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) notes in its statement on the issue that 25 years of research involving more than 500 independent research groups has found genetically modified foods to be no riskier than foods resulting from conventional breeding. Eating a GM tomato is just as safe as eating a non-GM tomato. The AAAS therefore opposes GMO labeling because it could mislead and falsely alarm customers. Though some polling has shown GMO labeling support to be about equal among Republicans, Democrats and Independents, looking at GMO-related legislation tells another story."
"Another form of science denialism, or at least alarmism, is chemophobia, an irrational fear of toxic chemical exposure in situations where there is no scientific evidence of danger. Chemical safety laws attempting to ban bisphenol A (BPA)a synthetic compound used in canned-goods packaging and in hard plastics such as water bottles, whose removal is leading to the use of less tested alternativesand formaldehyde lack any scientific basis. There is no evidence that either of these chemicals is harmful to human health in the amounts they are used in common household products. Yet 99 percent of Democrats voted in support of the state laws banning them, according to one advocacy organization. While that number seems hard to believe at face value, its not far off: A look through the sponsors of various chemophobic bills reveals, once again, that all but a handful come from the left."
"But from anti-GMO and chemophobic legislation to exaggeration of nuclear power risk, the left does have its share of problems with science. Instead of debating who is worse, the focus should be on cleaning out the grime from the whole house."
uhh ok, eat up then dumbass
