THE ANTI-SCIENCE PARTY…. This segment, by way of Daily Kos’ Jed Lewison, helps reinforce much of what’s wrong with the state of critical thinking in the Republican Party.
“Real Time” host Bill Maher asked Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) a fairly straightforward question: “Do you believe in evolution?” Kingston not only rejected the foundation of modern biology, he explained it this way: “I believe I came from God, not from a monkey.” He added, “If it happened over millions and millions of years, there should be lots of fossil evidence.”
Seriously, that’s what he said.
Let’s pause to appreciate the fact that it’s the 21st century — and Jack Kingston is a 10-term congressman who helps oversee federal funding on the Food and Drug Administration.
As part of the same discussion, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell tried to ask Kingston about the overuse of antibiotics. The far-right congressman had no idea how the question related to evolution.
At one point, Kingston, sarcastically, turned to National Review‘s Will Cain, part of the same roundtable, and said, “Will, help me out anytime you want, buddy.”
The assumption, of course, is that Cain, a conservative, must agree with the confused congressman about modern science. Cain responded, “I’m sorry, I believe in evolution.”
Will, you’re not the one who should be sorry.
In the larger context, there’s a renewed push underway for the United States to value and appreciate science in the 21st century — our future depends on it. And while this push is underway, Republican leaders are more comfortable walking a bridge to the 18th century.
What an embarrassment.
