Santorum: Get Science out of Politics
Via the Des Moines Register (Santorum: Parents, not Obama, know what is best for their child’s education) we get this gem:
Discussing controversial classroom subjects such as evolution and global warming, Santorum said he has suggested that “science should get out of politics” and he is opposed to teaching that provides a “politically correct perspective.”
While recognizing the fact that science can not only be controversial but inconclusive and, further, that sciences can be politicized, it is a rather bizarre, yet telling, notion that Santorum would like to throw science out altogether. He clearly prefers policy-making by faith and personal opinion/preferences. The good news is that he isn’t going to win anything. The bad news is that he has a small following who likes what they hear from him.
There has been an interesting evolution of meaning for the words “politically correct.,”
Originally it was about speaking the truth without being decisive, I think. Maybe there were some things that were true that “the PC police” wanted unsaid, for sake of civility. Now we’ve got Santorum saying that speaking scientific truths themselves is just “PC.”
I guess “fundimentalist” is also an interesting word, in the first decades of the new millennium.
“without being [divisive]”
@john personna: I almost commented on the deployment of “PC” myself. I think to a certain brand of conservative, being “politically correct” means some sort of coerced speech, such as being told to say “African-American” instead of “black” or whatever. In this case, it is being told that maybe scientific inquiry trumps personal beliefs.
It is telling, of course, as to the kind of things people don’t want to have to say.
lol, Maybe he should have said teaching religious dogma such as evolution and global warming as if it was fact should not be done. But I can understand what he meant by this.
I think he was being PC lol…..
G Spot is PC all the time…Practically Clueless…
lol, says the Alinsky puppet, PC=Poop Commenter.
Still thinking that you have won an argument? Still thinking that you can out insult me ? lol….
How nice. I can get that kind of stellar commentary from my children.
@Have A Nice G.A.: People like you are exactly why the Chinese are laughing their asses off at the stupid Americans. You take the best mechanism by which we have increased the productivity of humans, namely, the scientific method and throw it out the window. Data means nothing to you. logic means nothing to you. Reason means nothing to you.
A population comprised of G.A.s would very quickly dwindle into the technological and economic level of the most backward parts of the world–and never improve. Enjoy scratching at the ground for roots and chipping flints–that’s the highest level of economy all your mentality will lead you to have.
If everybody knows Santorum is being nutty, then why is he saying these things?
So he can make money in the future getting his slack-jawed followers to sell him their gold for half its market value?
Actually my quips are more about my rewrite of the screenplay for the remake of Scorsese’s 1983 gem The King of Comedy.
Since my budget is limited I will play both DeNiro’s Rupert Pumpkin and Jerry Lewis’ Jerry Langford.
With that red hair G A will be perfect to play Sandra Bernhard’s Masha.
In drag of course!
@ponce:
The problem is (as this thread has illustrated, and as Santorum poll numbers show) everybody doesn’t know he is being nutty.
Part of why I think he is worth commenting upon is that there are, in fact, people who agree with him.
This sort of thing is what limits OTB’s appeal for me. Thanks to the G.A.’s and Floracks it’s impossible to have a substantive discussion or focus in on the operational details of policy because the thread is inevitably dragged down into cave troll territory. G.A.’s only purpose here is to annoy as many people as possible; he knows he can’t persuade anyone to his point of view.
I’m willing to wager that your children provide significantly better, more thought-out commentary than G.A Philips.
lol…
I think you fanatical libs have driven all but a few of the intellectual peeps away from this site and I have been here for more years then almost all of you.
Haha, I was a strawberry blond and I got a big gap in my teeth too..but I am not dressing in drag to fulfill your sick fantasies….
Lets see I make a comment and a joke and then bunch of Alinsky puppets attack me in the same old alinsky puppet way.
And this post is, A) an attack on santorum’s intellect. or B) A policy discussion…Hmmm.. I comment on a few posts a week and only ones that interest me and I joke a lot, but most of the times theses days I just pop in to stick up for folks. lol, and I keep having to explain this to you people…
No argument here and the good Dr. can say what he wants to me it’s his show. But why have you, singled me out?
How much you do want to bet that I can come here under a different name and spout libcom nonsense and be praised and thought to be a intellectual?
And grumpy realist lol, they are laughing me? I would think they would be laughing at the brain washed neo marxists like yourself…
@Ben Wolf:
To that point, does anyone know any sites that has a core group of conservative commentators who can thoughtfully argue positions that actually have something to do with reality?
I’ve been searching for one for a while and have yet to find it.
OTB has that, which is why it’s the only right-leaning blog who’s comments I read. Even Florack tends to put some thought into his comments (even if I usually think he’s wrong). GA can hardly be considered one of the core group of commendators. There have been other GA-like trolls that have come and gone in the past,
@Have A Nice G.A.:
The problem many of the commenters (and I) have with your “style” is that it is frequently (if not always) unclear as to when you are trying to make an argument and when you are making a joke. This makes it impossible to take you seriously and usually makes your comments come across as nothing but annoyances.
Also, a pet peeve of mine (which I think I have raised before): the “lol” thing. You use it too much. Not only do you insert it in ways that seem inappropriate, but if you are, in fact, laughing out loud every time you type “lol” then you are coming across as someone doing a Joker impersonation.
If you want to be taken seriously, perhaps you could try to be a bit more serious.
Moreover, most of his “arguments” are a joke, so I’m not entirely sure there is a distinction to be made.
@Michael:
Generally speaking, I think the conservative leaning authors at OTB are quite good.
And I consistently appreciate PD Shaw and Boyd’s contributions as commentators.
Eric, is frustrating in the extreme — he can write very well, and on certain issues he has made very thoughtful contributions. But get him on any red-meat issue and any sanity goes out the window — Obama/Liberals/Democrats are destroying America; there is not such thing as a truly peaceful Muslim; the only correct view is a conservative view. And, when he’s on these subjects, facts have absolutely no effect on him.
So, no, I can’t count him as an honest conservative poster. And I have a hard time thinking of him as connected to the real word.
And beyond that, what other conservative commentators are there on this site? JKB? He’s (?) good on science/tech facts, but pretty much after that falls into talk radio conservatism. Jan? She… uh… tries — her heart is in the right place, but judging from her posts she went from being a faith-based liberal to being a faith-based conservative (note I’m not talking about religious faith).
I’m not saying that the liberal leaning commenters on OTB are prefect, but currently, they are, in general, far more thoughtful than the conservative ones.
@mattb:
Agreed.
@Steven L. Taylor:
You ever read GA’s prayer?
Santorum is so backwards that he’s almost forwards again. Actually I’m really quite amused by his statement. It’s such a childish comeback to “get religion out of politics”. Whiny voice: “oh yeah? why don’t you get science out of politics?”
@Have A Nice G.A.: Uh, the Chinese are going to be laughing at “neo-marxists”?! Hello? G.A., may I point out that the communist party is still running China? Or do you think that People ‘s Republic of China has a different government? Do you even KNOW who Marx was, historically? Marx, Engels, Lenin, and all those chaps? Hello? Ding ding ding?
I haven’t seen this level of cluelessness since the idiot on The View showed she didn’t know what “B.C.” and “A. D.” meant….
@grumpy realist:
Don’t be silly: those are the first four letters of the alphabet in the wrong order! lol!
@Steven L. Taylor: “Don’t be silly: those are the first four letters of the alphabet in the wrong order! lol!”
Someone call David Letterman! There’s a Comedian at OTB that’s actually FUNNY!