Science and Politics

Daniel Sarewitz at Slate:

A Pew Research Center Poll from July 2009 showed that only around 6 percent of U.S. scientists are Republicans; 55 percent are Democrats, 32 percent are independent, and the rest "don't know" their affiliation.

I think this shows the great importance to scientists of the evolution debate. People who think hard about science know that evolution is one of our most powerful and important scientific ideas, so powerful and important that it is hard to oppose evolution without opposing the whole enterprise of science. So when scientists hear Republican politicians hemming and hawing about evolution, they hear people who don't take what scientists do seriously. Smart people hate not being taken seriously.