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applegrove

(118,022 posts)
Sat Dec 6, 2014, 10:12 PM Dec 2014

Tea Partiers and traditional Republicans are split on science

Tea Partiers and traditional Republicans are split on science

by Chris Mooney at the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/02/tea-partiers-and-traditional-republicans-are-split-on-science/

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So in sum, we have a picture of a Tea Party whose members are both more distrusting of scientists and what they have to say on major issues of scientific consensus, like evolution and climate change -- and also quite sure they're right in their beliefs, and unswayed even with higher levels of education.

In fairness, polling questions about "trust" in scientists have recently been problematized. "There's debate among researchers on the value of self-report 'trust in science' measures. There are a wide variety and none has been validated in any systematic way," says Yale opinion researcher Dan Kahan, who argues that he's not sure that measures of whether people "trust" scientists can be separated from their simple issue positions on scientific issues like climate change.

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The University of New Hampshire's Hamilton agrees to some extent that "trust in scientists" and one's views of climate change are "wrapped up" with one another. But he adds, "I don’t think they’re the same thing. My thinking is that if you don’t like a solution, you’re going to reject that the problem exists, and in this case, that means finding reasons not to trust the scientists on the topic."

Issue of trust notwithstanding, though, it is at least clear that large majorities of Tea Party members do not believe what scientists say about climate change and evolution.




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Tea Partiers and traditional Republicans are split on science (Original Post) applegrove Dec 2014 OP
May this divide between tea partiers and other republicans applegrove Dec 2014 #1

applegrove

(118,022 posts)
1. May this divide between tea partiers and other republicans
Sat Dec 6, 2014, 10:42 PM
Dec 2014

is why all of a sudden Republicans claim "I'm not a scientist" when asked the question, as a way to avoid answering and coming down on one side or the other. An anti-wedge.

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