Science and Santorum 

by Christopher Brauchli

Published on Saturday, March 17, 2012 by Common Dreams

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/03/17-1

The progress of evolution from President Washington to
President Grant was alone evidence enough to upset
Darwin. --Henry Brooks Adams, The Education of Henry
Adams

Now that it appears that Rick Santorum is more than a
flash in the hot (albeit not globally warmed)
evolutionary pan, I confess to an oversight that
occurred in this space in 2011 when I suggested that
Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry were the only ones
among the Republican presidential candidates who
believed that evolution was nothing more than a theory.
I did Mr. Santorum a disservice by failing to
acknowledge his long-standing support of creationism
and his contempt for the idea of global warming. His
support for creationism in the classroom goes back at
least as far as 2001.

Rick Santorum(photo: Gage Skidmore)

When Congress was considering the 2001
education-funding bill now known as the "No Child Left
Behind Act", then Senator Santorum introduced an
amendment that he said was intended to be a sense of
the Senate that "deals with the subject of intellectual
freedom with respect to the teaching of science in the
classroom." His amendment would have promoted "good
scientific debate within the classroom" which would
include creationism. Although his amendment was not
included in the final version of the Bill, it has
become a talking point for those who want creationism
taught in the public schools. Defeated but unbowed, Mr.
Santorum continues his support of creationism and now
that he has the possibility of becoming the Republican
nominee for President of the United States (thus making
the United States the laughing stock of the rest of the
world) it is only fair that his scientific views be
given their due.

In an interview with the editorial board of the Nashua
Telegraph, a paper in Nashua, New Hampshire Mr.
Santorum said teachers should be allowed to "teach the
controversy" between the theory of evolution and any
gaps in the study that would allow for dialogue on a
divine beginning. He explained: There are many on the
left and in the scientific community, so to speak, who
are afraid of that discussion because of my goodness
you might mention the word, God-forbid, 'God' in the
classroom, or 'creator' . . . and of course we can't
have that discussion. It's very interesting that you
have a situation that science will only allow things in
the classroom that are consistent with a non-Creator
idea of how we got here, as if somehow or another
that's scientific. Well maybe the science points to the
fact that maybe science doesn't explain all these
things. . . ."

Mr. Santorum was critical of John Huntsman, one of
those seeking the Republican nomination. Commenting on
the fact that Mr. Huntsman accepted evolution as an
established scientific theory, Mr. Santorum told the
Philadelphia Inquirer in an email that: "I believe in
Genesis 1:1-God created the heavens and the earth."
Displaying an astonishing ignorance (since most
creationists know that it took seven days) he said: "I
don't know how God did it or exactly how long it took
him, but I do know that He did it. If Gov. Huntsman
wants to believe that he is the descendant of a monkey,
then he has the right to believe that-but I disagree
with him; on this and the many other liberal beliefs he
shares with Democrats."

In that column I also failed to acknowledge Mr.
Santorum's approach to global warming. He doesn't
believe in it. He said on the Glen Beck show that:
"There is no such thing as global warming." To make
sure no one thinks that this was simply a mis-speak,the
Daily Coz reports that he told Rush Limbaugh that
global warming is "an opportunity for the left to
create-it's really a beautifully concocted scheme
because they know that the earth is gonna cool and
warm. It's been on a warming trend so they said, 'Oh,
let's take advantage of that and say that we need the
government to come in and regulate your life . . .
.It's just an excuse for more government control of
your life and I've never been for any scheme or even
accepted the junk science behind the whole narrative."

The foregoing explains Mr. Santorum's dismissive
attitude towards President Obama's support for making
higher education available to more people. As Mr.
Santorum said in Ann Arbor before the Michigan primary:
"President Obama has said he wants everybody in America
to go to college. What a snob." Mr. Santorum realizes
that the less educated people are, the more likely they
will be to agree with his feelings about science and,
even more important, the more likely it is that they
will enthusiastically support his candidacy.

My apologies to Bachmann and Perry. They were not the
only science skeptics among the Republican candidates.
Mr. Santorum is their equal. Should he become President
of the United States, the country would be the butt of
jokes around the world. Given the sad state of the
world from Syria to Somalia to Afghanistan to Iraq and
hundreds of other places, a bit of laughter would be
welcome. It's just too bad it would be at our expense.
Christopher Brauchli

Christopher Brauchli is a columnist and lawyer known
nationally for his work. He is a graduate of Harvard
University and the University of Colorado School of Law
where he served on the Board of Editors of the Rocky
Mountain Law Review. He can be emailed at
[log in to unmask] For political commentary
see his web page at http://humanraceandothersports.com

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