The Republican War on Science

I expected a lot of this book. One cannot follow the news these days without instantly realizing how rich an area this is. The near dismissal of science and scientific evidence by the right is both bizarre and rife. But I guess I hoped for a writer who was more of a scientist himself, a cold assassin who simply allowed the accumulated evidence damn those who seek to damn us all. I wanted a book I could hand to my Republicans friends and relatives with confidence. But the assassin gets emotional (and political) and dulls his own blade opening himself to charges of ideological malice. Where was his editor? Derelict I think. Urging Mooney to play to his audience? With not much effort, one could still turn this into a good book aimed at a show more broad (not a partisan) audience. show less

A straightforward description of the (largely successful) attempts of the Republican Party to suppress, manipulate, and deny scientific theories and facts in favor of opinions that satisfy or advance the interests of either or both of their primary constituent groups—right-wing fundamentalist christians or business.

Clear and depressing.

Mooney sets out to prove the Bush administration's ignorance and manipulation of science for the sake of policies. His point is clear, and clearly made. The book could have been shorter; once his point was made.

Funny, I didn't remember that I'd read this book until I went back through my common place book. I have read a number of articles by Mooney, but have been struck by the lack of in-depth thought he puts into his analyses; if this was the same way, perhaps that's why it didnt' stick with me.

Partially read. To hyped and didn't seem to be more than what was in the papers

Essential reading for scientists and progressives. See his weblog, The Intersection, for updates on the ongoing battle.

Science has never been more crucial to deciding the political issues facing the country. Yet science and scientists have less influence with the federal government than at any time since Richard Nixon fired his science advisors. In the White House and Congress today, findings are reported in a politicized manner; spun or distorted to fit the speaker’s agenda; or, when they’re too inconvenient, ignored entirely. On a broad array of issues-stem cell research, climate change, evolution, sex education, product safety, environmental regulation, and many others-the Bush administration’s positions fly in the face of overwhelming scientific consensus. Federal science agencies-once fiercely independent under both Republican and Democratic show more presidents-are increasingly staffed by political appointees who know industry lobbyists and evangelical activists far better than they know the science. This is not unique to the Bush administration, but it is largely a Republican phenomenon, born of a conservative dislike of environmental, health, and safety regulation, and at the extremes, of evolution and legalized abortion. In The Republican War on Science, Chris Mooney ties together the disparate strands of the attack on science into a compelling and frightening account of our government’s increasing unwillingness to distinguish between legitimate research and ideologically driven pseudoscience. show less