Back in 2004, I had the pleasure of hearing Hillary Clinton speak at the Optical Society of America Annual Meeting in Rochester, NY. After her prepared remarks, she took questions from the audience. One questioner asked about some Bush administration policy — I can’t remember which one — and Hillary demurred from giving too much criticism, saying something to the effect of, “I know this is a non-partisan audience.”
The response? Uproarious laughter, including from me. Hillary didn’t quite understand the humor of her statement, but the reality is that only a handful of people in that room at that time could probably think of anything good to say about President Bush or the Republican party. (I personally know only two scientists who have supported Bush over the past eight years — and one of them now vocally condemns the man.)
That isn’t to say that there weren’t conservatives in the audience, or among scientists in general. Any scientist who is paying the least amount of attention to the actions of the Republicans over the last decade, however, cannot in good faith support them. The Republicans have turned their party into the party of ignorance, and I fear that, regardless of the outcome of the current Presidential election, their shameless anti-education — and anti-knowledge — demagoguery will continue to hurt the United States for years to come.