Saturday, January 29, 2011

Craziest Republican of the Day: Jack Kingston


The Republican Party is indeed the anti-science party, and Steve Benen today offers yet more evidence of that:

"Real Time" host Bill Maher asked Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) a fairly straightforward question: "Do you believe in evolution?" Kingston not only said rejects the foundation of modern biology, he explained it this way: "I believe I came from God, not from a monkey." He added, "If it happened over millions and millions of years, there should be lots of fossil evidence."

Seriously, that's what he said.

Let's pause to appreciate the fact that it's the 21st century -- and Jack Kingston is a 10-term congressman who helps oversee federal funding on the Food and Drug Administration.

*****

In the larger context, there's a renewed push underway for the United States to value and appreciate science in the 21st century -- our future depends on it. And while this push is underway, Republican leaders are more comfortable walking a bridge to the 18th century.

What an embarrassment.

It's an embarrassment, yes, but Steve is actually being too kind. They're not walking a bridge to the 18th century, a century of Enlightenment, but so, oh, say, the 14th, before even the Renaissance got underway.

Of course, when it comes to evolution, and the denial thereof, we've heard all this before (including from Christine O'Donnell last year). But that's only because such views are commonplace among conservatives and widespread within the GOP, where creationism is almost as big as voodoo economics.

And, again, what's concerning is not so much that these views exist but that they are very much a part of the Republican mainstream. It would be one thing if such willful ignorance, rooted in Christian fundamentalism, were merely to be found on the distant far-right fringe. It's another thing entirely that such crazy extremism dominates the majority party in the House.

Here's the clip:

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8 Comments:

  • Anyone who says they do not "believe" in evolution should be denied flu shots and most medical care, because BOTH are based upon the FACT of evolution.

    Let them die of disease if they don't "believe" in facts.

    By Anonymous Jack, at 7:05 PM  

  • Such a simple solution. I think we should try this.

    By Blogger Michael J.W. Stickings, at 7:25 PM  

  • Approximately 900 times in the bible the "heart" is used as the word to describe our seat of belief and emotion.

    Does Rep. Kingston believe that if, say, Dick Cheney had a heart transplant, he would inherit the religious beliefs and loves and hates of the person who donated the heart? Is he willing to stand up and say the bible is false and the heart is NOT the seat of emotion?

    Ezekiel spoke of the great storehouses of the winds, yet we accept meteorologists. I just talked about the bible and heart yet Christians accept cardiologists. We need to let Christians know that they can accept evolution in the same way they accept meteorologists and cardiologists, with no loss of faith.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:59 PM  

  • Ask all of the Congressional Democrats this same question. I bet $1000 you'll find several that would give an answer similar to the one Kingston gave.

    By Blogger RightKlik, at 11:06 PM  

  • Another wow moment and it's no joke given the seriousness and reality of issues like climate change that requires science to resolve. If the U.S. doesn’t lead the effort to solve these things we are all sunk.

    By Anonymous Peerless Cynic, at 11:48 AM  

  • Even by congressional Republican standards, damn, that's dumb.

    By Blogger Batocchio, at 2:50 PM  

  • Christians claim they believe in the power of prayer yet every time I go to the Medical Doctor the waiting room is filled with Christians seeking medicine produced by Science. These Christians are hypocrites. Then they have the guts to praise God for their recovery!! Two faced Hypocrites!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:32 PM  

  • I witnessed the moron's answer live on HBO. My wife and I were dumbfounded by the dumb elected official. My next thought was who or rather what elected this idiot.
    I immediately tweeted the thing but found that I was not alone in my dismay.
    America is headed down a dangerous path from which we may not emerge for centuries. If this kind if jackass can be an elected official we are in severe trouble!!!
    And Mr. Kingston also rejected Global Warming out of hand!
    I guess for the religious right anything that happens is God's will!
    Laugh or cry we are in deep DEEP trouble!!!
    When D L Hughley agreed with the anti-scientific stance that evolution does not exist I lost all respect for him as well but did not really care since by trade the idiot is merely a comedian and not in charge of laws that control our country. But Kingston belongs in an insane asylum along with the other religious fanatics and Jihadists of the world. Instead he is in CONGRESS!!!
    I must look into the climate in Canada. How are the housing prices there?

    By Blogger Reschzoo, at 5:28 PM  

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