David: Hey, real quick before we go to break, new study from the Pew Research Center, 6%
of scientists are Republicans. So I guess maybe reality and facts do have a liberal
bias.
Louis: What do you think, the wealthiest 6%?
David: No, I don't know. I have no idea. 6% of America's scientists identify as Republicans,
55% call themselves Democrats. So we hear a lot of discussion about how schoolteachers
and members of the media are all... are all very, very liberal and they're in the tank
for Democratic candidates, and then now we're seeing that actually, scientists, those who
are involved in the determination... they're... in a sense, we could say scientists are in
the business of eliminating hyperbole and deducing based on fact, based on what we can
know. And when you do that, I guess there's only a six in 100 chance that you're going
to be subscribed to conservative Republican beliefs. And I'm not at all surprised. I'm
a little bit surprised that it's this low, but it's not really surprising to me.
Louis: No, no it isn't, but at the same time, this... a poll like this just gives more people
fuel to say that teachers are liberal, scientists are liberal.
David: If progressives were smart, they would say this isn't about bias, this is about the
more educated you are, you're likely to be less religious, the more you know about science,
you're likely to be less conservative. It just all fits into not what I would call bias,
it fits into what I would call reality. I mean, what do you think about this, Natan?
You seem to be chomping at the bit to get in on this.
Natan Pakman: Well, what I would say is it seems like the more... when people hear things
like this, people who support Republicans, they probably will support them even more.
So I mean, what does this information really change in terms of people's perceptions? They'll
think that oh, yeah, scientists are a bunch of elitist, left-wing, socialist, anarchist,
etc.
David: Communist Native Americans.
Louis: Yeah. It's like... it's like as if the results here and how this can be used
is completely subjective.
David: Well, it's similar to with Sarah Palin. The Sarah Palin strong supporters, and I know
there's less and less as we go, they will hear Sarah Palin make an idiotic claim about
Paul Revere, and they actually will believe she's being set up and they'll feel bad, and
they'll support Sarah Palin even more.
So you're right, this probably isn't going to bring any people over to the progressive
side, but for those of us who are clear-thinking, Louis, for those of us who are... who are
concerned with logic, reason, and fact, this is only confirmation of what we already knew.
The more grounded in reality your determinations are the more likely you are to want progressive
social policy, particularly.
Louis: Right. We're looking at why... how to word this... we're looking at why...
David: Uh oh.
Louis: No, see, this is very hard to word, because I... because if I slip up at all,
it will be... it will be terrible.
David: Do you want to reserve judgment on this? I'm actually... let's go to break. Louis
is really getting himself wound up. What's that? Natan knows where this is going.
Natan: No, I mean, I can say something else about it, that I was watching the Richard
Dawkins video when he was on O'Reilly.
David: Yeah.
Natan: It was a few years ago, but it's just a brilliant video.
David: It is good.
Natan: And O'Reilly says at one point during it, kind of revealingly, he says well, it's
true for me, talking about the fact that, you know, in his opinion, Jesus is God, right?
David: Right. He's throwing in the Jesus.
Natan: So Dawkins asks him kind of incredulously how can something be true for you and not
true for everybody else? And that's kind of like what this study is showing. What I'm
saying is that, you know, Republicans, they probably think that scientists have truths
which are only true to them, they're opinions.
David: Right. They're truths if you don't believe in whatever... in religion or conservative
social...
Louis: Global warming.
David: Right, exactly. All right, well, let's leave it at that before Louis digs himself
a hole, which I know... he had the shovel out, but I managed to keep him from making
that first... that first swipe at the ground.
Make sure to like us on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/DavidPakmanShow. We'll take a break, we'll be back, we'll talk
to Ryan Radia about a guy who could serve some jail time for recording a police stop,
and still plenty more, including the War on Drugs.
Announcer: The David Pakman Show at www.DavidPakman.com.
Transcript provided by Alex Wickersham and www.Subscriptorium.com. For transcripts, translations,
captions, and subtitles, or for more information, visit www.Subscriptorium.com, or contact Alex
at subscriptorium@gmail.com.