Most Scientists Are Modest and Unobtrusive – But Not All
Why is it that scientists generally are quiet and demure, and so seldom even mention the field of politics? Perhaps it’s the very difference between fact and opinion, and scientists’ preference to the former over the latter. In any case, Michael Mann is decidedly unafraid to make political statements in the name of climate science. Here is an interview in which he chops up Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, whom he calls out for the politician’s ties to the fossil fuel industry and the fabulously anti-science position that those ties have engendered. Enjoy.
The greatest thing about the ad is it gave a reason to put cuccinelli into a very negative headline on every major media outlet… So now if you google cuccinelli, you get page after page of negative headline/connotation.
Most voters in Virginia will not be able to identify the two gubernatorial candidates by name, and even 20-30% of the “likely” voters would not be able to name them yet.
So as the sunny summer winds down, and people begin doing their research about their potential leaders, they’ll google to find pages of pro-McAuliffe stuff… or they’ll google to find cuccinelli lambasted for being a complete fool.
It should help. This election is far closer than anyone wants it to be, but stuff like this should help. McDonnel’s scandal should help as well, as it surpresses republican enthusiasm and casts a shadow over the party at large.
We’ll see.