You may find that you cannot escape the Republican presidential candidates. Whether you’re overhearing conversations in class or the Memorial Union, walking past a newsstand, perusing the Internet, or watching TV, they’re everywhere you go.
Recently, lists of rather unintelligent yet amusing quotes from current and former Republican presidential candidates have been catching my attention. These quotes are things you would not expect to hear in the 21st century.
One of my favorites comes from Michele Bachmann: “Carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful. But there isn’t even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas.”
Wait. What?
There are no words to describe my thought process after reading this. I almost tried to level with her and find information to prove her argument. When a political leader who you dislike says something so dim-witted to the point that you research reasons to support her – that takes talent.
However, my half-hour Google search only brought me back to square one – carbon dioxide isn’t the best thing for us. According to a recent study from Stanford,carbon dioxide has been linked to an increased number of deaths, especially in densely populated cities where emissions are high.
It’s baffling to think that at one point – people actually voted for her. But that’s not saying that the rest of them are charms either. Take recent Republican candidate frontrunner Rick Santorum. He’s another one who isn’t too bright with the “sciency” stuff.
An abundance of carbon dioxide leads to global warming and unless you live in a hole in the ground, you’ve heard this before. Rick Santorum, however, thinks it’s all a giant hoax. Santorum was quoted as saying, “If you leave it to nature, then nature will do what nature does, which is boom and bust."
Santorum once wrote in an op-ed column, “Global temperatures have actually cooled over the last 10 years and are predicted to continue cooling over the next 10.”
Au contraire. The United Corporation for Atmospheric Research has shown that there’s been a fairly steady rise in global temperatures over the last century – 2005 and 2010 are tied for the hottest year on record. I’m no atmospheric scientist, but I have an inkling that these temperature trends are not simply going to drop within the next 10 years.
I would expect nothing more from a creationist like Santorum. Disbelief in global warming, a stance against stem cell research and strong anti-abortion ideals all serve as a basis for his scientific conclusions – or lack thereof.
I just happen to respectfully disagree with most of what he says. It’s just another science vs. religion argument – a beaker vs. a Bible.
However, I do find it somewhat insulting that he can call what I learn in class, and spend my time studying, one giant lie or hoax. Perhaps he has a better idea as to what I could do with my time, or how I should be spending $56,000 — the price of my education.
Reach the columnist at OBruanci@asu.edu
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