A few days ago, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) accused??global warming alarmists? like California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) of being condescending to??anyone who actually looks at the real data? about?climate change. And now? He’s taken his rhetoric a step further.
In an interview with?the Texas Tribune, Cruz said:
?Global warming alarmists are the equivalent of the flat-Earthers.?You know it used to be it is accepted scientific wisdom the Earth is flat, and this heretic named Galileo was branded a denier.”
From Think Progress:
In Cruz’s opinion, when it comes to climate change, his denier position places him alongside 17th Century scientist Galileo Galilei, who was also considered to be denying the mainstream knowledge of his day. According to Cruz’s logic, he is taking the minority view that human-caused climate change is not happening, just as Galileo took the minority view that the scientific method should be trusted over the Catholic Church.
Galileo, who helped perpetuate the notion that the Earth rotates around the sun, was eventually excommunicated from the Church for his views. In the centuries since he has come to be known as the ?father of modern physics? and ?the father of modern science.?
Ted Cruz studied public policy before attending?law school — hardly a scientist, though he loves to point out that his parents are “mathematicians.”
Cruz is in good company. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry — who will likely be competing with Cruz for the GOP nomination for the 2016 presidential election — also used?Galileo’s name to?show dumbassery about climate change.
Skeptical Science says that??the comparison is exactly backwards.?
?Modern scientists follow the evidence-based scientific method that Galileo pioneered,? the website reads. ?Skeptics who oppose scientific findings that threaten their world view are far closer to Galileo’s belief-based critics in the Catholic Church.?
But science, meh. Ted Cruz never minded about the little things.
