When you can’t win an argument on its merits, smear your opponent with half-truths. The political tricks honed by luminaries such as Richard Nixon, Lee Atwater and Karl Rove have made their way into global warming science, as climatologist Phil Jones has stepped down from his position at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit over hacked emails.
While manufactured scandals seem to be standard operating procedure in the political arena (recall the recent resignation of White House Green Jobs advisor Van Jones after being targeted by the Fox TV network) its spillover into science is worrisome, if not entirely unsurprising. As global warming science poses an increasingly powerful threat to the powers of business-as-usual, those involved in its conduct are now apparently fair game.
As politics interfaces with science more and more, practices of charter assassination will become more prevalent. The polarization of our society breaks down progress. The idea of even having an administration grounded in science was a major platform in the Obama campaign. Politics is everywhere.
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