Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has already started the process for running for president in 2016 with an appearance in Iowa. He has begun in classic form. In 2008, many people were shocked when most of the GOP candidates said that they did not believe in evolution. Rubio has now added his voice as denying scientific reality to court evangelical votes. Rubio insisted in an interview with GQ that the age of the Earth remains “one of the great mysteries.” Of course, the age of the Earth is about as much of a “mystery” as whether the Sun revolves around the Earth or the Earth revolves around the Sun. The age is roughly 4.5 billions years — an inconvenient fact to be sure, but a fact.
Rubio insists “I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians . . . [w]hether the Earth was created in seven days, or seven actual eras. I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that. It’s one of the great mysteries.”
Rubio wants to court people who believe that the Earth is between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago despite fossils and radiometric dating going back millions of years. The question is whether we should even consider someone for the presidency who denies such a clear and established fact. At what point is the denial of reality a threat to the nation in a commander and chief. Of course, some of these candidates may secretly accept reality, but that may be ever worse if you are willing to deny established facts (like the rising and setting of the Sun) in order to secure power.
Of course, forty-six percent of Americans believe that God created humans in their present form within the past 10,000 years. However, a president is required to lead one of the most developed nation on Earth into a future that will be shaped by science and technology.
What is striking is that the suggestion that there is still some debate on the age of the Earth is taken that clear proof that he intends to run for President as a touchstone for GOP candidates. That is truly a sad commentary on the state of our political system.
Source: CNN
This guy has found his niche in South Florida and Cuban American politics. When he was elected senator I thought he had already exceeded the Peter Principal. Let’s hope it stops now.
Rubio is a rube.
That explains why W Bush went bust in the oil business. He must have hired geologists who think the Earth is only 10,000 years old. It is rather hard to find oil if you don’t believe the science of geology. Of course, I checked into Baylor’s offerings on courses on young Earth religion, and you can get a courses from them in that too, so I would be loathe to hire any person from that school if it requires any science background.
Gene,
It would be even better if they promise to nominate Oklahoma judge for Jesus Mike Norman as Atty. General.
Get your tools ready
The back story on Marco Rubio is that he first came to my attention as the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives (2007–2009). Relatively new to Florida I’d been trying to get a sense of the politics there. Rubio, was what you would call a “regressive” and some of his policies negatively affected those least able to cope, education and lining the pockets of business. The media has thus far painted him into a moderate picture, but he is every bit a tea bagger type as is Paul Ryan. I don’t know how old the Earth is either specifically, but I damn well know it’s a figure in the billions. Rubio does know this too, but his record is that of a Corporate supported panderer to ignorance. Despite the supposed return to moderation of many in that party, the truth is that to them it is merely a matter of proper “branding”.
1959. Just to emphasize: Castro came in 1959! not six.
Oh, and when those communists fled Batista in Cuba in 1956, and came to our shores, they were not searching for the holy grail. The Rubio family came in 1956. Loooong before some guy named Castro took power in 1956.
Commies looking for a new mommy. Liar, liar, your pants are on fire.
I already have my tee shirt designed. A picture of Rubio on a Donkey, riding backwards, with a tortilla in hand, with cartoon blurb caption out of Donkey’s arse: “I am not a scientist.”
Blouise,
Yeah, but if they come together like that, it’ll make a delta and a flood plain which on top of the mess they’ve both created already is just a bit much.
Perhaps Mr. Rubio, a Republican, can tap Cortland County District Attorney Mark Suben, a Democrat, as he VP. Denial meets denial.
Gene,
They’ll still deny it….why…. Because its the right thing to do…. I was surprised Bloomberg came out in support of Obama over what he claimed one issue….
““I’m not a scientist, man.”
You don’t say? However, I’m fairly certain most rational educated people are on track to explain your bliss.
When have facts ever gotten in anyone’s way that has an agenda….. Unless of course you have a conscience….. Seems few in politics have a need for one……
How much longer will the GOP be in “de-nial” …..
You know, that River in Egypt ……. !!!!
Yes, it really is to bad that there are not some set of measurements that people could take that might be compared between various fields of study. If the people who knew about rocks and the people who knew about plants and the people who knew about old bones and the people who knew about genetics all could make independent estimates based on the bits they know and have researched and verified maybe we could see if they all came up with some ridiculous answer like “approximately 4.5 billion years”. With each group making the same approximation maybe that would help clear things up.
alternatively we could take the scrapes and remains of bits of found paperers written across 2000 years (starting 4000 years ago) cataloging a bunch of goat herders legends and manipulated into a single book, add up the ages of all the people mentioned in those oral tales and guess “about 6000 years”
same-same
What do you expect from a man who cannot remember when his parents left Cuba and why? His entire existence is a mystery to him. Why o why does the media give a man like this any credence?
One other thing, as he is a Catholic candidate the CHURCH must be awfully proud. What a package anti women and anti science in one big male package, sweet mystery of life!
The GOP base that turns out for the Iowa Caucuses is composed of many fundamentalist christians.
He is already campaigning in Iowa. The republicans are known these days to be the anti-science party. It looks like they are not changing.
I guess we’ll be arguing about the same silly issues during the next election cycle. I guess that’s alright as long as the rational ideas prevail. But what happens if they don’t?
Amen!!!