The 6%

Thanks to Daniel Sarewitz over at Slate for bringing to our attention this little gem of obvious, one of those factoids which just seems obvious and self-explanatory when you think about it.  He got it from a Pew Poll from July, 2009, but I doubt the numbers have changed much.

Only around six per cent of U.S. scientists are Republicans; 55 percent are Democrats, 32 percent are independent, and the rest “don’t know” their affiliation.

As anti-Republican as I am, I was surprised that it was so low.

There are, after all, black Republicans and gay Republicans (although, come to think of it, about that same percentage) and quite a large number of female Republicans, which also makes little sense.

Second, not all scientists are the same.  Einstein was racked by guilt over the atomic bomb.  Edward Teller was not.

But, still.  Scientists are smart, Republicans are stupid.  There’s not a big overlap in the old Venn diagram.  Scientists are pro-science, Republicans want to teach creationism in schools, deny global warming and fight promising avenues of research if they offend the Christian Taliban.

Is there such a thing as a self-loathing scientist?  I’m sure there is.

But another thought struck me as I read the article.  Six percent.  I’ll bet they’re not exactly the top 6%, either.  It’s much more likely that Republican scientists are to science what Ted Nugent is to music, what Victoria Jackson is to stand up comedy, what Chuck Norris is to acting.

That is, not exactly the cream of the crop.