Biology Major Bobby Jindal Pleads Ignorance On Evolution And Climate Science

[How low will Republicans go to pander to the ignroant? This low. - Bozo]
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by Joe Romm
Posted on September 18, 2014 at 11:00 am
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House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) says he can't be expected to know about climate science because he is "not a scientist." Same for Florida Governor Rick Scott (R), Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY), and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).
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But what happens when a highly educated guy who did study science in college wants to run for national office in a party that increasingly stands against facts and science? In the case of Louisiana Governor and perennial presidential wannabee Bobby Jindal (R), you act dumb and make tortuous statements.
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How dumb?
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At a breakfast organized by The Christian Monitor, Jindal was introduced as a biology major, Rhodes Scholar, and former President of the University of Louisiana System. Naturally, at one point HuffPost's Howard Fineman said, "I want to ask a couple of science questions."
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Jindal cluelessly fails to see what's coming and excitedly interjects "I'm a biology major." Fineman is happy to repeat that point and, of course, then asks him a bunch of obvious science questions, including whether he accepts evolution.
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So Jindal now feels compelled to explain, "I was not an evolutionary biologist." Yeah, Jindal apparently got one of those Biology degrees from Brown University (with honors at the age of 20!) that doesn't require learning about evolution - the central organizing principle of modern biology.
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Jindal also launches into the standard conservative talking point that "local schools should make the decision about how they teach biology," which is dog-whistle for "let them teach creationism if they want." But Fineman gets Jindal to admit "I want my kids to be taught about evolution in their school."
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And why should Jindal care about what other people's kids get taught - just because university scientists say that students who accept creationism "as scientifically valid are unlikely to succeed in science courses at the college level"? It's not like Jindal was President of "the nation's 16th largest system of higher education" is it?
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As an aside, recall that last year, Jindal gave a big speech saying the GOP "must stop being the stupid party."
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