A fun little commotion developed on Twitter yesterday when Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman tweeted that he believes in evolution: “To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.”
This was apparently in response to a report that fellow candidate, Texas Governor Rick Perry, told a boy in New Hampshire that evolution is “a theory that’s out there. It’s got some gaps in it.” He continued to explain that “in Texas we teach both creationism and evolution in our public schools. Because I figure you’re smart enough to figure out which one is right.”
According to the Washington Post, Huntsman’s tweet was retweeted hundreds of times in the first four hours and resulted in nearly 4000 new followers.
This got me to thinking about how Republican presidential candidates were asked, in last week’s debate in Iowa, to raise their hands if they would reject a debt compromise that was 90% spending cuts and 10% tax increases. They all did, and the result was this image that will appeal to the Republican base but likely make it more difficult for whoever wins the nomination to run to center in the general election.
I’m hoping that when they assemble in Florida next month for a debate and straw poll they’ll get a new question in this same format: Raise your hand if you reject evolution as a scientific explanation of or human origins.
