The idea that there is such a thing as verifiable truth – like Obama being a Christian – is increasingly seen as elitist. It’s as if truth were yet another scheme by the powerful to impose their will on everyone else.
This overzealous sense of democracy has been encouraged by the right-wing, which has a stake in taking on science and evidence since these things are often likely to betray the tenets of their belief. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) offered one example of informational demagoguery on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, saying “I take the president at his word” that he is a Christian.
Steven Colbert has jokingly snarled that facts are liberal. The problem for the right is that facts are stubborn, so when you disagree with them – whether it is global warming or evolution or the effect of tax cuts on economic growth – you want to substitute your own “facts” for the allegedly objective ones.
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