var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};U.S. Senator Marco Rubio says he’s “not a scientist” so he doesn’t know how old the earth really is. So, rather than listen to scientists who do know how old the earth really is, Rubio, who has four children, says parents should teach “multiple theories” because the earth’s age is “one of the great mysteries” of life.
“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 and I think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the United States,” Rubio told GQ magazine in an interview designed to position him as leader of the Grand New Republican Party.
“I’m not a scientist. I don’t think I’m qualified to answer a question like that. At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all,” Rubio told GQ, adding, “I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. Whether 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.”
Actually, see above.
Rubio — who has voted against the Violence against Women Act — like many anti-science Republicans, of course is on many Senate science committees, including:
Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
- Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
- Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
- Subcommittee on Science and Space
- Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
Think Progress has a few thoughts for the Senator from Florida:
The age of the Earth isn’t much of a mystery to scientists, who use methods like radiometric datingto determine how old the Earth is with relative precision. To suggest we can’t know how old the Earth is, then, is to deny the validity of these scientific methods altogether — a maneuver familiar to Rubio, who also denies the reality of anthropogenic climate change.
Curiously, Rubio cannot seem to commit to any one thing when it comes to “the great mysteries” of life.
“Rubio attends Roman Catholic and Southern Baptist churches in West Kendall, Florida.”
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Related:
Rumored Romney Running Mate Marco Rubio Votes No On Violence Against Women Act
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