They don't have much sway in the party of Limbaugh, but there is such a thing as gay Republicans, and a species known as Republicans for Environmental Protection. Cognitive dissonance aside, they've even been around for a while. But did you know there was also a rare breed of conservative climate scientists? There's even a prominent one who...gasp...admires Ronald Reagan:
As a politically conservative climatologist who accepts the broad scientific consensus on global warming, [Kerry] Emanuel occupies a position shared by only a few scientists.
And that may not last much longer, for as the LA Times story notes:
In much the same role that marriage and abortion played in previous election cycles, denial of climate change has now become a litmus test for the right.
This seems to be a dealbreaker for Emanuel, who says in the article:
I am a rare example of a Republican scientist, but I am seriously thinking about changing affiliation owing to the Republicans' increasingly anti-science stance. The best way to elevate the number of Republican scientists is to get Republican politicians to stop beating up on science and scientists.
