NASA's discovery of water on Mars has generated an understandable amount of buzz. Among the reactions are those suggesting NASA purposefully released the news ahead of the Ridley Scott film, The Martian. John Nolte at Brietbart goes on to say NASA discovered the evidence months ago, because it shared photos (the details of which are unclear) with Ridley Scott during The Martian's production. Nolte tries to argue that NASA employees "withheld news in order to benefit their political pals" (because apparently Obama's administration is pals with 20th Century Fox), when in reality, NASA was probably just wrapping up its findings and analysis.
While that's outlandish but possible, Rush Limbaugh's conspiracy theory is downright wrong. Limbaugh—after telling his listeners the Earth hasn't warmed and NASA is "making up the temperatures"—says water on Mars is perhaps as fake as the global temperature record. He asks, "What's to stop them from making up something that happened on Mars that will help advance their left-wing agenda on this planet?"
Moving on from the Red Planet to red states, a new poll suggests Republican politicians would be better off distancing themselves from deniers like Limbaugh. The poll—commissioned by Republican businessman turned-donor Jay Faison—shows that nearly 75% of Republicans support development and deployment of clean energy, 54% support carbon taxes and tax incentives for alternative energy, and 56% believe humans play a role in changing the climate.
But will the GOP listen to its clean-energy loving constituents? Or will it embrace Limbaugh's conspiratorial space oddity?
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