Yesterday some British idiot asked Gov. Scott Walker (R., Wis.) if he was "comfortable with the idea of evolution." Walker punted, and his political opponents and other scientific geniuses mocked accordingly. It’s a question designed to make Republicans look stupid, or perhaps more accurately, to make Democrats (and Brits) feel intellectually smug and superior. Still, GOP candidates should come up with a serviceable answer to it, because they’re going to be asked over and over again, because journalism.
Dave Weigel poses an interesting question:
What would be a Dem candidate stumper comparable to the evolution Q? How about "when does life begin?"
— daveweigel (@daveweigel) February 11, 2015
Sean Davis offers an amusing suggestion:
@daveweigel I'd settle for the evolution questioner merely defining "evolution." Macro, or micro? Punctuated equilibrium, or gradualism? — Sean Davis (@seanmdav) February 11, 2015
In a previous post, I put forward a few examples of "stumper" questions that Democratic candidates should be asked in 2016. Here are the top two "evolution" type questions I would love to see Democrats forced to answer:
Are you comfortable with the idea of gender binarism? Do you believe in it?
The vast majority of American voters, Democrats included, would be completely stumped by this question. However, to a certain segment of the aggrieved left, answering this question incorrectly is a micoagression that Will Not Stand. Watching Hillary Clinton or, better yet, Joe Biden attempt to answer this question would be equally if not more amusing than watching Jon Stewart stare into a camera. I mean, just think about it.
Can you explain the moral difference between the crimes for which Dr. Kermit Gosnell was convicted (first-degree murder of infants shortly after birth at 23-25 weeks into pregnancy) and late-term abortions?
There are a number of abortion-related questions reporters could pose to Democrats, especially given that the Democratic position on late-term abortion, for example, is wildly out of step with public opinion. But they almost never get asked. When the Weekly Standard’s John McCormack asked House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) this question, he was laughed at by reporters. Pelosi punted and never answered the question, but no one bothered to follow up. Pelosi and her colleagues are more accustomed to abortion-related questions along the lines of what David Gregory asked on Meet the Press in 2013: "Do you fear that we’re at a new age of the erosion of abortion rights?"
Another way of phrasing the "when does life begin question?" would be to ask Democrats whether or not they believe abortions result in a death.