There are a lot of metanarratives that do not die no matter what the reality. Republicans are the National Security party (George Bush kept us safe). Republicans are the economy party. Republicans care deeply about fiscal conservatism. One can at least tell stories about how those came to be and why they persist, even if they are bullshit. But the weirdest one is that Republicans are the Smart Science Party and Democrats are, I dunno, the dumb English major party or something. I think it's just part of the general Daddy Party/Mommy Party frame, where Daddy Knows Things and Mommy just makes you a sandwich and hugs your booboos (in reality we know mom takes care of everything while Dad has a gambling problem). There is zero justification for this one,
but somehow it persists...
Most Republicans are rejecting Democrat-led state bills to tighten childhood immunization laws in the midst of the worst measles outbreak in two decades, alarming public health experts who fear the nation could become as divided over vaccines as it is over global warming.
The first Republican whose kid gets measles will have a change of heart and be praised for his noble open mindedness and willingness to change his position when the facts changed (narrator: the facts won't have changed). It'll take the second for something to get done.
