Saturday, November 10, 2012

Charles Darwin Gets 4000 Write-Ins Against Evolution Opponent In Georgia

Congressman Paul Broun is a physician who represents Georgia's 10th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Particularly because he is a member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committe, he attracted attention last month when a portion of a September speech he made at the 2012 Sportsman's Banquet at Liberty Baptist Church in Hartwell, Georgia became public.  Huffington Post reports that Broun said in part:
God's word is true. I've come to understand that. All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and the big bang theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell. It's lies to try to keep me and all the folks who were taught that from understanding that they need a savior.
The speech particularly irked some at the University of Georgia which is located in Broun's district. However, Broun was running unopposed in this past week's election.  So, as reported by the Athens Banner-Herald, plant biology professor Jim Leebens-Mack started a Facebook page to encourage voters to write in "Charles Darwin" instead of voting for Broun, even though the votes would not count because Darwin was not certified as a write-in candidate. The official results show Broun receiving 211,022.  However it is reported that "Darwin" received nearly 4,000 write-ins.