I think your point is too blunt in its cynicism, it's not too useful this way.
Evidence is currency, and so are demagoguery, posturing, campaign money, endorsements, promises, actual political platform, public sentiments, etc. Sadly, evidence does not trump all else. Luckily, even a modest amount of evidence currency can tip the scales of the outcome.
I would like to draw your attention to a media campaign waged in recent month by forces unknown to reduce harshness of the US criminal justice system. It's pretty much every week that I get to read an article about in the New York Times, and they all refer to some sort of research being released, or a small investigation into a particular injustice. Now we get this article from the Wall Street Journal. You know it's on when both the NYT and the WSJ converge on something. The tide is turning rapidly away from "Tough On Crime" to "Measured Response", and this evidence will be a contributing factor in this sea-change.
Evidence is currency, and so are demagoguery, posturing, campaign money, endorsements, promises, actual political platform, public sentiments, etc. Sadly, evidence does not trump all else. Luckily, even a modest amount of evidence currency can tip the scales of the outcome.
I would like to draw your attention to a media campaign waged in recent month by forces unknown to reduce harshness of the US criminal justice system. It's pretty much every week that I get to read an article about in the New York Times, and they all refer to some sort of research being released, or a small investigation into a particular injustice. Now we get this article from the Wall Street Journal. You know it's on when both the NYT and the WSJ converge on something. The tide is turning rapidly away from "Tough On Crime" to "Measured Response", and this evidence will be a contributing factor in this sea-change.