An Instructive Thought Experiment

Imagine, if you will, James E. Hansen's opposite. A NASA scientist, who, during a Democratic president's second term, tries to make an argument that carbon emissions are no big deal and play no role in climate change (if you can imagine a scientist saying such a thing). Now, imagine that this all-too-fictional Democratic administration silences him, telling him to be loyal. What would the Republican opposition say then about intellectual freedom, career-Fed independence from political pressure, etc., etc.?

If the situation were reversed, Republicans would be calling for everyone involved to be fired.