“I’m not a scientist,” has emerged as go-to republican messaging on climate change in the run-up to midterm elections. Essentially, the response means “I’m not going to talk about this issue,” but climate change has already come up in several political debates around the US.

“It’s got to be the dumbest answer I’ve ever heard,” said Michael McKenna, a Republican energy lobbyist who has advised House Republicans and conservative political advocacy groups on energy and climate change messaging. “Using that logic would disqualify politicians from voting on anything. Most politicians aren’t scientists, but they vote on science policy. They have opinions on Ebola, but they’re not epidemiologists. They shape highway and infrastructure laws, but they’re not engineers.” – New York Times

It seems like an excellent point, though the article reports that voters do not highly prioritize climate change among their most pressing concerns. “It is very difficult to find an issue that voters place lower on the list than climate change,” Mr. Ayres [Republican pollster] said. “It vies with gay marriage and campaign finance reform as the least important issue. Most voters care about jobs, economic growth, health care and immigration.”

Regardless, the “I’m no scientist” strategy seems particularly silly and highlights the politically challenging nature of the climate change issue. The most widely supported carbon emissions reduction policies – putting a price on carbon and/or increasing renewable energy support – are unpopular among republican voters and major donors, as the article points out.

If climate change ranks low on voters’ priority lists, however, maybe it’s better to simply go with “no comment,” than something so stupid.