Playing rough

Don’t dismiss such character assassination as the harmless chatter of fringe-dwellers. They have the attention of many Americans, and of Congress. Bradley tells the story of his run-in with this crew in his new book, “Global Warming and Political Intimidation: How Politicians Cracked Down as the Earth Heated Up.’’ It centers on his account of being harassed and threatened not only by bloggers and gadflies but by Representative Joe Barton of Texas and Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, both Republicans.

“The book came out of the frustration and aggravation of my own experience,’’ Bradley said on the phone recently, “and mine was by no means the worst. Good scientists like Ben Santer, Mike Mann, and Phil Jones have received the blunt end of it.’’

Bradley’s book describes the shock of being yanked out of the scholarly realm and into the arena of partisan politics. Of being investigated by Barton’s House Energy Committee, Bradley said, “You realize they have infinite power, and they can ruin you — and they would have, if not for the strength of Sherwood Boehlert,’’ the Republican Congressman from New York who stood up to Barton. “Boehlert’s words should be etched on the portals of every science building in the country,’’ writes Bradley, “next to a big image of a thumb pushing down on the balance of scientific inquiry: ‘Seeking scientific truth is too important to be impeded by political expediency. When it comes to scientific debates, Congress is all thumbs.’ ’’