Should we add "War on Science" to the GOP's battle fronts?

Tennessee Republicans have pushed through a law allowing the teaching of creationism, “intelligent design”, global warming as a “conspiracy” and other right wing Luddite causes as science in Tennessee schools. Lousiana already has such a measure in place.

Is this a win for the right, or will it lead to a Pyrrhic victory in today’s technological world? How competitive will America be in the 21st century if politics and religion drag us back before Darwin? How can universities deal with admissions when some students are coming to them from areas where junk science substitutes for the real thing?