In last night’s Massachusetts Senatorial debate, GOP hopeful Gabriel Gomez said, “There are those in my party who do not believe in science.”

Sigh.

It is an absolutely asinine statement. Disagreeing with the causes of climate change and its policy prescriptions does not mean one does not believe in science. But I’ve been hearing this sentiment for many years in precincts such as Brookline, Cambridge and Jamaica Plain. It’s a sentiment no different from President Obama asserting Republicans want “dirtier air, dirtier water.”

Look, I understand that Republicans cannot win elected office in Massachusetts without the support of Democrats and there are Democratic votes to be had. But the kind of Democrats who think Republicans don’t believe in science aren’t going to vote for Gomez, “new kind of Republican” or not.

Gomez is, of course, under no obligation to agree with everything Ted Cruz has to say. But to call yourself a “new kind of Republican” strongly suggests he is apologetic and ashamed of his political affiliation. Gomez does himself no favors by making fatuous statements about his party to appease a constituency which has no intention of supporting him and at the expense of those who are working the hardest to ensure his election.