Why is it that when Republicans collide with reality, reality never ever wins?

The latest example: Rep. John Duncan, from the great state of Tennessee, at yesterday’s House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the effectiveness of government-sponsored abstinence-only programs. Scientists and experts showed up to explain how well these programs work:

Experts from the American Public Health Association and U.S. Institute of Medicine testified that scientific studies have not found that abstinence-only teaching works to cut pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases or the age when sexual activity begins.

The American Psychological Association and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also issued statements to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform criticizing the abstinence-only programs.

Which prompted this Luddite response:

Rep. John Duncan, a Tennessee Republican, said that it seems “rather elitist” that people with academic degrees in health think they know better than parents what type of sex education is appropriate. “I don’t think it’s something we should abandon,” he said of abstinence-only funding.