In anticipation of the release of the paperback edition of Chris Mooney's The Republican War on Science, both the complete text of chapter 11 (entitled "Creation Science 2.0") and of a special update, composed especially for the paperback edition, have been posted on the book's website. Noting that "ID proponents have adopted many of the same political tactics practiced by the old-school creationists," Mooney argues that "the peculiar characteristics of the ID movement are a direct response to the tactical and legal failings of earlier creationists." Nevertheless, he concludes, "just like creation scientists of yore, ID hawkers have clear and ever-present religious motivations for denying and attacking evolution. And like creationists of yore, they have failed the only test that matters: They simply are not doing credible science. Instead, they are appropriating scientific-sounding arguments to advance a moral and political agenda, one they hope to force into the public-school system."
In the update, Mooney discusses the impact of the decision in Kitzmiller v. Dover, writing, "Jones's opinion may well represent the death knell of 'intelligent design,' both as a viable political strategy and as an idea with pretensions to intellectual seriousness," adding, "What Jones found about the early drafts of Pandas absolutely devastates ID: In early versions, 'creation' had the same definition used in later drafts for 'intelligent design'; references to creationism in these earlier versions were then 'systematically replaced' with references to ID; and most importantly, these telltale changes came right after the Edwards ruling that put an end to 'creation science' as a political and legal strategy. From all of this, Judge Jones concluded that ID is simply 'creationism re-labeled.'" The battle continues, Mooney warns: "The only thing that seems certain, following the Dover trial, is that more litigation lies ahead -- and that creationists will continue, as they have always done, to evolve."