Ugly anti-science streak

What's with Republicans and science? There's an ugly anti-science stream running through the Grand Old Party. John McCain is against "wasteful spending" and chooses to pick on:

$2.1 million for the Center for Grape Genetics in New York.
$1 million for Mormon cricket control in Utah.
$819,000 for catfish genetics research in Alabama.
$2 million “for the promotion of astronomy” in Hawaii

Even if the New York Times can not be bothered to explain the importance of these programs, maybe I can try to check them out in a few minutes of Googling:

1. The Center for Grape Genetics is at Cornell; the original agricultural station was established in 1882. It might have been better to fund this through the NSF, but studying agriculture is not per se bogus, as McCain seems to imply.
2. The Mormon Cricket is a highly destructive species, and can cause destruction of large amounts of cropland, and so is well-worth controlling.
3. The catfish genetic research seems to go to Auburn and again, is probably better funded through competition. But the idea itself is not bad.
4. Hawaii, with its clear skies, is a pre-eminent astronomy site. Why they need to promote it further is beyond me. This sort of promotion is an out-and-out boondoggle. McCain may have a point here.

See also Matt Yglesias.