On Saturday thousands of scientists and activists will converge on Washington, D.C., for the March for Science. Organizers are billing the march as an opportunity for a broader discussion on science’s role in civic life.

The March’s website claims that “the march has generated a great deal of conversation around whether or not scientists should involve themselves in politics.” But nobody is suggesting scientists shouldn’t be involved in politics. And everyone believes fact-based, evidence-backed decision-making is a good thing. The real argument lies elsewhere. Many liberals seem to believe that science should be the primary guide in public policy debates and excoriate those who they claim “politicize” science.