There is a powerful letter, signed by 225 National Academies members, in the latest Science. Not only does it explain why we accept the consensus of mainstream climate science (or mainstream evolutionary science, or planetary science, or cosmology), but it denounces Cuccinelli-style tactics:
We also call for an end to McCarthy- like threats of criminal prosecution against our colleagues based on innuendo and guilt by association, the harassment of scientists by politicians seeking distractions to avoid taking action, and the outright lies being spread about them. Read the whole statement. Bravo to the these scientists for taking such a stand. UPDATE: I now see that these scientists explicitly state they are not speaking on behalf of the National Academies. So I may have erroneously attributed the existence of the statement to the Academy in an earlier version of this post. It has been modified to remove this unwarranted assumption.