Oh, I agree, the process isn't perfect, but it's far better than the alternatives!
The way the system is set up, the 'bull' tends to iron itself out over time - the only question is how much time....
One other issue this brings up is how one enforces penalties against those who commit scientific fraud--of which politicization is one example...Global warming, anyone?
What I fear most is since most people misunderstand and consequently somewhat mistrust science, the populist support for science is shaky at best. If enough scandals about the 'inviolate, sacrosanct' nature of science come to light, the general public may write science off as mere hogwash or propaganda. Which would be a pity because science was developed in order to get at things *in spite of* possible biases. And of course, one other side effect of such a development would be the loss of funding for science.
Cheers!