Modern science is also run by consensus....it’s called peer review.
Michael Manns' now discredited "hockey stick" graph was peer-reviewed... by his buddies.
http://a-sceptical-mind.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-hockey-stick
Scientific consensus changes with new information.
Liberal consensus changes when they need it to back up their current agenda.
However, some 'scientists' try to change the consensus to support their political agenda, so the differences are decreasing.
They all work for the same government grant money. Try getting any Government funded research job after noting on your application that Global Warming is a fraud.