As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Newt Gingrich dusted off his famous penchant for coming up with big ideas and told an audience in Florida that if he’s elected, he’ll build a permanent base on the moon. Politico reports:
“By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American,” Gingrich said to applause.
He said the development would include commercial and private efforts, and will make apparent, “we clearly have the capacity that Chinese and the Russians will never come anywhere close to us.”
The good folks behind the Gingrich Ideas Twitter account have the best response so far:
Three marriages only weigh as much as one on the moon.
Ouch.
30 comments
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Zinc Avenger
January 30, 2012 at 12:10 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
And they’ll get there with Creation Science, none of this empiricism-ism!
eric
January 30, 2012 at 12:16 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Its Florida. He’s basically telling the state’s voters that he’ll continue massive funding for Cape Canaveral even with the shuttle program ending. IMO, being pro-space in Florida is like being pro-corn in Iowa.
He said the development would include commercial and private efforts…
That part is almost certainly true. I have no doubt that President Gingrich would hand out huge subsidies for developmental work to any major areospace corporation donating to his campaign. Whether anything comes of it is beside the point.
starskeptic
January 30, 2012 at 12:19 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
In Newt’s defense – I must point out that he was insane when he said that…
Trebuchet
January 30, 2012 at 12:25 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
@#2: I think he’s actually claiming it’ll magically happen without government funding, by the magical power of free enterprise.
It’s pretty much a no-lose situation for him: He can appeal to FL voters who are to dumb to realize the new space companies are all working elsewhere, if by some miracle he gets elected and a moon station happens he can take the credit, otherwise the failure is all the fault of liberals.
Michael Heath
January 30, 2012 at 12:26 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Gingrich is also promising to cut NASA’s budget while getting the lunar project done. I’m confident the cutting part would be the groups who research and monitor the weather and the climate. Pretty soon he’ll be promising to nominate Roger Pielke, Jr. in as the head of the EPA.
In some ways Mr. Gingrich’s zaniness extends well beyond Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann’s. Particularly when it comes to promising people the moon.
The Lorax
January 30, 2012 at 12:31 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I also heard that when the Moon colony hits 13,000, he’ll let them apply for statehood.
… hey, I’m all for getting a permanent human outpost off of this blue rock, but we sort of need to be able to do it before we actually do it, you know? That’s sort of the way things go in.. you know.. reality.
And he wants to cut NASA’s budget as well? Does he even know that this is simply impossible?
Area Man
January 30, 2012 at 12:35 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Conservatism: Giving money to needy people = government waste. Shoveling money at boondoggle adventurism that everyone knows won’t turn out well = a neat idea.
d cwilson
January 30, 2012 at 12:42 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Or, as Stephen Colbert described it, “Suck it, District of Columbia!”
d cwilson
January 30, 2012 at 12:43 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Oh, c’mon! Next you’re going to say it’s impossible to balance the budget by cutting taxes.
slc1
January 30, 2012 at 12:45 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Re Michael Heath @ #5
Nah, he would probably nominate Pat Michaels.
Bronze Dog
January 30, 2012 at 12:51 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
My brother had a funny response when my mother informed us of his insane expectation of a moon base. More or less: “Can we leave him there?”
Now, hypothetically, if NASA got a huge budget increase and help from Russia and/or China, I might be able to imagine a mission that involves landing on the moon in that time frame. But a full-blown colony? Hell no.
I don’t know how space missions get their budgets and approvals, but frankly, I always envision Republicans as ridiculing the very idea of a space program unless it involves blowing up the
Communiststerrorists. I will not be surprised if someday we become completely reliant on other nations (or private corporations) for remote sensing and GPS.Marcus Ranum
January 30, 2012 at 12:53 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
By the end of my second term
I see what you tried to do there, Newt!
eric
January 30, 2012 at 1:05 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I don’t know how space missions get their budgets and approvals, but frankly, I always envision Republicans as ridiculing the very idea of a space program unless it involves blowing up the Communiststerrorists.
Hey, maybe Newt read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and liked the railgun on the moon idea. It’s a “cargo orbital delivery” system…yeah…that’s the ticket.
Agree with most of the posters above, that conservatives seem to either forget, or actively dislike the first A in NASA.
Modusoperandi
January 30, 2012 at 1:13 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
A moonbase? Is Newt trying to appeal to the critical 11 year old male voting demographic? What next, will he promise dinosaurs?
abb3w
January 30, 2012 at 1:37 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Does this mean Newt can now officially be classified as a “lunatic”?
holytape
January 30, 2012 at 1:48 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Michael Heath,
I believe that Newt, while trying to imitate a Roman Caesar, is going to nominate his horse for the job of the head of the EPA.
No word on whether his third wife will accept.
(Yes, I do feel bad for making that joke.)
doktorzoom
January 30, 2012 at 2:43 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
On the other hand, every good member of Mitt Romney’s church gets their very own planet after they die, which sort of puts that puny moon base thing in perspective.
John Hinkle
January 30, 2012 at 3:47 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I have a feeling Newt didn’t get a lot of attention when he was a kid. Just a hunch.
NoVaRunner
January 30, 2012 at 3:50 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Usually the pandering isn’t this obvious. I mean, he’s gone the whole campaign so far with nary a mention of space policy, and the second he’s within sniffing distance of Cape Canaveral, he starts talking about a permanent moon base.
Ichthyic
January 30, 2012 at 3:56 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Pretty soon he’ll be promising to nominate Roger Pielke, Jr. in as the head of the EPA.
yeah, that would be just as nutty as installing someone like James Watt to be Secretary of the Interior.
;)
Ichthyic
January 30, 2012 at 3:58 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Does this mean Newt can now officially be classified as a “lunatic”?
HA!
I do SO hope that catches on in the media.
exdrone
January 30, 2012 at 4:27 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Since Gingrich is falling behind in Florida, I think he’s trying to manufacture another state primary that he could win. The timeline is a bit off though.
KG
January 30, 2012 at 4:30 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Why?
gesres
January 30, 2012 at 6:09 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
“Three marriages only weigh as much as one on the moon.”
Actually, it weighs as much as a half marriage.
sunsangnim
January 30, 2012 at 6:42 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
This seems more likely to fire up the Republican base:
dingojack
January 30, 2012 at 6:50 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Can I just second abb3w (#15)? Sheer lunacy!
Dingo
—–
gesres – 3 Moon wives would weigh about the same as 0.498 Earth wives.
Michael Heath
January 30, 2012 at 8:39 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
The video @ 25,
I loved it when the guy said, “we’ll blow-up the moon when it’s full so we get it all”. I immediately thought of how that would make Bill O’Reilly feel so much better.
Trebuchet
January 30, 2012 at 8:41 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
doktorzoom says:
Fixed that for you.
Azkyroth
January 31, 2012 at 1:46 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Of course, Newt is a “male member” too…
uzza
January 31, 2012 at 9:34 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Ignore this luna-shtick.