While most of the GOP presidential aspirants are content talking about the mundane and rarely (with the exception of Ron Paul) the most serious problems facing the nation, Newt once again elevates the debate—and this time literally. Enjoy the quotes of Gingrich from a recent campaign stop in Florida:
“By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be American…I will, as president, encourage the introduction of the northwest ordinance for space to put a marker down that we want Americans to think boldly about the future and we want Americans to go out and study hard and work hard and together, we’re going to unleash the American people to build the country we love.”
And, of course, this is only the beginning:
“When we have 13,000 Americans living on the moon, they can petition to become a state.”
Sahil Kupur (TPM) has aptly labeled Newt a “Space Keynesian.” One can only imagine–in some parallel universe where Gingrich actually wins the presidency–Paul Krugman writing endless columns arguing that no matter how large the moon colonization program, it provides an insufficient stimulus to the economy.
This isn’t exactly new: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061204-moon-base.html
Granted, Gingrich’s proposal is a lot more ambitious (read: ridiculous), but It was actually government policy to construct a moon base less than 6 years ago.