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Efrem Lukatsky / AP file
Newt Gingrich says Mitt Romney's space plan doesn't go far enough.
BELOIT, Wis. – One-time presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, who promised during the GOP primary to create a U.S. moon colony if elected, criticized Mitt Romney’s plan for space exploration as not being “robust” enough.
“The Romney plan for space starts to move in the right direction but could be much more robust,” the former House speaker told NBC News a day after the Republican presidential nominee unveiled his “Securing U.S. Leadership in Space” plan. “We could move into space much, much faster than we are. Romney is better than [President] Obama on space but could be bolder and more visionary.”
Saturday, Romney’s running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, laid out the campaign’s plan during a townhall meeting in Orlando, Fla., and accused President Barack Obama of “dismantling” America’s space program.
"We are near the Space Coast, I think it’s important that we have a space program that has a clear space mission, a space program that we know where we are heading in the future, and a space program that is the unequivocal leader on the planet in space travel and space research,” Ryan said at the University of Central Florida. “We don’t have that right now.”
The Wisconsin congressman continued: “Mitt Romney and I believe that America must lead in space. Mitt Romney and I believe we need a mission for NASA, a mission for a space program, and we also believe that this is an integral part of our national security.”
During the long Republican primary season, Gingrich regularly spoke about fixing the space program after the cancellation of American space shuttles.
Speaking in Cocoa, Fla., at the end of January, Gingrich vowed the United States would “have the first permanent base on the moon” and by the end of 2020 the country would have "the first continuous propulsion system in space" capable of allowing people travel to Mars.
Romney, whom Gingrich later endorsed for president after suspending his campaign in May, mocked the former House speaker for proposing a lunar colony during one of the several GOP debates earlier in the year.
"I spent 25 years in business. If I had a business executive come to me and say they wanted to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I'd say, 'You're fired,'" Romney said at the debate in Jacksonville, Fla., co-hosted by CNN, the Republican Party of Florida and the Hispanic Leadership Network. "The idea that corporate America wants to go off to the moon and build a colony there, it may be a big idea, but it's not a good idea."
Under a President Romney administration, there would be four space priorities: focusing NASA, partnering internationally, strengthening security, and revitalizing industry.
The steps put forward by the Romney-Ryan ticket do not go far enough in Gingrich’s eyes.
“I was with Richard Branson in Yalta last week and his commitment to a dynamic private secure entrepreneurial model that works with innovators and risk-takers to put people into space inexpensively (compared to government rates) is a big example of the future,” Gingrich said in an email Sunday.
Branson, the entrepreneur and CEO of Virgin Airlines, is launching Branson's Virgin Galactic which will offer commercial space flights as the government closes down it’s space shuttle operations.
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Romney says that his experience is business would have him say no to $25 billion to start a space colony that would have long term benefits for decades, but he'd readily spend a couple trillion to wage a decade long war against Iran that will yield nothing positive in either the short term or long term.
Personally, This is not exactly on the top of my list, Space plans. This is not even near the top as far as I am concerned. Obama is dismantling our country. Jobs and the economy is far, far more important right now. We need to get our country jobs and bring back our economy before spending more money on this type of a project. If those 2 problems are not straightened out first, then a space plan is not going to happen. The problem with politicians is that the most urgent is put on the back burner. We need to get our priorities in line, because our country is financially ready to collapse. Obama is living out Hitler's dreams and ready to step in as Dictator. EVERYTHING Obama is doing is on the direct path of Communism. He has half America believing his pathetic ideology which is proving from history, is not practical, realistic and has constantly FAILED. Obama MUST be removed for our and our children's future. Anyone with COMMON SENSE knows this REALITY. Otherwise there WILL NOT be a USA!!
It was unregulated markets that destroyed our economy. What history has shown us is that unregulated markets lead to economic bubbles which lead to economic crashes - read up on the 1930s or 2008 if you need a more recent reminder. Obama has us on a direct path to communism? Please, Fuzzy. Obama's policies are 'common sense' and they have been advocated by 'moderate' republicans and democrats over the past thirty years: healthcare exchanges and individual mandates (Obamacare) were originally republican ideas (thank you, Mitt Romney for seeing them through). They are only labeled 'socialist' because Obama is a democrat. I'm actually really excited for our children's future where the water is safe to drink, the food is sustainably grown, and wallstreet traders aren't gambling their future away. This is the USA that I want.
Andy, In response to your opinion, the only thing I can say is, we all have our own opinion and I respect that.
Fuzzy, I respect your opinion too. Best, Andy
In the aliens movie... they found a girl survivor named NEWT. Could he be homesick ?
If one analyzes the Cost/Return ratio of Space Exploration, including the High Quality Jobs it creates, one would find that Space Exploration is a wonderful investment. Moreover, it is a fundamental quality of consciousness to explore. The time is now to explore space, to establish a permanent self-sustainable Moon Base. To dismiss this effort as "too expensive" is simply untrue. Let the people who understand its importance pay for it. I will happily contribute. Our Country is in debt now because of American Companies outsourcing jobs to our future possible adversaries, and building their economies, irresponsible tax breaks for 10 years, and 1 1/2 unnecessary wars. Space Exploration unites Humanity. Greed starts wars and destroys Humanity. Which one do you want to support?
One guys's space program is another man's Solyndra. Just depends on who wants to take credit for someone else's idea when the money spent isn't assured of a return. The NASA programs of the past certainly had some return, but also had a hefty dose of Star Wars defense spending. So the bright line test about applications gets somewhat lost in the message.
What about the Space Elevator? I think this idea needs to be revisited to see if we can viably start construction of a non boost launching system.
Space is no longer a single country idea. It is going to take global cooperation and private industry working outside government limits to get anything done.
The republicans want less government and more free enterprise. So demolish NASA altogether and spend that money on the private space industry. I'm sure space travel will be much safer with Bain Capital, WellsFargo and Verizon leading the path to space. Just look how they've solved the global economic crisis.
Time to build the country not a moon base.
Under a President Romney administration, there would be
fourFIVE space priorities: focusing NASA, partnering internationally, strengthening security,andrevitalizing industry AND FINDING THE PLANET KOLOB.A space program vs. no space program. Not much of a choice. Gingrich is the one with the space problem, between his ears.
We could all use a space car like the jetsons, as long as the crazy drivers remain on the ground.
bishop romnet gets his own planet to screw up when he dies...guess he wants the gubbberrmmmmint to found his shopping search...think of it as just looking for another home
Shhhh.....Romney is a Cylon.....Shhhh
Newt - either publicly support the candidate you endorsed for President or shut the hell up and keep your opinions to yourself
Sorry is this is a double post, I was having problems with the internet.
I am so tired of hearing about the "57 State" nonsense. Just in case some of you might not know, the US does have 50 States AND seven territories that are allowed to vote in the Primaries. DC is not a State. Counting DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, N. Mariana Island, American Samoa, and Minor Outlying Islands, this is a total of 57.....50 States and seven territories. So, move on, find yourself another talking point and next time do your own research before spitting out misleading talking points.
Is it too much to ask that politicians act professional? I have never in my life seen a group of adults act like children. It is so disorderly and every person out for themselves. These people are so disorganized and so unprofessional, irresponsible that it is disgusting. Is this what we get dealing with lawyers? They are suppose to be working for us. All of them should be fired for falling down on the job they were elected to do for the people. With what they are getting paid, they would have been fired in private sector. They would have NEVER made it to the end of a Probationary period. We need to REVAMP our government, if we are going to make it for the long haul. And we wonder why our country is in such rotten shape. There needs to be professional business people running everything except the law of the land.
The RNC should have ran Newt!
LTC Rattus, USA, ret.
A lunar colony? Mars? While I support space exploration and the science and industry that supports it, I'd rather see these guys focus on our planet first and foremost...EARTH. In particular, the United States. Please peeps....I'm so insulted these pandering politicians dont see that we DO SEE the priorities. Jobs please, debt reduction please, green energy please, energy independence please.
what surprises me is dat no one here seems to realise that Romney (and Gingrich) want to do their Space plans from .43% of the federal budget. That is right folks: less than half a percent of the federal budget is all that NASA gets and it is having 80 missions at present doing their science research somewhere in our solarsystem.
Just imagine what we could do with .1% more: send humans to Mars, instead of robots that we have to tell what to do at every turn and therefore have a topspeed of 71 meters (!) per hour
It is time to send humans to Mars and make humans a multi-lanet species.
Mitt still has a shot at being the President of a Lunar Colony and if it doesn't work out there,Newt can take over and together they can defeat President Barrack Obama and take over the world.
Gringrich and Romney both should concentrate on populating that space between their ears before they start worrying about the moon.
Space. the final frontier..
I feel like this is a cartoon.
Daffy Duck complaining about Elmer Fudd. Or is it the other way around?
The two are like Dumb and Dumber.
Bobby DP
“We could move into space much, much faster than we are." - Newt Gingrich.
Son, if you "move into space" any quicker than recent photos of you demonstrate, your mass will set up its own black hole.
I just got a visual of Gingrich and Mittens wearing fish bowls on their heads. Something just doesn't click with them, other than the misfiring empty "space revolver that is their brain.
Obama 2012
Yes, we need a more robust space program while cutting taxes some more. Maybe a trip to land the Republican ticket on the surface of the sun.