Hey, at least Newt wants us to do something with space.

[originalpckelly]

I cannot tell you the number of cool shit that will happen if we can build a moon base. Obama needs to join Newt in saying this.

But we should also be going to more asteroids, there is a ton of mineral resources out there we don't have to crap up earth to get. If only we could be smart.

If we can work in partnership with private industry, we can make space travel a more practical & cheaper thing. So that we can get at these resources more easily and bring them to earth.

**Although I will note that it is strange for someone to be pissy about food stamps, but be willing to do something like this. But we might be able to employ a shit fucking ton of people doing this. They might not need the food stamps.

[n2doc]

1. It's just BS from Newt

He has no way to pay for it. It would probably cost close to a trillion to put a base on the Moon and supply it. That sort of money is reserved for wars, not science or tech.

Just like Shrub's plan to go to Mars. Hot air.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

2. He's saying that now. But I bet he ditches that idea and shacks up with

a different one first chance he gets.

[jeff47]

3. Resources from space aren't cost effective

If we found an asteroid made of solid gold, and if we pretend bringing it to earth wouldn't affect the price of gold, it still costs more to go get it than the gold is worth.

We need to reduce launch costs by 2-3 orders of magnitude before space mining makes any sense. And that's really, really hard to do.

[MineralMan]

8. ^this

[lunatica]

4. He was talking to his audience's interests

[RockaFowler]

12. Correct

He'll say something different when he gets to Minnesota or Nevada

[LiberalEsto]

5. Newt should be appointed ambassador to the Moon.

Then he should be put on a spaceship, sent over and told to stay there until further notice.

[Hugabear]

6. We need to fix problems here on Earth first

The idea of spending money to go to the moon, Mars, or anywhere else while we have people who can't afford health care, shelter, food, etc is sickening.

[WI_DEM]

7. billions that Newt wants to spend on the moon that he would deprive for using to make things

better on earth.

[originalpckelly]

9. Just doing something with the moon will make tons of better things on earth.

Pushing ourselves is the way to do better.

[blm]

10. Yeah well, how about he start exploring that space between his ears, first?

.

[JHB]

11. All Newt and no tail...

Newt can talk about moonbases, but he's not talking about what is needed to do it:
research, heavy engineering and manufacturing, infrastructure investment, like was done during the Cold War and for the Mercury/Gemini/Apollo programs.

Which were done when the top marginal tax rate was 70%, the financial sector was tightly regulated, CEOs like Mitt Romney's father refused bonuses because the equivalent-of-1million-a-year he was making was plenty and no man needed more, strong unions helped circulate those research and development dollars throughout the middle- and lower levels of the economy, etc.

In other words, to go back to the moon, we need to be what these days Republicans define as "socialist".

[Paladin]

13. Newt's Moon Rantings May Appeal To A Few FL Space Industry Types.....

...but to the nation at large, he looks like an even bigger lunatic, grandiose and out-of-touch in the extreme. Keep on talking, Newt: please.......

[blogslut]

14. We're doing plenty with regards to Space

We're just not doing US-based manned missions anymore.