Newt Gingrich Vows To Establish Colony On Moon If Elected (VIDEO)

COCOA, Fla. -- Newt Gingrich is promising to establish a permanent base on the moon by 2020 if he's elected president.

Gingrich, the former House speaker, told an overflow crowd gathered on Florida's space coast Wednesday that he wants to develop a robust commercial space industry in line with the airline boom of the 1930s. He also wants to expand exploration of Mars.

The pronouncements appeared to thrill the crowd of roughly 700 people. Florida's space coast is still suffering from a recent round of federal cuts to the space program.

But how would Gingrich pay for it?

The Republican presidential contender says he wants to offer prizes to help stimulate investment by the private sector.

Gingrich has mentioned his plans for space travel frequently during the campaign. In a Jan. 23 debate, he said that he would like to go back to the moon "permanently" and get to Mars "as rapidly as possible, building a series of space stations and developing commercial space."

He was later asked if he wanted to use public or private funds for space travel. "Well, the two are not incompatible," he replied. "For example, most of the great breakthroughs in aviation were as a result of prizes. [Charles] Lindbergh flew to Paris for a $25,000 prize. I would like to see vastly more of the money spent encouraging the private sector into a very aggressive experimentation. I would like a leaner NASA. I don't think building a bigger bureaucracy and having a greater number of people sit in rooms and talk gets you there. But if we had a series of goals that we were prepared to offer prizes for, there is every reason to believe you have folks in this country and around the world who would put up an amazing amount of money and would make the space coast literally hum with activity because they'd be drawn to achieve prizes."

Gingrich's futurism goes farther back than the campaign. In his 1995 book, To Renew America, he offered a bold prediction: "honeymoons in space will be the vogue by 2020."

Comments

[Patrick Dunn]

11:10 AM on 02/05/2012

He be smoking with Snoop and pilling wit rush.

[korzib]

06:22 PM on 01/28/2012

The first race to get to the moon was extremely beneficial to the United States.

I am not convinced that a race to settle the moon would not have beneficial aspects. It could divert resources into science and technology education and give us new technologies.

The question remains of where the money would come from to finance this program...

[beobe99]

04:21 PM on 01/28/2012

NOT we will have a Country that is more prosperous, have the Fairest wages, no discrimination, cheapest healthcare, etc..

INSTEAD, We will have a base on the moon..........

AMAZING! Things like setting up a base on the moon is the LAST thing anyone should be talking about now a days. Typical republican trying to establish dominance before helping the people.

[sdried]

03:48 PM on 01/27/2012

How does a "small government" colonize the moon? What will Moonlandia export, cheese?

[Nagarjuna]

03:02 PM on 02/16/2012

Wensleydale?

[ivanczar]

03:10 PM on 01/27/2012

Newt has as much chance to become President as the man in the moon.

[cosmicdart]

03:02 PM on 01/27/2012

We must be careful that the 1% don't fly to their comfortable paradise atomospheric domes on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids, before they nuke us with neutron bombs so they may have Earth all to themselves. We must insist on a just population distribution outside of Earth's orbit for our own safety. We must also station loyal military space cadets wearing redcoats in the colonies to quell rebellions for independence. Never trust anyone wearing a bluecoat. We don't want our colonies rebeling against us. We'll place a tax on tea to finance our space military.

[cosmicdart]

02:31 PM on 01/27/2012

Because of the low gravity on the Moon and the presence of large amounts of metal it should be possible for interactive robots to build atmospheric geodesic metal domes there as much as a mile high and two miles in diameter. We'd be able to fly around in them with jet packs and flying cars. It would be an amazing place in which to live. There would be flower gardens, flowing fountains, little blue birds, and pretty butterflies fluttering about inside, a paradise.

[Fieldpoet]

02:12 PM on 01/27/2012

I'm am indpendent voter looking for someone with vision. We cannot evolve as a society by shuffling paper around in a closed box. Thank you for thinking BIG, Newt! I do think, however, even though a honey"moon" on the "moon" has a certain philological appeal, I think we ought to take some of that defense budget, motivate offshore capital horders back into the system with some form of public/private joint venture incentives, and build a asteroid dectection and defense system/mining project on the moon. Colonolize the moon and protect the whole world with one big project. Some countries might even want to invest in that deal. After all, they are just people too -- waiting for an asteroid to stike our planet and extinct our species.

[lafemme7]

11:44 PM on 01/27/2012

Good luck Newt! On Rachel Maddow's Facebook page: According to the United Nations Treaties and Principles on Outer Space, which I am delighted exists, the moon is not available for colonizing:

The exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind. Outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law, and there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies.

[Fieldpoet]

02:05 PM on 01/28/2012

No private property in space? A man made "treaty" prohibits it? Why bother then? For the good of mankind? Spare me the platitude. Why would any self-respecting contemporary capitalist care of such a notion? Here on earth, it's all about me, the ROI and the horde of capital. I can't believe anyone had the audacity, nay, the legal authority to assign ownership of all of space (a ponderous notion) into a single trust for the good of mankind. Was it done in perpituity? Where were the Republicans when that was going down? I want to see the signatures on that thing too. Besides, it doesn't matter anyway, an asteriod dectection and defense system is good for all mankind - so the treaty shouldn't be an obstacle, except for honeymoons.

[wishescometrue]

01:05 PM on 01/27/2012

So what you are saying is that Newt wasn't just pa.nde.ring to the folks on the space coast. I see.

[magicat]

12:18 PM on 01/27/2012

Yes, Newt (Napoleon..) Gingrich could rule his moon empire in an XXXL space suit. Send the Libertarians to the new frontier too. They would like the vacuum and less of that pesky government stuff they rant about here on earth.

[ConnieDr]

10:00 AM on 01/27/2012

I LOVED Ron Paul's answer, "we really can't afford to do that right now, although we may want to send some of them in washington to the moon" that was priceless and probably what a lot of Americans are thinking right now!

[Richard58]

09:13 AM on 01/27/2012

Guess what, Newt, the moon is so 1960`s. We`ve already been there and done that. Now, if you republican candidates wanted to move there, I wouldn`t have any argument with that!

[LaughingTwo]

09:08 AM on 01/27/2012

As long as NO federal money is involved, have at it. Whatever private company is looking at coloninizing, let them pay. The billion$ it will take simply to develop a vehicle to carry more than 2 people to the lunar surface, the point is moot.

[cosmicdart]

10:05 AM on 01/27/2012

Is our debt really that large? Look at it this way. There are 7 billion people on Earth. Now if each person paid $1857.14 to the Federal Government we'd receive 13 trillion dollars. Debt paid! This is what a broken used car would cost. Only when the Democrats want to spend a little money on poor people are the Conservatives outraged about the deficit. Once the Conservative get into power you're hear "Deficet? What deficet? We gonna spend more money on our pet projects!

[fhmjam]

08:56 AM on 01/27/2012

May as well go on beyond the moon, contact Timothy Leary and absorb his wisdom sitting at his feet as the Greek students did with Aristotle.....lol

[Larry Wilkes]

08:54 AM on 01/27/2012

Yeah Newt..promise them anything. Tell 'em what they what to hear. It's all free to us taxpayers. If you win the nomination the Republlican party is done. Obama will win by a landslide. Both you and Obama are great talkers and of little or no substance. "Fly me to the moon"!

[wishescometrue]

01:08 PM on 01/27/2012

Oh, I see. then that would mean you won't vote in November, Right? right !

[Larry Wilkes]

03:18 PM on 01/27/2012

No I'll vote for Obama. I'd rather have a "bad" Democrat.