In the absence of "man-rated" launch vehicles, how are we to get the crew there?
A nice long rope ladder?
Mind you, I'm all for a lavishly funded manned space program, the world seems full of scientists easily diverted into unpleasant "doomsday machine" projects, space exploration tends toward peaceful applications and all like that.
But as usual, Newt's Lavish Promise comes with no revenue plan to back it up, so likely this notion will whither in due course, assuming it is ever honestly debated in congress.
Being a former congressman and unusually attuned to the political power of earmarks, Gingrich normally has a good ear for potentiallocal Federal projects that can attract voters on primary day. In New Hampshire he talked about reopening the Veteran's Hospital in Manchester, an entirely sensible idea.
But when he got to Cape Canaveral, his already discussed tendency towards "magical thinking" got the better of him, promising a moonbase that neither NASA nor the private sector can deliver on as currently configured and funded.
He may as well have promised to make Pellucidar the 51st State.
The best Gingrich had to offer by way of funding was to solicit the private sector for ideas has to how to pay for it all.
Well, I'd start with Mortgage Backed Securities and maybe a sweetheart book deal or two, that'll get things started.
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