So Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani showed up at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville for a press conference? And what did he talk about? Abortion and the military, the Huntsville Times reports. Certainly not, as one commenter in the previous post suggested, unveiling plans for a human mission to Mars by 2030. Not that it’s surprising, of course.
Fellow Space Enthusiasts –
Probably Rudy (and the other candidates?) think that the entire long term plan for any space activities will be changed after the next President is selected. So why tie yourself down in some debate, and generate potential conflict with the administration that you hope to replace amicably?
Probably after the Bush administration has been replaced, a lot of programs and policies are going to be entirely changed. A Republican administration would actually have greater political cover to make big changes.
Historical precedent? Who established diplomatic relations with mainland China? Richard Nixon – no one could accuse him of being soft on Communism. Who made it a priority to pass civil rights legislation? A Texas-born President, Lyndon Johnson.
We are probably NOT going to see a lot of mention of space in the coming campaign, since all of our plans and programs are going to be fundamentally changed once any new Administration is in office.
Charles
So why tie yourself down in some debate, and generate potential conflict with the administration that you hope to replace amicably?
It long past the time for amicable relations with this administration, or for republicans of any stripe or color..
A Republican administration would actually have greater political cover to make big changes.
You neocons really do live in the twilight zone. There is just no rational basis for your thoughts at all anymore. Please, by all means, keep up your delusional thoughts and actions for two more years. Every additional month of your delusions adds an additional year of your exile from the American political process.
I’d like to see a Republican for once advocating small government.
Thomas,
I realize you hate this President and (apparently) all Republicans. But that’s kind of irrelevant to this blog, and certainly this topic.
I think Charles is wrong to excuse Rudy for not talking about space out of fealty to GWB ‘s space policy. If anything space is an issue Republican candidates should find it more easy to disagree with this President about
And Christine, my disagreements with this President are precisely about small government issues: medicare prescription drugs is the worst domestic policy initiative since Nixon practiced wage and price controls.
– A Republican
I realize you hate
Republicans sure like to project. I make decisions according to results, where success and failure are based upon quantifiable metrics. I find it hard to hate reality, and only somewhat easier to change. However, it’s fairly easy to measure. You seem to live in some different reality, one based upon rhetoric, and not competence as measured by quantifiable metrics.
Thomas,
read your own words:
>>>>It long past the time for amicable relations with this administration, or for republicans of any stripe or color..
amicable means friendly, or positive. the opposite of hate.
And if you read my response to Christine, you would have seen that I disagree with GWB precisely on areas of failed metrics: gov’t spending, bureaucratic growth, etc…
It appears you’re projecting your fantasies/nightmares about Republicans onto me.
Perhaps we can get back to space policy now.
– Jim
amicable means friendly, or positive. the opposite of hate.
Wow, republicans have such large and sophisticated vocabularies!
It appears you’re projecting your fantasies/nightmares about Republicans onto me.
Yup, it was all my fault. If I had only voted for Bush, everything would have been all right.
Thomas,
Speaking as a liberal Democrat (who has worked on 3 campaigns), while there is a time and a place to go after and piss off Republicians who are standing in the way, this isn’t really one of those tmes. While I am sure Mr Muncy and myself would probably disagree on many policies, it would be a mistake to pick a fight, since he is an ally when it comes to space policy. Having met him twice, its a mistake to consider him being on the same level as GWB.
there is a time and a place to go after and piss off Republicians who are standing in the way, this isn’t really one of those tmes.
Yeah, you’re probably right, maybe we should wait until the national debt is 10 or 12 trillion or so, or maybe we should wait until the body count is a little higher, maybe 5 or 6 thousand. I mean really, we haven’t even hit the 10 grand mark yet. Or maybe we should wait until carbon dioxide is up around 600 ppm. Will it be warm enough for you then? Or maybe we should just make up some fantasy metrics, or not use any metrics at all. That it. Let’s wait until September, maybe we’ll be making some progress by then. I’m wondering right now if we can wait until May 23.
No Ferris, the chances of me backing off by then are just about nil. I think we’ve waited plenty long enough for republicans to show us some demonstrable competence in governance and life, and we’ve been more than amicable about things that are deadly serious. It’s well past time to pull the gloves off and fight like there is nothing else to lose, because frankly, there is nothing else to lose in America anymore. We’ve already pretty much given away the farm to these freaks. Maybe you don’t have the time of day for your children and grandchildren, but I care enough about them, even though they aren’t mine, to do the right thing, and I’m going to do it no matter what anyone says. So have a nice day Mr. Muncie, I’ll be back tomorrow.
I’m adding a link from the Huntsville Times that explains why Rudy was talking about issues other than space exploration.
“Press gets pounded: ‘Ask a real question!’
They weren’t heckling Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, Wednesday afternoon. They were heckling the press.
“Get off this! Please ask a real question!” Joe Massana of Columbus, Ohio, yelled at reporters grilling Giuliani about his somewhat Kerry-esque stand on abortion.
“How about something that matters to the country?” demanded Christopher King of Florida, another tourist watching in disgust.
“Worst performance by the press I’ve ever seen,” Space Center CEO Larry Capps said in passing.
Massana wanted to hear Giuliani on Israel. Clausen wanted his thoughts on welfare reform. King wanted Giuliani’s take on the “economic train wreck” of baby boomer retirement…………….>>>
But note that it’s not reported that anyone cared what he thought about space…
That’s hard to know, isn’t it?
Rand,
At the risk of provoking Mr. Elfritz again, your point speaks volumes.
Speaking at a rostrum labelled “Space & Rocket Center”, Rudy doesn’t get a single question about space. Not one criticizing Bush for wasting money on Mars, or one about not putting enough $ into NASA. Not even the local reporters, who know how important space is to the Huntsville economy, ask a question about space.
Also, on one of the Sunday morning shows, Rudy mentions having been at the [Redstone] “arsenal in Alabama”. But he can’t actually manage to specify any weapons they develop there.
Not exactly a big impact.
– Jim
That obody in the press or audience cares what a republican presidential candidate thinks about space while visiting a national space center, and that the republican candidate somehow neglects to even talk about space (nor even VSE and ESAS) while visiting a national space center, does speak volumes about what the previous eight years of a republican administration has done to America’s space program. He couldn’t have made the almost irreversible damage to America’s technological and scientific prestige more glaringly apparent if he had screamed it out at the top of his lungs on stage.
Such drama Mr. Elifritz.
What have the other candidates said about America’s space program?
What other candidates have toured a NASA center?
Bill Richardson (governor of New Mexico) has been actively supporting the X Prize Cup and has talked about the long term importance of space including private sector involvement.
Richardson probably cannot beat any of the leading Democratic trio: Clinton, Obama or Edwards however Bill Richardson would make a superb choice for Vice President and isn’t the Veep the traditional mentor of NASA within the Executive branch, anyway?
Supporting Bill Richardson in the 2008 Democratic primaries would seem helpful to his Veep selection chances even if he never cracks into the top tier with Obama, Clinton or Edwards.
What have the other candidates said about America’s space program?
Well, Al Gore has actually done things for our space program. I prefer action over promises. Regardless, your beloved moon program is over.
Most of my people are convinced a robust space program is the only thing that even has a chance of addressing global warming (carbon dioxide catastrophe) issues. Now, we have a long hot summer coming up, and some Nobel prizes coming out in October, maybe by then people will have a different more realistic perspective on reality, and more credible options in the form of presidential candidates. However, that reality demonstrably does not include large moon rockets powered by solid rocket boosters shipped from Utah to the cape via train wrecks. What I envision rather are lightweight five meter rocket tanks shipped by aircraft, equipped with solar panels and mated with engines at the launch site, servicing experimental solar powered satellites/hotels/research centers in low earth orbit, and eventually migrating unmanned to high earth orbit and then beyond.
A moon base is simply not in the cards at this stage of the game. VSE was a horrible and costly diversion, like everything else this administration has attempted, and it has served to defeat the ‘manned space exploration’ paradigm once and forever. These things will occur in time, but on a much more Earth centric and rational basis, and not fraudulently and in secret. Budget realities demand it, and planetary realities guarantee it.
Well, Al Gore has actually done things for our space program. I prefer action over promises.
I know he had some Earth watching satellite planned. What happened to that?
What else did Vice President Al Gore do regarding space exploration?Most of my people are convinced a robust space program is the only thing that even has a chance of addressing global warming (carbon dioxide catastrophe) issues.I’m sorry, but I don’t know you, so I don’t know who “your people” are. Please give more details.
Bill Richardson (governor of New Mexico) has been actively supporting the X Prize Cup and has talked about the long term importance of space including private sector involvement.That’s great. All encouragement toward opening up space is a good thing.
I know he had some Earth watching satellite planned. What happened to that?
Same thing that happened to everything else Earth, life and space science related with this administration, sacrificed for an ill advised human exploration mission to the moon. I was more directly referring to the ISS.
I’m sorry, but I don’t know you, so I don’t know who “your people†are
My people working closely with Al Gore on a rational Earth centric space program, addressing very real potentially catastrophic geological issues, of course. You know – the kind of rational space programs which can easily accommodate basic space colonization development as a minor side effect.
The Moon and Mars colliding with the Earth doesn’t happen to be two of those potentially catastrophic future problems, if you haven’t noticed.
You see, George and Michael got us covered on the Moon and Mars thing.
Anne – Gore spoke at last year’s X Prize Cup
(if that link doesn’t work, here is the URL – http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2006/10/23/8349.aspx )
Now, undoubtably there are some who take issue with his stance on space weaponization (and, to anyone interested – no, I don’t want to start that debate), however, if you note the update near the end of the story, you’ll see his support is there. .
Ferris,
Thank you for the link.
Ferris, you left out this killer passage apparently from an e-mail by Charles Miller of CSI:
This is taken from Boyle’s piece but there are so many people quoting others I cannot run it all down.
One of the few areas I agree with Mr. Elifritz is that the space program, as well as our nation and the world, would have been far better off if Mr. Gore had become President. His politics — what I call a technocratic, real world environmentalism — is closer to my own than any other serious politician.
I thought, and argued here, that those Republicans who voted for Mr. Bush because he would commercialize the space industry and storm the final frontier were dreaming, and, nothwithstanding the VSE and an underfunded COTS, events have proven me largely correct.
— Donald
Bill – I was tired when I wrote that – I thought I gave a little more info than just saying he supported it – To reiterate – never post when tired.