Postscript- case in point: Gingrich’s CPAC address today touched on all the usual talking points save one- noticably missing from “Newt Gingrich – Moon President’s” lecture was any reference to his lunar base/colony proposal.

“First there is a good chance that Newt can turn this around.”

Nonsense. Everytime he– he being “Newt Gingrich, Moon President” opens his mouth he does more damage to spaceflight advocacy. Abnd space policy is the focus of this forum, not general politics.

A power that has nothing to do with the dreaded taikonauts.Indeed, from this conservative point of view it would be nice if they wasted more money on astronaut frivolities like we do. That money would come out of their businesses making them less competitive, at the margin, like it does here.

And let’s not hear any more of that “it’s such a small fraction of the budget” nonsense. Every bureaucrat wasting money can say that about their own budget. Every single one. It has no bearing on the issue of whether they are wasting money or not.

maybe but I am not so sure.

First there is a good chance that Newt can turn this around…as I noted (as did others) he needs to come up with a plan of attack on this…but I think that they are trying to do that.

Second…the GOP field right now is not “cut and dried”.

If all things were “Normal” Willard should have this sewn up by now…but he clearly does not and then one is left with figuring out how a front runner (Willard) who cant seal the deal, Newt a flawed but entertaining candidate, and Sweater Ricky who is a right wing evangelical nut cake…what his high end base of support is.

We will see about a lot of this. The “god wing” of the GOP claims (see Ricky’s speech this morning) that it is the GOP. And in fact represents large blocks of America…I am not so sure that they do on either count…and if they dont Ricky S goes nowhere…but I dont see Willard picking up either Ricky’s support or that of Newts…GOP primaries look more like SC then Florida…ie there are more extremist.

So see how this plays out.

Newt has the chance to turn his “lunar fiasco” Into something usable that could resonate well. There is a time a moment where he can start this…the GOP faithful are all excited about birth control now…but the moment might come.

This could be a long hard slog…RGO

MW: Even if you totally eliminated the $8 billion a year, NASA spends of manned spaceflight, it would take nearly 2000 years for those savings to reduce or $15 trilllion debt. But since NASA spending actually creates more wealth than it consumes, such a cut would actually increase our debt.

The fact that a fascist state that oppress its own people while strongly supporting American enemies like Iran and North Korea– may soon become the most powerful economy on Earth is cause for alarm, IMO.

China is not a paper tiger!

Marcel F. Williams

No, they were revealed to be staunch advocates of the NASA astronaut office and industry executives protecting their blatant earmark contract profits.

If the Augustine Committee report had been definitively blunt we would not still be saddled with the SLS and MPCV. There is no way around that result.

I look forward to the theater of Augustine 2 at some time in the near future.

I suspect the answer is Senator Barbara Mikulski.

Let’s not forget that the GOP House majority voted to kill JWST for FY 12. When the budget got to the Senate, Mikulski (D-MD) saved JWST because she is chairwoman of the Senate’s science subcommittee.

JWST gets saved because Mikulski will make sure it does. JWST is being built in her state so all she cares about are Maryland pork.

Who’s in a position of power to save the next Mars mission?

That’s not a flippant question. I ask in all sincerity. Where would it be built? Who is that locale’s senator and is that person in a position to fight for Mars pork?

Mikulski was re-elected in 2010 so she’s in position until 2016 or the Senate majority removes her from the chair of that subcommittee.

“That would at this stage of the GOP nominating process be a goofy conclusion.”

Nonsense. He has no chance, no gravitas, no credibility and has become the necessary go-to clown in the media now that Cain and Perry and Bachmann are out of it. And every time he opens his mouth, the inevitable “Newt Gingrich, Moon President” reference comes up, lampooning his credibility in the media even more while doing continuing damage to any serious discussion of space policy for months- if not years. Case in point, Simberg’s laughable spin. The readers of this forum have an interest in advancing viable space policies not the Gingrich Follies.