Zeke Miller dug up the bill Congressman Gingrich proposed for providing a path for lunar statehood, the "National Space and Aeronautics Policy Act of 1981":
Gingrich appears to have misstated the number of lunar colonists required for a space-based outpost to apply for statehood — the number is 20,000 for self-government in the original bill, not the 13,000 he mentioned yesterday. Statehood requires the population of the least populous state — or greater than Wyoming's 563,626 people in the 2010 Census.
A reader chimes in:
I’m a liberal Democrat, so there isn’t a chance in hell I would vote for Gingrich, or any of the other GOP candidates for that matter. And yet, I find myself admiring at least this one aspect of Newt – unlike his opponents (and, for that matter, nearly every other national candidate of either party over the last generation), he is willing to think outside the box and he does seem to have a love for "big ideas".
There’s certainly something to be said for rebuilding our space initiatives (although this may not be the best moment in time for it), and his willingness to advocate for this says something not just about Gingrich’s romanticism but also his willingness to consider more visionary, long-range projects. I think there’s something admirable about this.
On the other hand – and it’s a big downside – it seems pretty clear that a good deal of this stems from Newt’s egomania. He espouses grand ideas because he’s in love with the notion that he’s the kind of guy who thinks big thoughts. It’s all about him. This is one big narcissistic trip for him. He throws out ideas like this because he believes it makes him seem smarter and more far-seeing than, and superior to, everyone else – not because he really believes in the merits of the ideas. This is dangerous stuff – a President who is a raging egomaniac, whose principal motivation is to make himself fit his own self-image. Personally, I prefer a President with a healthy but under-control ego, whose principal motivation is to serve the country well. I think we have that guy in office already.
The other part of the downside with Newt is that he lacks any sense of discipline. Why would any serious, thoughtful candidate publicly propose a Moon program at this particular juncture, when the economy is still in the toilet, when we desperately need rebuilding of our infrastructure, investment in technology and new forms of energy and when our schools are deteriorating? If we are going to make a significant investment at this time, wouldn’t pretty much everyone prefer addressing some of these more worldly concerns?
To put it mildly, the timing of this comment by Newt is absolutely terrible; he has shot himself in the foot. And this is merely the latest in a series of comments by Newt over the years which indicate that he has a defective filtering device. Again, is this really a character trait we want in our president?
The Dish 