NASA
Gingrich defends lunar ambitions
GOP contender says talk in Florida of building a moon base "was not some slip."
Newt Gingrich said he’s dead serious about reviving America’s efforts to compete with other world powers in space.
“This was not some slip, this was a deliberate effort to start a conversation,” the former speaker said on NBC’s Meet the Press, standing behind his talk during the Florida primary of returning man to the moon.
Gingrich’s lunar hopes have been fodder for comics and pundits alike. Asked if Gingrich still had a path to winning the nomination, GOP strategist Alex Castellanos deadpanned Sunday: “On the moon, yes. But here, no.”
Gingrich said he’s the candidate of “big ideas, big solutions” and that he didn’t want to cede outer space to Russia and China. He said he wasn’t proposing to spend more scarce federal dollars on space efforts, but to “unleash” American entrepreneurial efforts.
NEXT STORY: White House names new procurement policy chief