JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Newt Gingrich’s ideas to expand space exploration would get him fired in a world run by Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney.
“If I had a business executive come to me and say I want to spend a few billion dollars to go to the moon I would say, ‘You’re fired,'” Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, said during a GOP debate here Thursday. “We have got to say no to this kind of stuff.”
Romney made the remarks in response to Gingrich’s proposals to expand U.S. space exploration by dedicating 10 percent of NASA’s budget to “prizes” for innovation and research.
“If we had a handful of serious prizes you would have an extraordinary number of people trying to get to the moon first,” the former House speaker said. Gingrich would establish the first permanent U.S. base on the moon if he is elected president, he said.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum sided with Romney on the issue, saying the U.S. cannot afford to subsidize trips to space.
“Well, I don’t think we should go to the moon,” Paul said. “I think maybe we should sent some politicians up there.”
