Pander: to do what somebody wants, or try to please them, especially when this is not acceptable or reasonable (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary).
I don’t think I’m stretching the truth too much when I say that most politicians will say just about anything to get elected. After all, it’s well known that presidential candidates run to the extreme wing of their respective parties during a primary and start running more to the center of the party during a general election.
Case in point: Newton Leroy Gingrich.
Mr. Gingrich, who is never at a loss for words, has said some remarkable things in the last week or so. Starting with the promise to have an American permanent base on the moon by the end of his 2nd term (talk about having a positive outlook), to vowing to preemptively striking either or both Iran and North Korea should he feel the need to do so, to stating that he would direct his State Department to both recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the American embassy there.
Nothing about jobs for the vast majority of Americans who are both unemployed and actively looking for work.
Is Gingrich assuming that he’ll have an Republican congress following behind him like a lost puppy? Or is he going to enact his legislative agenda via executive orders?
But I’d like to focus on just one of Gingrich’s outlandish promises - the colonization of the moon. Because no matter what you call it, establishing a permanent base on the moon has the effect of colonizing the moon. Say what you will about Gingrich, he’s not stupid. But, I have to wonder if he really thinks that by no later than 2021, when he supposedly leaves office following his 2nd term, we’ll have the infrastructure in place to support permanent habitation on the moon? And what about the so-called “Moon Treaty” (formerly known as Agreement Governing the Activities of the States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies) which prohibits any one country from laying claim to the moon and instead provides for international jurisdiction? Conveniently for Gingrich, the United States never got around to signing that treaty. For that matter, neither did any country that has an active space program. Of course, a permanent base is going to require protection which will effectively mean the militarization of the moon. Does he imagine neither Russia or China will care about what we’re doing up there? I have a feeling they will care. I imagine they would have a strong reaction. I imagine they’ll be concerned about a military base located on the moon.
While this might be good news for the possibly thousands of engineers and technicians who have experience working on space programs (assuming that the private contractors that Gingrich envisions developing the necessary hardware to support his vision actually hire unemployed former NASA employees), what does this mean for the rest of the unemployed Americans who are looking for work?
Well, we’re SOL. Again.
If, for some reason, Gingrich is elected to the presidency, I don’t believe he’ll follow through with this pledge. First of all, I don’t think he meant it when he first said it. He was simply trying to raise the hopes of unemployed (or soon to be unemployed) NASA employees in hopes that they would vote for him. Second, does he think Congress will appropriate the funds necessary to support this boondoggle? And while he dreams of private contractors taking the lead, will a government agency have oversight? Who will ensure the safety and well being of the astronauts/colonizers who embark on this mission?
I don’t think he has the answer to these questions. I don’t think he really believes this is feasible. I think he’s pandering.
Don’t we deserve more? Don’t we deserve politicians that have real solutions to our very real problems? Mr. Gingrich doesn’t seem to offer a realistic solution to our national problems. We deserve more, we deserve better.
Let’s hope Newt and Calista never have the opportunity to redecorate the Oval Office.
I don’t think I’m stretching the truth too much when I say that most politicians will say just about anything to get elected. After all, it’s well known that presidential candidates run to the extreme wing of their respective parties during a primary and start running more to the center of the party during a general election.
Case in point: Newton Leroy Gingrich.
Mr. Gingrich, who is never at a loss for words, has said some remarkable things in the last week or so. Starting with the promise to have an American permanent base on the moon by the end of his 2nd term (talk about having a positive outlook), to vowing to preemptively striking either or both Iran and North Korea should he feel the need to do so, to stating that he would direct his State Department to both recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the American embassy there.
Nothing about jobs for the vast majority of Americans who are both unemployed and actively looking for work.
Is Gingrich assuming that he’ll have an Republican congress following behind him like a lost puppy? Or is he going to enact his legislative agenda via executive orders?
But I’d like to focus on just one of Gingrich’s outlandish promises - the colonization of the moon. Because no matter what you call it, establishing a permanent base on the moon has the effect of colonizing the moon. Say what you will about Gingrich, he’s not stupid. But, I have to wonder if he really thinks that by no later than 2021, when he supposedly leaves office following his 2nd term, we’ll have the infrastructure in place to support permanent habitation on the moon? And what about the so-called “Moon Treaty” (formerly known as Agreement Governing the Activities of the States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies) which prohibits any one country from laying claim to the moon and instead provides for international jurisdiction? Conveniently for Gingrich, the United States never got around to signing that treaty. For that matter, neither did any country that has an active space program. Of course, a permanent base is going to require protection which will effectively mean the militarization of the moon. Does he imagine neither Russia or China will care about what we’re doing up there? I have a feeling they will care. I imagine they would have a strong reaction. I imagine they’ll be concerned about a military base located on the moon.
While this might be good news for the possibly thousands of engineers and technicians who have experience working on space programs (assuming that the private contractors that Gingrich envisions developing the necessary hardware to support his vision actually hire unemployed former NASA employees), what does this mean for the rest of the unemployed Americans who are looking for work?
Well, we’re SOL. Again.
If, for some reason, Gingrich is elected to the presidency, I don’t believe he’ll follow through with this pledge. First of all, I don’t think he meant it when he first said it. He was simply trying to raise the hopes of unemployed (or soon to be unemployed) NASA employees in hopes that they would vote for him. Second, does he think Congress will appropriate the funds necessary to support this boondoggle? And while he dreams of private contractors taking the lead, will a government agency have oversight? Who will ensure the safety and well being of the astronauts/colonizers who embark on this mission?
I don’t think he has the answer to these questions. I don’t think he really believes this is feasible. I think he’s pandering.
Don’t we deserve more? Don’t we deserve politicians that have real solutions to our very real problems? Mr. Gingrich doesn’t seem to offer a realistic solution to our national problems. We deserve more, we deserve better.
Let’s hope Newt and Calista never have the opportunity to redecorate the Oval Office.
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