The Hill Poll: Voters reject Newt’s lofty lunar ambitions

Newt Gingrich’s proposal for a lunar colony still has a long way to go before it meets with voters’ approval.

The Hill Poll found that just 1 in 5 likely voters support the idea of a permanent American base on the moon. By contrast, 64 percent are opposed to the idea.

Gingrich said on Jan. 25 that there would be a permanent U.S. base on the moon by the end of his second term, if he were elected president.

He has defended the idea since then, arguing that the United States should pursue bold projects. He has implied a parallel between his belief in this realm and the actions of past presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, who advocated, respectively, for a transcontinental railroad and a manned mission to the moon.

But the proposal has been used against him by the campaign of his archrival Mitt Romney, which has sent out news releases with subject lines including “Ground Control to Major Newt” and “Newt promised Floridians the moon.”

Disapproval of the idea was high among all demographics. Men, however, were considerably less likely to scoff than were women. Twenty-six percent of men approved of the idea, compared to only 14 percent of women.

Click here to view data from The Hill poll.

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