Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and twice failed Presidential Candidate, is likely running for the United States Senate from the state of Utah. One issue that may rise to haunt him concerns an exchange he had with former Speaker Newt Gingrich concerning the latter’s proposal to build a Moon Base by the year 2020, six years ago, during the 2012 Republican primaries. Utah has a vibrant aerospace and defense sector that will benefit from President Trump’s plan to return to the moon. Romney’s current view regarding returning to the moon should be considered by Utah, rather than the negative position he took back in 2012.

Romney gives a non-answer to the question of NASA funding

In the first clip, from January 23, 2012, we see an exchange between Romney and Gingrich concerning the question of NASA funding. Romney gives kind of a non-answer in which he claims that NASA should gather with some of the best minds of academia, and the commercial sector, to figure out America's direction, in space, going forward. He doesn’t commit to any direction, however. Gingrich revived an old idea of his about using prizes to stimulate the private sector to get America back to the moon and on to Mars.

Gingrich proposes the moon base

Next, from January 25, 2012, Newt Gingrich makes his moon base proposal. Along with the idea of a permanent base on the lunar surface by 2020, the former speaker revives an old idea of his to make a moon colony the 51st state of the union.

Romney lowers the boom

Finally, the next day, Romney mocked the idea of building a moon base. He ridicules the idea that corporate America would want to spend “hundreds of billions of dollars” to build a colony on the moon.

What corporate America wants to do on the moon

It should be noted that, six years later, corporate America has some ambitions regarding the moon that Romney probably never imagined back during the 2012 election cycle.

Many companies and testing the waters; small companies such as Astrobotic and Moon Express, large companies such as Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, one of the wealthiest men In the world. Each of these appear to be very eager to join in on a return to the moon effort led by NASA. The idea of a moon base has become, as someone once said, pretty cool.

Some enterprising journalist in Utah really should put the question to Romney once he decides to run for the Senate. Do you still think building a base on the moon is a crazy idea? If you do think so, why? If you don’t think so, why not? Romney's answer should be illuminating, to say the least.