The State of Newt

The rap against Mitt Romney is he is out of touch with the common person, not a down to earth guy.  Not so Newt Gingrich.  The former Speaker of the House is out of this world.  Literally.

In a Florida primary appearance near Cape Canaveral last month Gingrich announced that "by the end of my second term" in 2020 he will not only have established a permanent American colony on the moon but it will also serve as a launch pad for going to Mars. Its top tourist attraction could be the Sheldon Adelson Lunar Casino.

Citing a 1787 law, the Northwest Ordinance, Newt said he expects his colony to have 13,000 residents and be eligible for statehood.

But what's good enough for Newt's Moonies isn't good enough for the 620,000 Americans who live in their nation's capital.  Newt has long opposed statehood for the District.

It is the only major world capital where the citizens are ineligible to vote for members of the national legislature.  Maybe that's why their licenses plates say "Taxation Without Representation."

The District of Columbia, with its large number of federal workers, a favorite target of conservatives, has just over 50 percent African-American population.  What's worse, and probably the main reason Gingrich and so many Republicans oppose statehood, is that the District consistently and overwhelmingly votes Democratic. 

Here's the good news:  DC has a better chance of becoming a state than Newt does of becoming President.