Romney vs Gingrich vs Ron Paul: Which GOP candidate is most supportive of mining?

Just to prove that Newt is no fool and supports mining, here from The American a piece that leads me to believe that with Newt as president, we would be off to the moon to mine, and maybe to the Grand Canyon—where, as we know, Obama opposes mining.  Damn – we could have Newt mine a moon-landscape at the Grand Canyon and save all the money on those unreliable spacecraft.  Judge for yourself from this news report:

When presidential candidate Mitt Romney ridiculed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for favoring a mining colony on the moon during a recent presidential debate, he undoubtedly thought he was scoring political points.  But anyone watching who had ever thrilled to Stanley Kubrick’s thoughtful depiction of interplanetary travel in 2001: A Space Odyssey likely admired the Speaker’s spirited defense of his off-world agenda.

Part of the problem about mining the Grand Canyon to a moonscape is that most of the claims are owned and financed by those socialists in Canada – or at least the Vancouver junior mining industry.  Maybe that is why this report from Montreal’s The Gazette that Ron Paul’s fortune is mainly invested in Canadian junior mining companies should give up hope and a reason to support him become president.  Just think, if the following is true, as soon as Paul becomes president, mining by those Vancouver juniors around the Canyon will explode and Ron will be the richest president in history.

Recent financial disclosure statements from the controversial Republican presidential candidate known for his libertarian leanings and disdain for paper currency show 64% of Mr. Paul’s portfolio invested in gold and silver mining stocks, with a big chunk of them Canada-based junior resource companies.  Diversification issues aside, it’s a pretty big bet on one of the riskiest investments in Canadian equity.  Junior miners, by and large, are companies built on the potential of undeveloped resource projects. The problem is, it takes time and money to turn a gold discovery into a gold mine. And these projects are never a sure thing, even at the best of times.

   Not to let that skinny princess who has a coal mining grandfather corner all the attention, we now learn that Ann Romney is also of Welsh mining stock.  Why she has even gone back to Wales and gone to a mine.  When she is first lady, she can visit as many mines as she likes right here in the USA—unless Obama closes them all in the next few months.

From The Mail Online:

Mrs Romney’s grandfather David Davies was a coalminer who worked down the Coegnant Colliery close to his home in the village of Nantyffyllon, near Maesteg.  But when a coal cart crushed into him he lost a kidney, leaving the family worried for their future. So he took the bold and brave decision to move to the U.S. in 1929 and soon earned enough money to pay for his wife Annie and son Edward to join him, despite their initial reluctance to leave Wales behind.  And now Mr Romney’s advisers are hoping that the incredible story of his wife’s Welsh roots – which follows the classic American dream ideal – can help to lead him to success with the Republican nomination and then the White House.  But one thing is clear. Mrs Romney is extremely proud of her Welsh roots, which she has passed on to her five sons.  On a visit to Wales, the family even went down a mine to experience the conditions that their ancestors faced.  But whether it is enough to secure the Republican nomination for Mr Romney, only time will tell.

All this family history may impress the USA mining-supporting voter.  But the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) which is much like and probably worse than NPR in this country, offers this sarcastic comment:

Local county councillor Ken Hunt said it was not an area where Republican policies would find much support.

“I’m an independent but it is very much Labour,” he said. “It is an area of high deprivation. The last coal mines shut in the 1980s. Most industry has gone. The biggest employer is the bakery in Nantyffyllon. But it’s not all doom and gloom. A lot of landscaping has been done to repair the scarring [of the land] from mining and the iron works. The valley is recovering well. Like everywhere else it is jobs that we need.”

Who knows, the fact that the Welsh coal mines are shut, local industry (baking) is flourishing, and the area is being reclaimed, may make even the most avid Democratic environmentalist sentimental for the good old times and hence support Mrs. Romney’s husband.  Just imagine Ann touring America, going from one mine reclamation project to another.  It is enough to make Disney come up with a new tear-jerker movie, The Coal Mine Princess.

And a final salute to America’s royal families: The Bushes are the first; the Clintons second; and maybe soon the Romneys.  They have enough sons for presidents enough to see my grandkids through their careers.  At least we know the Widsors will still be on the throne seventy years hence.  So at least one miner wil see his progeny on the throne.

PS.  A final thought on mining presidents, as recalled in this quote from 08 Hayabusa:

The fortune Hoover amassed in his early thirties as a successful mining engineer and executive probably compares favorably to Romney’s net wealth today.  And Hoover garnered worldwide fame in managing food programs that saved the lives of millions of Belgians at the outbreak of World War I, Armenians in the aftermath, and countless Russians in the early 1920s.  Romney’s rescue of the Salt Lake City Olympics might not have been as dramatic as Hoover’s vast humanitarian relief, but Romney’s efforts reflect a similar managerial skill.