Politics of space funding

> From: Xenophile
> Can we talk about space?

Fair deal, but unless you know of a good simple way of getting your hands on
a few billion dollars, then sooner or later we'll need to talk about
politicians. In America they seem to regard NASA as merely a rather boring
way of getting government money and jobs directed towards their
constituents. They don't think that way about other parts of government. The
police and army are there to do a job, not just serve as a political vehicle
for moving money around. How can we get politicians to view space efforts in
the same light?

In other nations, how can we get them to view space as important at all?
Replacing Trident might work as a technology R&D scheme in the UK, and
France in a few years time. What about elsewhere?

How can space exploitation and/or settlement be presented as something which
helps them win their next election?

John