Heard about this “Pelosi wants a military jet” crap going on? Well Josh is all over it:
Below we noted that the Washington Times story about Nancy Pelosi’s demand for a military aircraft for travel back to her district appears to be a crock. According to Thinkprogress and reporting in Roll Call, former Speaker Denny Hastert used a military plane for travel to history district. But the plane he used couldn’t carry enough fuel to fly nonstop across the country.
A Pelosi aide told Roll Call: “The Air Force determined that [Pelosi’s] safety would be best ensured by using a plane that has the fuel capacity to go coast-to-coast. All we’re asking for is what Hastert had.”
So this seems to be the issue: a military aircraft for the Speaker has been the rule since 9/11. But a larger plane is needed for Pelosi since she flies back and forth to California, not Illinois.
I can fully understand having the Speaker of the House being granted this kind of security after 9/11. I knew Hastert had it and never complained. The Speaker is 3rd in line for the Presidency and it would be a good idea to make sure they are safe. What gets me is how this is now an issue because Pelosi wants it they want Pelosi to have it.
Of course there have been other similar issues that have not received this amount of attention. Here is one from last year:
It would seem the Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS), Michael Leavitt, has been using a GulfStream 3 jet that belongs to the Centers for Disease Control for his own private agenda.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the private jet has been used on several occasions to transport the secretary to events all across the US, which comes to a total of around $700,000 (just this year). The primary purpose of the jet, however, is to quickly transport personnel and equipment in the event of an emergency, not act as the secretary’s personal aircraft.
Now think about that. Leavitt was using the CDC’s first responder jet to go around and promote Bush’s screwed up Medicare plan. Last year! What was happening last year that would possibly require the CDC to use that jet? Oh yeah – all that bird flu stuff!
Of course the original Pelosi article is sourced to the Washington Times and they have about as much credibility as Bush himself. It was nothing but a hit piece at Pelosi that the Times has decided to twist around to serve their own political slant. Of course CNN is now jumping on the bandwagon and it looks like they are following the same lack of reporting that the Washington Times did.
Here is an option. Perhaps we do away with the Air Force transporting any politician around. That means even George Bush losses Air Force One. We are the only nation on the planet who goes through all this stuff to protect our elected officials. Come on – if Tony Blair can fly commercial so can Bush, Cheney and even Pelosi. Conservatives should love this plan – think of all the extra money dumped back into the corporations if we did this.