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| And Thank You For Flying Air Pelosi.... |
| 2007-02-01 |
| H/T to Captain's Quarters. I've got no real heartburn with Rep. Pelosi - in her OFFICIAL function as Speaker Of The House - usuing USAF tranport. She's third in the line of succession;, that's reasonable. It's what she wants instead that is far from reasonable. It didn't take long for Nancy Pelosi to create the imperial Speakership. She has requested that the Pentagon supply her with military aircraft at all times, and not just for herself, but also for her staff, her colleagues, and her family: The office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pressing the Bush administration for routine access to military aircraft for domestic flights, such as trips back to her San Francisco district, according to sources familiar with the discussions. The sources, who include those in Congress and in the administration, said the Democrat is seeking regular military flights not only for herself and her staff, but also for relatives and for other members of the California delegation. A knowledgeable source called the request "carte blanche for an aircraft any time." "They are pressing the point of her succession and that the [Department of Defense] needs to play ball with the speaker's needs," one source said. The request originally went to the Pentagon, which then asked the White House to weigh in. Mrs. Pelosi's request is not new for a speaker, who is second-in-line in presidential succession. A defense source said the speaker's regular access to a military plane began after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Rep. J. Dennis Hastert, Illinois Republican, who was speaker at the time, started using U.S. Air Force planes for domestic travel to and from his district for security reasons. A former Hastert aide said the congressman did not use military planes for political trips or regularly transport his family. I'm not even sure that the succession is good enough reason to meet the demand for the House Speaker, even if Denny Hastert used that reasoning. The Speaker is second in line for the Presidency in the case of the death of the President and Vice-President, and therefore deserves some special security protocols. It doesn't take a military flight to implement those, especially just to fly home on the weekends. This request by Pelosi goes far beyond even that questionable consideration. Pelosi's staff doesn't have anything to do with the succession, and neither do her colleagues in the House. The military is not a charter service for politicians who want to avoid using the same airports as the rest of the hoi polloi. The military has other responsibilities, especially in a time of war, and pampering Congressmen shouldn't take precedence over them. That most certainly applies to flying Pelosi's family around, too. I seem to recall that Pelosi and her party ran on the notion that the Republicans had grown too fat over the perquisites of power. The GOP lost touch with the people of America, they claimed, and let power go to their heads -- and certainly in some cases they were right. It's hard to square that rhetoric with these new demands that the Pentagon start providing free charter flights to Democratic politicians and their staffs and families at a moment's notice. |
| Posted by:Mike Kozlowski |
| #10 YOUTUBE > FOREIGN IMPERIALISM MEANS THE END OF THE END OF THE REPUBLIC, + ASIATIMES > Nemesis at America's Door > Amer may explode due to high national and foreign indebture controlled by foreign nations, + domestic democracy is incompatible wid military-centric foreign imperialism. IOW, AMERS WILL KILL THEIR COUNTRY WID THEIR EYES WIDE OPEN. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-02-01 20:15 |
| #9 Pilot: "Wrong Way" Corrigan... |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-02-01 17:12 |
| #8 Maybe the Iranian air force will loan a couple of their transports for this purpose. |
| Posted by: GK 2007-02-01 17:02 |
| #7 I wonder if they've got an old C-47 in storage someplace? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-02-01 15:26 |
| #6 Haha, put her in a C130. :D |
| Posted by: Anon4021 2007-02-01 14:41 |
| #5 Won't that contribute to the dreaded global warming? Official travel for all senators / representatives, yes, but carte blanche, I don't think so. the rank and file gov't employees have to file commercial coach cattle car class; why can't they????? |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-02-01 14:40 |
| #4 I have no problem with her flying military flights. Take a bench with soldiers in transit. Her family can fly too - but it might be better if they enlisted first. But she no doubt wants a dedicated executive jet and crew at her constant disposal - not a good general practice (not even a good General practice). |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-02-01 13:14 |
| #3 I don't believe the Speaker should have access to military transport. The President and Vice-President have broad national responsibilities as laid out in the Constitution and require the resources to carry them out. The Speaker may be first among equals, but her responsibilities are to represent her district and her district should provide those resources. The "third in line" carries no weight with me, because it is simply an argument about where to draw that line. Third? Fourth? Everyone in congress? (note that Pelosi is trying to wrap in the rest of the California delegation; think other state delegations will want in on this deal?) I think drawing it at two is just fine. Including Hastert was a mistake. Finally, I want my congress people, and their families, to fly the same planes I do. The less time they spend on commercial aircraft the less they will care about them. |
| Posted by: DoDo 2007-02-01 12:18 |
| #2 Since Pelosi and the Democrats dont believe we are threatened by Islamists and we should not be actively fighting any of them then she or her friends/family/staff/pets do not require the extra security. Therefore the only reason for the request is so she and the others can get free airfare paid by the taxpayer. |
| Posted by: BrerRabbit 2007-02-01 12:12 |
| #1 I know many of you will disagree but I don’t see why this service should not be extended to the Speaker and her family. She is in a position of prominence and her family (right or wrong) shares the danger that comes with that position. It’s not hard to imagine somebody wanting exploit a situation when they find out they are on the same flight of a relative of the Speaker’s. As long it doesn’t become “Air Pelosi” this is the exact mission of the executive flying Wing based at Andrews AFB. If it does become Air Pelosi you can bet that information will come out in a CBO review. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2007-02-01 11:58 |