Pelosi: this plane isnt big enough for me!

ledvedderman

rearviewmiror wrote:

3rd in line, it makes sense for her to fly private.

A non-stop flight isnt too much of a request.

When the President (Bush or Clinton) flies to a campaign stop using AFone he re-pays the government. The leader of the free world can't just charter a jet. The President should be protected and ferried about in a manner that is most secure. That is AFone.

Do they REALLY pay it back, or do they make a Preidential visit to a state and just so happen to have a fundraiser to attend in the same state

Pacomc79

VictoryGin wrote:

hey if it's good enough for barack obama, it's good enough for me!

seriously though, i can see the benefits of private jet travel for them and i think that if denny got to do that, she should too. however, this could be a good opportunity for her to call out the excesses of the administration and kick off a trend of not using private jets like that. i agree with you.

I can even make a case for them using non commercial small G4's and Citations etc. and the like for that kind of thing. It's still a hell of a lot more expensive than a ticket on a nonstop commercial flight but not unreasonable. There are tons of private air services that they can use that don't cost 300K per flight. That are fast first class and and non stop. They don't have the commercial safety record and are more dangerous but if they have to have it I'm not opposed.

PaperPlates

I'd like to raise my glass and make a toast to drunken pilots, may her big ass plane have one!

ledvedderman

PaperPlates wrote:

I'd like to raise my glass and make a toast to drunken pilots, may her big ass plane have one!

what a horrible thing to say

blackredyellow

Pelosi: I'll fly commercial
Speaker says politics behind whispers she wants a bigger plane
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 12:05 p.m. ET Feb 8, 2007

WASHINGTON - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., hinted her opposition to the war in Iraq is behind the storm over her desire to fly non-stop from Washington to her home in San Francisco.

The speaker insisted she has not requested a plane of any size, but rather asked about the option to fly non-stop. "That's really the issue," Pelosi said, "If they can have a plane that goes cross-country, then I'll take that plane. If they don't, I will go commercial."

Republicans on Wednesday assailed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's request for access to an Air Force transport plane as an extravagance, though former Speaker Dennis Hastert flew in a military jet as well.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Pentagon agreed to provide the House speaker, who is second in the line of presidential succession, with a military plane for added security during trips back home.

Hastert, an Illinois Republican, flew in a small commuter-sized jet. Pelosi and her aides say that because her congressional district is in California, her security would require a larger plane that can fly coast to coast without refueling.

"It's not a question of size, it's a question of distance," Pelosi said Wednesday. "We want an aircraft that can reach California."

"I have told them," Pelosi said, "I would travel cross-country, nonstop, commercially, as I have done and always done, probably... how many times? A thousand times since I've been in Congress. This would be nothing new for me."

Republicans are taking issue with the size of the plane. Pelosi and the Defense Department are discussing letting her fly in a C-32 plane, a military version of the Boeing 757-200. Neither the Speaker's office nor administration sources has ever specifically said that Pelosi has requested the modified 757.

"This is really something that is very strange," Pelosi said, "The Department of Defense - the Pentagon - which I have been a constant critic of [on] the war in Iraq - and where I understand Mr. Rumsfeld still has a desk, even though he is no longer the secretary - has decided that they would go public about a conversation - I mean issue - that applied to the previous speaker."

NBC News reports the Department of Defense sent Pelosi a letter Wednesday night saying it will offer her the same plane offered to Dennis Hastert when he was Speaker of the House. That plane is said to only be capable of reaching San Francisco nonstop under optimal wind conditions.

Speaker Pelosi's office reacted to the offer Thursday morning, saying, "We appreciate the Defense Department's continuing concern for the Speaker's security. We are reviewing their letter"

Pelosi also took a stand on the issue as the first female speaker explaining, "I don't want any less opportunity than the male speakers have had when they have served here."

Rep. Adam Putnam of Florida, the No. 3 Republican leader, said he supported the tradition of House speakers having access to secure airplanes with secure communications in the post-9/11 era, because of their spot in the presidential line of succession. But he called a desire for a large transport "an extravagance of power that the taxpayers won't swallow."

Some Republicans have argued that Pelosi could use a larger plane to offer trips to top political donors as a reward for their contributions.

"It's important we see what the specific request was," Putnam said.

Asked about the flap, White House spokesman Tony Snow on Wednesday noted that after the 2001 suicide hijackings the Pentagon, with White House consent, agreed to provide military transport to the speaker of the House.

"What is going on is that the Department of Defense is going through its rules and regulations and having conversations with the speaker about it," he said. "So, Speaker Hastert had access to military aircraft, and Speaker Pelosi will, too."

Pelosi is aware of President Bush's support on the matter, and said, "Whatever the source of this misrepresentation - mischaracterization - I know for certain that its not coming from the President of the United States. If anything, he's encouraged me to have the security that I need."

But, she added, looking at the whole issue, "I don't even like having the security. I'd rather travel with my friends on the plane to California and get some work done then to get engaged in this."
© 2007 MSNBC Interactive

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17035721/

desandrews

As long as she fuels the jet with something that doesn't harm the environment, something other than ExxonMobile jet fuel, I don't care. Well, I guess she can buy Citgo because that money doesn't go to US citizens it goes to other friendlier folks. If she's serious about the environment she'd telecommute.

floyd1975

desandrews wrote:

If she's serious about the environment she'd telecommute.

There are a lot of legislators doing this right now.

VictoryGin

zstillings wrote:

There are a lot of legislators doing this right now.

yeah and we all know what it means to "work from home."

PaperPlates

ledvedderman wrote:

what a horrible thing to say

What a horrible woman. Nuff said.

flywallyfly

Republicans are really reaching on this one, especially when the Whitehouse calls them on their distortions.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070208/ap_on_go_co/pelosi_plane;_ylt=AuiCxo.6t1zIr4W2cqJPA_Ws0NUE

The White House on Thursday defended House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) against Republican criticism that her desire to fly in an Air Force transport plane is an extravagance.

"This is a silly story and I think it's been unfair to the speaker," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

Snow on Thursday said the negotiations over Pelosi's transport have been conducted solely by the House sergeant-at-arms and the Pentagon, with no direct involvement by the speaker or her office — or the White House.

blackredyellow

Like the Obama madrassa story, the right wing commentators had a circle jerk over this story, and will still make comments about her wanting a bigger plane after the truth came out...


House security chief: Pelosi didn't ask for plane; I did

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not request a larger plane for personal use to travel cross-country without stopping, Bill Livingood, the House sergeant at arms, said Thursday.

Livingood said the request was his, and he made it for security reasons.

"The fact that Speaker Pelosi lives in California compelled me to request an aircraft that is capable of making non-stop flights for security purposes, unless such an aircraft is unavailable," Livingood, who has been at his post for 11 years, said in a written statement.

"I regret that an issue that is exclusively considered and decided in a security context has evolved into a political issue," the statement said.

Pelosi is striking back against accusations she asked for a plane larger and more expensive than the one used by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, a claim published last week in The Washington Times.(Watch Pelosi call the GOP charges "a myth"Video)

The Times article, headlined "Pelosi's Power Trip -- Non-stop Nancy Seeks Flight of Fancy," led the Republican National Committee to send out a research briefing and blast Pelosi on the House floor.

The article said Pelosi asked the Pentagon for "routine access" to a military plane "not only for herself and her staff, but also for relatives and for other members of the California delegation," quoting sources "familiar with the discussions."

"I have never asked for a larger plane," Pelosi said. "This is a myth that they are talking about on the floor."

The White House also stood behind Pelosi.

"As speaker of the House, she is entitled to military transport and ... the proper arrangements are being made between the Sergeant of Arms Office in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Department of Defense," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

"We think it's appropriate," he added. "And so, again, I think this is much ado about not a whole lot. It is important for the speaker to have this kind of protection and travel."

On Wednesday, the Pentagon sent a letter to Pelosi's office with guidance about travel regulations. The letter said the military would make "every effort" to provide a non-stop flight to Pelosi's home district, but "such support is subject to aircraft type and availability and therefore may not always be guaranteed." (Read the Pentagon's letter to Speaker Pelosi -- PDF)

Pelosi's family would have to reimburse the Air Force if they used the aircraft, the letter stated.

Meanwhile, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said on Thursday that he's planning hearings this spring on executive and congressional travel on military aircraft.

Murtha said he's requested from the Defense Department records on travel and logistics from the past two years. He asked the Defense Department to hand those over within a month.

Some House Republicans on Thursday were pressing for an amendment on the floor on Pelosi's use of a military plane, according to Murtha.

Murtha predicted that Pelosi would end up getting a plane that would be able to fly across country without stopping to refuel.

"I'm seldom wrong on these kinds of predictions," he said.


http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/09/pelosi.plane/index.html

Purple Hawk

hippiemom wrote:

And yes, obviously, she should be able to fly non-stop to her district.

seriously? obvious? no, it's not obvious. it may be worthwhile to actually weigh costs vs. benefits. this isn't really about partisanship...but it's all about government waste....if it costs you 3 times as much to not fly non stop...then why is it so obvious that she should be able to do so. do you HONESTLY think that those benefits outweigh the costs?