Pelosi Jet Request Sparks Debate

[Psycho4Bud]

that new direction is straight into democrat pockets instead of republican pockets, so technically it wasn't a lie:S2:

love the bela pelosi bit

But the Republican Speaker of the House didn't need that big of a plane. In the end, their all politicians.......that should pretty much say it all.

Have a good one!:s4:

[Zimzum]

I say make them all fly on commercial airliners. I think most of the British Parliament does. Save some tax money from not having all the maintenance and fuel costs. Maybe give them there own personal air marshal for protection if its needed.

Or maybe instead of handing over free money to Amtrak we can buy our politicians some train tickets and boost the economy at the same time

[Bong30]

Yeah Zim fly them first class...

sounds reasonable to me....give them some protection and stick them on the red eye......

[delusionsofNORMALity]

Yeah Zim fly them first class...

sounds reasonable to me....give them some protection and stick them on the red eye......

make the suckers fly coach with the rest of the rabble.

[Bong30]

Come on she is the speaker of the house.....

business class....LOL

[notransfer]

uhh this is all because...she wants to...not stop once?
if they took that c-33 or whatever you can guarantee they gotta pimp it out with a bed and a bar and etc etc etc...pimped out seats just so one bitch can fly and not stop once..this kinda angers me

sounds retarded..no care...smear campaigns

[PatrickHenry]

I'm willing to compromise; BUSINESS CLASS! That's it, my final offer.

[Psycho4Bud]

I'm willing to compromise; BUSINESS CLASS! That's it, my final offer.

JUST for her.......her family pays their own way!

DAMN Patrick.......we agree???? :S2:

Have a good one!:s4:

[delusionsofNORMALity]

I'm willing to compromise; BUSINESS CLASS! That's it, my final offer.

if you're going to throw down the gauntlet like that, we'll just make the damn bitch walk.

[birdgirl73]

Well, it looks like she's not getting her plane after all. And I definitely agree that politicians and government should be a bastion of frugality. That's one of my concerns with this war spending--and with pork-barrel politics (which, I hasten to add, Hastert was one of the kings of). Hastert was allowed to fly nonstop for security reasons, but he had a closer district that a smaller plane could accommodate. I also know the non-stop request is based on legitimate security concerns. Bush and Cheney and even the Senate majority leader fly non-stop to their destinations, and Pelosi's now second in the chain of succession after Cheney. Seems fair that she should, too. The first lady has the same non-stop fully outfitted large planes, too, and she's not an elected government official. Secretary Rice has the same, and in the succession order, she's not as high as Pelosi, although she does require international transport.

That addition $300K cost is largely in fuel. The 757s are way expensive to fuel for those huge cross-country or international trips. And as far as it being loaded and staffed, that's actually no different from how the planes are for the other government officials (and the first lady) at Pelosi's level and the levels above and below. They have state rooms, staffs, security setups, conference rooms, etc. That's looked at as part of the cost of doing business, a lof of which those folks do in the air.

It's all moot anyway. They're turned her down at the Pentagon. But she's right that part of this is about her objection to the war and, too, probably is being made a bigger issue because she's a women. She has a lot of enemies in D.C. and at the Pentagon. I daresay no one would have made as big an issue of this if she were a guy--or if, say, Dennis Hastert were still there and relocated to California and needed secure transport there. Just a hunch.

For the record, I'm a Democrat but not a Pelosi fan at all. I don't find her to be particularly insightful or, from what I've read, likeable. And I think they all ought to fly commercial, frankly. They serve the people? They oughta travel like us, too.

Wish y'all could have been with me during my speechwriting years when I traveled all over the world with the execs I wrote for. Lavish spending in big-bidness travel would have made your jaws drop. It always did mine. But man, they traveled in style. (I was pretty much like a nice-looking, articulate servant tagging along for the ride, so I always felt like I was on the outside looking in at that lifestyle, but they were some fine-feathered jet planes).