Grandma Nancy Pelosi wants a jet. Not just any jet. A big jet. One that can hold lots and lots of her favorite people (presumably all those grandkids). And she wants you and I, the taxpayers, to pay for it.
The Bush administration has agreed to provide House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with regular access to an Air Force passenger jet, but the two sides are negotiating whether she will get the big aircraft she wants and who she may take as passengers, according to congressional and administration sources.
A congressional source said that Rep. John P. Murtha, chairman of House Appropriations subcommittee on defense, which controls the Pentagon's spending, has telephoned administration officials to urge them to give the speaker what she wants.
Evidently, the Pentagon is thinking about the fact that Democrats hold the purse strings for defense spending. Hell, if Grandma gets testy, she might decide to slash the budget.
Minority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri called it a "flying Lincoln Bedroom," and Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, North Carolina Republican, labeled the speaker's plane "Pelosi One."
"This is a bullet point to a larger value -- Pelosi's abuse of power continues," Mr. McHenry said yesterday. "It began when the speaker denied minority rights to Republicans, continued with her 'TunaGate' scandal, and now she's exploiting America's armed forces and taxpayers for her own personal convenience."
Since September 11, 2001, the Speaker of the House has used an Air Force One commuter-type jet. But Grandma wants a bigger jet. Just like the President's. Isn't that nice?
UPDATE: Our friend Aphrael pointed out that, given the distance to Pelosi's district, the request isn't unreasonable. While (like me) he thinks it is a frivolous perk, she should have the same convenience that the former Speaker, Denny Hastert, had. And I agree with him. Read his post here.
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