Pelosi treats the Air Force like Air France

After 11 September it was made mandatory that the Speaker of the House would have a private aircraft at their disposal. No one had a problem with this because it made absolute sense. In the event of another terrorist attack -- one like 11 September that likely could have decapitated the government -- the order of succession has to be protected. And like it or not, folks, Granny Rictus is third in order of succession (president, VP, Speaker, President pro-temp), so she has national security needs. But it's been discovered she's abusing this privilege by treating the Air Force like it's her own, personal airline:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly requested military aircraft to shuttle her and her colleagues and family around the country, according to a new report from a conservative watchdog group.

Representatives for Judicial Watch, which obtained e-mails and other documents from a Freedom of Information request, said the correspondence shows Pelosi has abused the system in place to accommodate congressional leaders and treated the Air Force as her "personal airline."

Pelosi's office disputed the claim, pointing to White House policy enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks allowing for the House speaker to travel to his or her congressional district via military aircraft whenever possible for security reasons. Her office said she typically uses the same kind of aircraft used by her predecessor, Dennis Hastert.

But Judicial Watch said that Pelosi was notorious for making special demands for high-end aircraft, lodging last-minute cancellations and racking up additional expenses for the military.

The e-mails showed repeated attempts by Pelosi aides to request aircraft, sometimes aggressively, and by Department of Defense officials to accommodate them.

"I think that's above and beyond what other members of Congress are doing and what is expected of our elected officials," said Jenny Small, a researcher with the group.

In one e-mail, aide Kay King complained to the military that they had not made available any aircraft the House speaker wanted for Memorial Day recess.

"It is my understanding there are NO G5s available for the House during the Memorial Day recess. This is totally unacceptable ... The Speaker will want to know where the planes are," King wrote.

In another, when told a certain type of aircraft would not be available, King wrote: "This is not good news, and we will have some very disappointed folks, as well as a very upset Speaker."

Oh, give me a break! She's treating -- either directly or indirectly -- the Air Force much the same way the Clintons treated military personnel when they were in the White House. The military has a specific job, and while they have to supply the Speaker with a plane so she is always secure, it sounds like she's using the military as an airline.

The plane is for her. It's for official business. It's not there to shuttle her and the state delegation back and forth. It's not there for her and her family to gallivant across the country. And what is it with the G-5? She doesn't like the G-4? Tough sh*t, get used to what the military can supply. And the calling for a plane, having it get fueled and prepped for take-off only to cancel is a huge waste of money.

This is preposterous. If I were the guy getting the call for a plane I'd drag a DC-7 out of mothballs. "Your plane is ready Madam Speaker. Sorry, but it's going to be a noisy, bumpy ride because this is all we could find. The rest of our planes are in use elsewhere."

Publius II