Huffington Post
Brent Budowsky
It Ain't the Speaker Who Needs the Getaway Plane
A month ago U.S. News and World Report printed the "inside poop" that Republicans were planning to attack the Speaker as a "Marie Antoinette" and would politically decapitate her. (Their spin).
Funny how they never describe Dick Cheney and George Bush, the serious royalists in this town, as Marie Antoinette.
Here is the truth. After 9-11 major security was created for the highest Congressional leaders.
I deal fairly often with one highest level Democrat, and he is very well protected, as he should be. As the Speaker should be.
Speaker Hastert had access to a plane, to travel from Washington to Illinois, without a stopover to refuel. Speaker Pelosi would normally get a plan to travel the far longer distance to California, also without a stopover to refuel. She did not ask for and does not desire any luxury as suggested by the spinners playing out their month old Marie Antoinette attack scam.
The whole story is bogus. The media should be ashamed for repeating attack talking points without checking the facts. Its pathetic.
The Speaker works 7 days, 18 hours a day, and travels across the country to the furthest state from the Capitol. End of story.
The Speaker will survive the blow of this fraud of an attack.
Meanwhile Senate Republicans marched in lockstep to support the surge. Even Senators who sponsored resolutions against it, voted in fact against their own resolution. The House Republicans demeaned the most honest man in Washington, the Iraq Inspector General, in their strategy to defend, excuse or deny more than $10 billion of stolen and lost Iraq money plus 365 tons of cash that disappeared.
The Vice President sweats bullets in the Libby trial.
If anyone in Washington will need a getaway plane, it ain't gonna be the Speaker.