'Air Pelosi': Payback for 5-Day Week?
One of the lesser-known aspects of the "Air Pelosi" controversy is the degree to which the fuss is payback for the House speaker's decision to hold legislators to a five-day workweek instead of the three- or four-day schedule adopted by the Republicans in the past.
Nancy Pelosi has been struggling to explain her need for a big Air Force jet to fly nonstop to her home district in San Francisco. She says she is only following the policy of her predecessor, Republican Dennis Hastert of Illinois, who flew home regularly on government aircraft for security reasons. Pelosi says she needs a bigger government jet than Hastert did because she has a lot farther to go, and, besides, the security requirement was imposed by the House sergeant at arms. Otherwise, she says, she'd fly commercial.
But Pelosi has been attacked by GOP legislators for extravagance and hypocrisy, since she has criticized Republicans for taking too many perks when they controlled Capitol Hill.
White House Press Secretary Tony Snow has sided with Pelosi. But GOP insiders say the issue has a lot to do with Pelosi's work-week requirements, which many legislators consider a PR stunt that imposes a real burden on them getting home to be with their families and constituents.
That said, the aircraft fuss has become "an irresistible target" for the GOP legislators, says a Republican insider.
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