Speaker Nancy Pelosi was criticized on this blog and other sites for her failure to end various corrupt practices such as pork and congressional travel. Indeed, Pelosi added jets to ferry members abroad on junkets and used a personal governmental jet to go back and forward to California. Now, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) has announced that he will take commercial flights. Regardless of whether you opposed the GOP in the elections, it is important to give credit to such reforms. Boehner is to be commended for this symbolic change.
The report on curtailing or ending earmarks also may indicate that the GOP is serious in pushing some reforms long demanded by good government advocates. Pelosi allowed the opportunity to pass — one of many — after the Democrats took control. She could have, for example, eliminated the public-sponsored vacations disguised as congressional fact-finding missions to Europe and other areas. She didn’t. If Boehner is willing to take such steps, he should receive well-earned praise. The use of commercial aircraft would be a good first step.
Boehner appears, however, to have yielded to pressure to preserve earmarks after discussing a ban. Of course, you can still have pork without earmarks so there remains the question of whether Boehner can control his rank and file in continuing the wasteful practices in the budget.
The most important step that Boehner could take in this area is to sharply curtail congressional travel budgets. I, for one, wish him the best in taking advantage of his election to implement real reforms.
Source: Politico
If being well-educated means you turn out to be as stupid as Obama,Biden,Pelosi,and Reid, praise be the uneducated.
It appears they needed a lot of education BECAUSE they were so stupid in the first place.
The implication being that conservatives – despite all evidence to the contrary – are somehow well educated.
@rcambell: The worst part of Democracy is that your voted canceled out the vote of a well educated voter.
Boner has promised to reduce the Bush deficit by:
A) Flying first class commercial airlines and
B) Raising the national debt and the the interest on it in order to pay for now allowing the tax cuts to expire.
What a completely baffoon. The only one’s dumber than Boner are the teabaggers who enabled this thug to do precisely what they allegedly campaigned against.
Truth to tell, I don’t expect anything but hypocricy and anti-American citizen behavior from conservatives. One shouldn’t expect much from these mentally addled defenders of corporations. But the rumors I’m hearing indicate the administration will go along with this scheme instead of standing up for middle class Americans. If those rumors are correct and the Obama adminstration caves to this corporate blackmail I’m done with them.
Princess Nancy should be forced to fly commercial and have to submit to the pervert strip search or the option sexual molestation groping by crazed TSA officials.
Oh wait, she will probably enjoy that.
Never mind.
Let’s see how long it lasts when he needs to be somewhere quick. Has he tried the new Airbus A380?
Is this the “revolution” you speak of?
Remember folks the first rule of magic is: When you do something with your left hand, make sure everyone is looking at your right.
Symbolic gestures only matter as a comparison to the real actions.
He’s third in line and the Secret Service does their best to POTUS and VPOTUS segregated during transport.
Boehner should have to pay for his own ticket.
Like citizens do.
I still believe that this revolution will be televised.
I think it’s irresponsible for the Speaker to fly commercial.
The problem is that he isn’t just a congressman, it’s that he’ll be second in line for the presidency. What happens if something occurs and this suddenly becomes important? He won’t have secure communications, the rest of the government may not even be sure where he is, etc.
Of course the flip side is that he’s vulnerable if his wereabouts are known. If you’re planning a terrorist attack on DC and you know the Speaker is always on flight 371 how hard is it to put a few people on the plane to create a diversion? They don’t even need to take weapons on board, just cause a ruckus so the air marshals lock down the plane (and you can be damn sure that there will always be a few air marshalls on the Speaker’s flights) at the same time that something goes down in DC.
I won’t attempt to defend military jets for other congressional members. But I think the Speaker is in a unique situation because of his Constitutional duties and obligations and the cost of military transport (with hardened electronics, secure communications, etc.) is a small price to pay as insurance against the possibility that we have another clusterf*k like after Reagan was shot.
Frank,
I’m well and I hope the same applies to you. It’s good to see you posting again. In re Boehner: It has less to do with party affiliation than it does with the practicalities of moving sold yet empty furniture. Since his loyalties are in the “Clearly For Sale” column, if “you” bought it and want it shipped with more care, “you” should foot the bill. If We the People are paying for it, Boehner should travel in a way that reflects his utility, namely cargo. I’d really prefer it if he rode on the plane instead of in it, but I am prepared for the fact one cannot always get what one wants.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/10/john-boehner-unemployment-protest-office_n_781950.html Boehner is set on cutting off unemployment benefits. I don’t think of him as a reformer, but rather as a throwback.
Buddha Is Laughing:
If he flys “Unpressurized cargo” his store-bought tan may melt. We can’t have that.
Buddha Is Laughing:
Your deep South, Louisiana democrat leanings are starting to show. Hope you are well. Frank
Every penny counts. Good to see he will spend less than Nancy as speaker, now lets see him cut that Democrat budget deficit next.
Lets see, round trip to Ohio and back $1,500 a week. Wars/military/spying: $5,000,000,000 a week (4,999,998,500 to go). Hey keep up the good work Agent Orange.
Cargo.
Unpressurized cargo.
I hope he travels coach.
Cargo.