The Real First 100 hours

[SuperScout]

WASHINGTON ? As House Democrats celebrate their ?accomplishments,? let's takes a closer look at the all of the ?highlights? of their first 100 hours:

Democrats pledge to ?clean up Washington and sever unethical ties between lawmakers and lobbyists.? (www.speaker.gov)

100 Hours Later? Lobbyists Are Running Democrats? Committees, Serving as Senior Leadership Staff ... ??As a lobbyist and strategist for DaimlerChrysler, Dennis B. Fitzgibbons labored to block congressional proposals to mandate the production of more cars that use alternative fuels and to stop the most aggressive efforts to force auto companies to make their vehicles more energy-efficient. Today, Fitzgibbons is chief of staff to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the panel charged with deciding whether automakers should be compelled to do either of those things. Fitzgibbons will be meeting with his old employers soon, and he sees no problem with that.? (Birnbaum, Washington Post, 1/16/07)

?Former Verizon lobbyist Gregg Rothschild is chief counsel at Energy and Commerce.? (Birnbaum, Washington Post, 1/16/07)
?The most jaw-dropping hire from K Street, though, is Matt Gelman. Gelman is senior adviser to House Democratic Whip James E. Clyburn (S.C.) and is, in effect, on loan from Microsoft, where he is director of federal government affairs. He?s on unpaid leave for a few months from the software giant and will return after he helps build Clyburn's vote-counting operation.? (Birnbaum, Washington Post, 1/16/07)
Democrat Rules Committee Chairman Louise Slaughter vows to ?end the influence that lobbyists have brought.? (Slaughter News Conference, 1/3/07)

100 Hours Later? Slaughter Does an About-Face, Hires a Lobbyist to Influence Every Bill That Comes to the House Floor
?The chief of staff to the House Rules Committee is Daniel A. Turton, a former lobbyist for Timmons & Co., which represents the American Petroleum Institute and DaimlerChrysler.? (Birnbaum, Washington Post, 1/16/07) ... Democrats denounce the ?cozy relationship between Congress and special interests.? (www.speaker.gov)

100 Hours Later? Speaker Pelosi Serves-Up Special Interest Favor
?The minimum wage bill passed by the House last week curiously exempts American Samoa, where thousands of people are employed in a packing plant owned by Del Monte Corp., parent of StarKist Tuna. Del Monte just happens to be headquartered in Pelosi's San Francisco.? (Editorial, Investor?s Business Daily, 1/2/07) ... Democrats say they?ll run ?the most honest? and most ethical Congress in history.? (www.speaker.gov)

100 Hours Later?#3 House Democrats? Campaign Cash Helps Reelect Bill Jefferson, Under Federal Investigation for Bribery
Building Relationships in Diverse Geographic Environments PAC (BRIDGE PAC)(Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.): $5,000.00 to Jefferson?s reelect, 9/30/06 (www.politicalmoneyline.com)

FRIENDS OF JIM CLYBURN: $1,000.00 to Jefferson?s reelect, 9/29/06 (www.politicalmoneyline.com)

?Voters looked past a federal bribery investigation of Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) and reelected the eight-term congressman in a runoff election.? (Burdeau, Associated Press, 12/10/06)
Democrats promise to allow open debate and propose a ?Minority Bill of Rights? which Pelosi vows ?to honor if Democrats regain the majority.? (Babington, Washington Post, 6/24/04)

100 Hours Later?Speaker Pelosi Breaks Another Promise, Is So Extreme In Her Squelching of Political Opposition That Even Harry Reid Thinks She?s Gone Too Far

?In private, Senate sources say, Reid has been critical of the Speaker for what he believes was unnecessary roughness in ramming through her first-100-hours agenda, refusing to allow Republicans to propose amendments and breaking her campaign promise to open up the lawmaking process.? (Tumulty, Time, 1/12/07)

[Stick]

Speaker Pelosi campaigned, promising to reduce the cost of government and the perks that Congressional Representatives get.
She is transformed into the "Speaker of the House," the ranking member of the House of Representatives and one of her first actions was to introduce a motion that she would recieve a larger airplane that would be solely at her disposal to transport her at her will any damn place she wants to go along with whoever she wants to take with her. The plane she had before taking over the House cost "just $5,000" an hour to fly with an in flight crew of three but the plane that she now wants cost $22,000 an hour with an in flight crew of seven but won't have to stop for fuel on the way to California. 'Course she'll brag that she created jobs soon as she lands there.

[reconeil]

Do they now make one or is there even such a thing as Corporate
Size Jet that has to be REFUELED, merely to make it cross country?

Neil

[SuperScout]

Neil, most corporate jets, the size that Hastert used, have a range of 3000 - 5000 miles, depending on equipment, passenger capacity, etc. the plane she wants has a bedroom onboard, for reasons known only to her and God, and I'm not too sure about God.

Even if the plane has to land for refueling, it isn't the end of western civilization as we know it. Personally, I'm opposed to providing any tax-payer funded aircraft for any member of congress. Period.