MTP Transcript for Feb. 11, 2007

REP. BOEHNER: There aren’t any of my taxpayers who’ll want their hard-earned tax money that they’re paying to the government to be given to politicians so they can throw mud at each other.

REP. HOYER: I tend to agree with John that the public doesn’t support that...

MR. RUSSERT: So this, this will...

REP. HOYER: ...for just those reasons.

MR. RUSSERT: This will go on?

REP. HOYER: Fund-raising’s going to go on. So however it’s—if you have a reception, Tim, as you know, you’ve been to some. If you have a...

MR. RUSSERT: Not—not political fund-raisers.

REP. HOYER: No, no...

MR. RUSSERT: I don’t do political fund-raisers.

REP. HOYER: OK, fine, but you’ve been to receptions. And hardly anybody has just a fund-raiser, say send me money. They have an event. And they have, usually, food and drink at the event. That’s the way the fund-raisers are carried out, as you know.

MR. RUSSERT: Let me turn to the whole issue of Speaker Pelosi. When she became speaker, she was given access to an airplane because, after September 11^th—president, vice president, speaker of the House, in terms of succession to the presidency—Speaker Dennis Hastert, her predecessor, was given a plane to fly back and forth to his district in Illinois. Speaker Pelosi lives in California, so it’d take a different kind of airplane to make that flight nonstop. The Republican National Committee put out this: “Pelosi’s Power Trip: ‘Non-Stop’ Nancy Seeks Flight of Fancy.” And your colleagues in the House, Mr. Boehner, “Republic Conference Chairman Adam Putnam of Florida said Mrs. Pelosi’s request represents ‘an arrogance of office that just defies common sense,’ and called it ‘a major deviation from the previous speaker.’ Minority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri called it a ‘flying Lincoln bedroom.’” What’s, what’s that all about?

REP. BOEHNER: There’s no question that the speaker, third in line to the president, ought to have the security of having a plane. The plane that was used for Mr., Mr. Hastert has a 4,000 nautical mile range. So the same plane could’ve been used by Ms. Pelosi. Where the concerns were elevated is when she started to talk about taking family, staff, the supporters, and other members on her trip with her. And I think the taxpayers ought to provide a plane for her and her close staff. But when you start talking about supporters and other members and friends, I don’t think the taxpayers ought to be held accountable for that.

MR. RUSSERT: Now, the White House weighed in, and they’re not usually willing to jump in on behalf of Nancy Pelosi’s side, but this is what Tony Snow, the White House press secretary said: “This is a silly story and I think it’s been unfair to the speaker.” You agree?

REP. BOEHNER: Well, I think that, the fact that she didn’t say much, most of what I know about this I read in the press. But again, when you start talking about taking supporters and friends and others, and that’s why you need a bigger plane, I think there’s got to be some line drawn. And I think that the G5 that the speaker used will get to California and back, and it’s got 12 seats, plenty of room for her and her staff and security.

MR. RUSSERT: Why not a 12-seat plane, which would be a, a, a very small part of the cost of a much larger plane?

REP. HOYER: Tim, this is—this is much ado about nothing. Tony Snow, as you pointed out, said this is silly. The Republicans are frustrated because we’ve been so successful in the first month at doing our new direction, at doing six for ‘06. We had an average 62 Republicans vote for those bills, 124 for the bringing down college expenses for students and their families. The fact of the matter is, they were looking for something. The sergeant at arms suggested to the Defense Department that this was necessary for the speaker’s security. The speaker didn’t ask for this. All of this other stuff that’s being added on is for political purposes, not for substantive purposes. Obviously, Speaker Hastert was flown to his destination, which was 1,000 miles closer than Ms. Pelosi’s destination, and the Defense Department and the Secret Service or the Capitol police are making arrangements. Nancy Pelosi hasn’t asked for this.

MR. RUSSERT: Before you go, Mr. Boehner, since 1994, you’ve been in the majority. What’s it like suddenly being in a minority?

REP. BOEHNER: Well, Tim, I’m a realist. You know, I told my colleagues on 9:00 election night, I was in the dumps. At 10:00, I knew I had a new hand to play. And I’ve always been good about accepting reality as it is. It’s not the funnest role, especially when, when they won’t even let us have a substitute this week, won’t let us have a—won’t open up the House. Live up to your word.

REP. HOYER: Poor John.

REP. BOEHNER: But it’s, it’s frustrating, but my job as the Republican leader is to—is to help our members earn our way back to a majority. And, and that is the only way we’re going to get there. We, we need to develop a, a—new Republican ideas to deal with the issues the American people care about.

REP. HOYER: Yeah, the American public voted for change. They’re going to get change, and they are getting change. As I said, we’ve had 52 hearings on Iraq in the last five weeks. That’s a change. That’s opening up government. That’s the transparency of which John spoke of a little earlier in a different context. We’re going to continue to bring change, and we’re going to give Republicans the opportunity to fully participate.

REP. BOEHNER: When?

REP. HOYER: John...

REP. BOEHNER: When?

REP. HOYER: John...

REP. BOEHNER: When? When? You’ve been saying that for, for, for a year.

REP. HOYER: John and...

REP. BOEHNER: We’re, we’re now six weeks into this.

REP. HOYER: John and his colleagues had the opportunity to come to all 52 hearings. Unlike us...

REP. BOEHNER: Not somebody on the floor.

REP. HOYER: ...that—on the floor.

REP. BOEHNER: Why don’t we have—why don’t you give us a vote this week?

REP. HOYER: Every Republican—Tim...

REP. BOEHNER: Give us a vote this week on whether you’re going to cut off funding for troops.

REP. HOYER: Every Republican is going to have an opportunity to speak this week on the floor of the House of Representatives. We didn’t...

REP. BOEHNER: But we don’t get to vote on what we want to vote on.

REP. HOYER: We didn’t—we didn’t get that, John. You remember that, of course.

REP. BOEHNER: You got, we had the same...

MR. RUSSERT: All right. All right. To be continued. The Democratic leader, the Republican leader, thanks very much for sharing your views.

Coming next, the race for the White House full swing. Candidates raising money, talking to supporters all across the country. And journalists, including yours truly, front and center in the Scooter Libby trial. Insights and analysis from David Broder and Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post, Gwen Ifill of PBS, and Roger Simon of The Politico, all coming up right here on MEET THE PRESS.

(Announcements)

MR. RUSSERT: David Broder, Howard Kurtz, Gwen Ifill, Roger Simon—our roundtable after this station break.

(Announcements)

MR. RUSSERT: And we’re back, welcome all. June 16^th, 1858, Abraham Lincoln stood in Springfield, Illinois, and talked about our nation, a house divided. Yesterday, Barack Obama, the Senator of Illinois, made history. Here he was making this announcement.

(Videotape, Saturday)

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