Do as we do

While America was fixed on the Pelosi airplane flap (pardon the pun) apparently the new House leadership was busy crafting ethics rules regarding the use of aircraft by its members. But you just can't please everyone.

For years Minnesota Democrat Collin Peterson has used his "bug smasher" (private plane) to attend to his constituency (presumably) throughout a rather large district, reimbursed by the taxpayer, of course. No longer:

He said his Democratic colleagues were "trying to do the right thing" by cracking down on lawmakers flying around in fancy jets, but he was surprised when he was told he could no longer be reimbursed for flying his own plane for official business.

Peterson called it "a pretty stupid deal" and on the surface that might correct, or as the Star Tribune editorial section put it, "[This] appears to be a case of common sense gone mad.". This is not about common sense, though.

While a Beech Bonanza hardly spews out the same level of greenhouse gases than that of a 757 or Gulfstream V it definitely emits more than say a Toyota Prius, and is costlier to boot. The DNC and House leadership are probably boxed in--they know it might be tricky to defend the "it saves me time" and allows better "service to the constituency" arguments while at the same time lambasting Republicans for ignoring Kyoto.

Stupid or not, Mr. Peterson is a product of his party's success. Check out this exchange:

"And I told Nancy Pelosi that if she didn't get this fixed, I was going to quit and there was going to be a Republican in my place, that if I couldn't fly I wasn't going to do this anymore. She just kind of looked at me -- she said it'll be fixed."

Insert your favorite cliche as appropriate.