In article on GOP's "Merry Prankster," Politico uncritically repeated misleading "Tunagate" allegations, Pelosi jet falsehood
A March 13 Politico article on Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) -- whom The Politico dubbed "The GOP's Merry Prankster in the House" -- reported that Cantor "passed out the stickers with the cartoon tuna to protest an alleged exemption in the minimum-wage bill for Del Monte, the food giant headquartered in [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi's [D-CA] hometown of San Francisco." The article also reported that Cantor "offered an amendment to perpetuate the controversy over Pelosi's request for a larger military jet to ferry her coast to coast without refueling." The Politico, however, offered no indication that Cantor's minimum-wage attack was highly misleading, or that the allegation that Pelosi requested a larger military aircraft for herself -- a claim made by Cantor and repeated by the Politico -- is completely unsubstantiated.
From the March 13 Politico article:
And Cantor clearly enjoys all the partisan wrangling.
He passed out the stickers with the cartoon tuna to protest an alleged exemption in the minimum-wage bill for Del Monte, the food giant headquartered in Pelosi's hometown of San Francisco. And he offered an amendment to perpetuate the controversy over Pelosi's request for a larger military jet to ferry her coast to coast without refueling.
Cantor was among several Republicans to attack the Democrats' Fair Minimum Wage Act for its exemption of American Samoa, noting that StarKist, which operates a cannery in American Samoa, is owned by Del Monte. As Media Matters for America documented, however, Pelosi supported several iterations of the Fair Minimum Wage Act after it was first introduced by Democrats in 1999, three years before Del Monte bought StarKist, and each version has included a wage hike for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands but not for American Samoa. Notably, Republican House members also introduced minimum wage proposals in 2005 and 2006 that included a wage hike for the Northern Mariana Islands but not for American Samoa.
Also, as Media Matters has documented, the Republican claim that Pelosi requested a much larger and more luxurious military aircraft than former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) is unsubstantiated. In fact, the sergeant at arms, who is in charge of security in the House of Representatives, made clear in a February 8 statement that it was he who both "made the recommendation to use military aircraft" for Pelosi's trips between Washington, D.C., and California and "request[ed] an aircraft that is capable of making non-stop flights," providing such an aircraft is available. Further, as Media Matters has also noted, Pelosi has specifically stated that she never asked for a larger plane, saying instead: "It's not a question of size, it's a question of distance. We want an aircraft that can reach California" without refueling.
—S.S.M.
