Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Do you know who I am?

From Roll Call (c/o TPM):
Roll Call reports that Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), the staunch social conservative whose career became bogged down in the 2007 D.C. Madam prostitution scandal, was sighted this past Thursday night having an incident of airport rage at Dulles Airport.

Vitter arrived 20 minutes before the plane was scheduled to depart, and found the gate locked. He then opened the door, setting off the alarm and inviting the attention of an airline worker:

Vitter, our spy said, gave the airline worker an earful, employing the timeworn "do-you-know-who-I-am" tirade that apparently grew quite heated.

That led to some back and forth, and the worker announced to the irritable Vitter that he was going to summon security.

Vitter, according to the witness, remained defiant, yelling that the employee could call the police if he wanted to and their supervisors, who, presumably, might be more impressed with his Senator's pin.

But after talking a huffy big game, Vitter apparently thought better of pushing the confrontation any further. When the gate attendant left to find a security guard, Vitter turned tail and simply fled the scene.

A classy bunch, these conservative family values Republicans. The worker may have been a bit of a hard ass about keeping him off the plane, but is there anyone alive who doesn't know you have to be at your gate 45 minutes to an hour before departure for domestic flights, especially at major, busy airports like Dulles? Admittedly, David Vitter usually has, eh, pressing matters to attend to in New Orleans, but still, a guy who flies as often as United States Senators do can't claim ignorance of the rules. Then again, if there's anything we know about David Vitter, it's that he believes the rules don't apply to him.

It's ok, Dave: if it gets too hot in this kitchen to take it by yourself, you can always drag your wife into the spotlight with you again.

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