FROM HOOKERS TO AIRPORT RAGE…. From time to time, we’ll hear about a member of Congress with an exaggerated sense of self-importance having a tantrum at an airport. Roll Call refers to the list, with members from both parties, as the “Mile-Low Club.”
The subscription-only publication reports today that Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) is apparently the latest to join the club.
[T]he Louisiana Republican arrived Thursday evening at his United Airlines gate 20 minutes before the plane was scheduled to depart, only to find the gate had already been closed. Undeterred, Vitter opened the door, setting off a security alarm and prompting an airline worker to warn him that entering the gate was forbidden.
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.
His bluster notwithstanding, Vitter, according to the report, “turned tail and simply fled the scene” when the gate attendant left to summon security officials. Raw Story has more on all of this.
Given Vitter’s prostitution scandal, Louisiana Democrats were likely going to characterize the conservative Republican in 2010 as an out-of-touch politician who’s been in Washington so long, he’s lost touch with mainstream values. By throwing a fit at an airport, Vitter is likely making their job easier.
