Nothing If Not Classy

by Josh Orton, Wed Mar 11, 2009 at 09:28:22 AM EDT

Senator David Vitter, he of prostitution fame, pulls an airport classic:

According to an HOH tipster who witnessed the scene, the 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.
...
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.

These blowups serve as nice litmus tests of people in power - generally, someone who acts like a schmuck at the airport probably is a schmuck.

Tags: David Vitter (all tags)

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

aint the airline employees the real schmucks in screwing around with the schedule? Why is someone not fired or the airlines taken to task for making a customer service issue intoo a major security flap?
Are we at the stage that anything a repiblican does is automatically bad?

by rocky 2009-03-11 09:53AM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

I agree. why the hell is the gate closed 20 min before departure? I have been on flights that have done that but that is when they had all passengers accounted for. Isn't the protocol usually 10 or 15 minutes to shut the door?

Then again, Vitter has been on the side that has been responsible for the TSA type madness we see at airports these days with the politics of fear making frequent air travel such a major hassle.

by Pravin 2009-03-11 10:41AM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

I think the point here is not that it was 20, 15 or 10 minutes. It's the fact that he thought he was above the rules and opened a closed security door because the thought it didn't apply to him. Might the whole incident been avoided had he first presented himself to a gate agent and asked to board rather than assuming he just could.

by jsfox 2009-03-11 10:49AM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

Actually I agree that he was a jerk for acting above the rules. But once the door is closed, no amount of begging will open that door in 99% of the cases. They have really become superrigid about this in recent months, even worse than the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

This is why I think senators having lifetime tenure is not desirable. A lot of them have an entitlement complex. I proposed no limit to terms, but a restriction on consecutive terms. They need to experience real life and live the consequences of their decisions. Airport security is an intrusive joke. It wastes too much precious time in American lives. Plus all it does is promote a culture of fear. people who travel once or twice a year won' feel it. But those of us who travel a lot know it is a joke. You can't take more than a 3oz bottle of contact lens solution, but you can theoretically take a a few 3oz bottles and mix them together after security. There are so many other security regulations that do not offer airtight security but just hassle us.

If they want to stop terrorists, focus on common sense security, and spend some of the savings in securing the cockpit from intruders and upgrading response systems that avoid planes being used as pseudo missiles on civilian targets.

by Pravin 2009-03-12 09:34AM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

No, passengers need to be at the gate 15-20 minutes (depending on the airline, Continental is 15) before departure time. They often shut the door at this point. It is standard operations. I had to run about a mile in Newark, NJ due to a late connection last Friday. I made it right at the 15 minute mark and the door was shut behind me. I was lucky! Vitter acted rudely and did not follow the rules.

by Airb330 2009-03-11 12:18PM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yes sir I do. You that whoring Senator that likes to wear a diaper."

by jsfox 2009-03-11 10:06AM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

Maybe that's why he was so grouchy. Vitter the Shitter needed a change.

by fogiv 2009-03-11 10:12AM | 0 recs

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Yeah, but remember the only thing important

to Repubilcans...

He ain't gay!

Standing Ovation! Huzzah! He's got a pervo kink but at least the hookers were FEMALE!

It must be so nice to have such a clear cut code of morality. Ah, to be a Republican...

by WashStateBlue 2009-03-11 12:53PM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

On a day when Nancy Pelosi's getting raked for her taste in G5's... I suspect one shouldn't make too much of Vitter.

And just to answer the "isn't the problem with airlines" question - no, it's not. The point is, there are rules. You don't just enter the jetway; you do try to arrive in advance of your flight, and a lot of people like to take off early, so don't be surprised that they want to get people on quick and pushback. I've never, ever arrived less than 30 minutes before departure expecting an easy time of it (and when circumstances have cut it close, I've made peace with the fact that I may miss it), and as a business traveler, one should know to plan ahead. Whether I have sympathy for Vitter's getting stuck 20 minutes before departure - and generally, I don't - nothing, really nothing, justifies breaking security regulations, defying requests from airline staff, or treating service people badly ("do you know who I am??" Not the way to win over the help).

by nycweboy1 2009-03-11 10:50AM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

Right - if I saw anyone who wasn't an airline employee opening a gate door and setting off an alarm, I'd think there was a security problem. Really entitled.

by Josh Orton 2009-03-11 11:24AM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

There are more important things to do than to wait at the gate. I am astounded that eagerness to attack the other side is blinding people to the shoddy deal travelers get from the airlines. The departure time is so named for a reason.

by rocky 2009-03-11 11:37AM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

Sorry, but a lot of us have better things to do than to account for every worst case scenario when we travel routinely. I liked the old days when airline agents used common sense discretion. We have lost the war on terrorism when routine travel and our way of life around it has changed. A determined outfit like Al Quaeda can still find a way to smuggle weapons on board if they so desired. All it takes is one slipup somewhere or bribe someone in some place. It is how you render them ineffective once they get on board that will make air terrorism less attractive. This is why you do not see much train terrorism in this country because you cant force a train to crash into a random building.

by Pravin 2009-03-12 09:42AM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

Since he voted to let commercial pilots carry guns, he's lucky he didn't get his stupid ass shot.

by lojasmo 2009-03-11 11:36AM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

Per United Airlines web site:

"For flights within the U.S., to/from Mexico and the Caribbean, and to Canada, seat assignments are subject to cancellation if you do not check in and obtain a boarding pass at least 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure and if you are not available for boarding at the departure gate at least 20 minutes prior to scheduled departure."

by lojasmo 2009-03-11 11:39AM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

Yes, thank you. It's normal operations for an airline. Maybe he should have arrived earlier or called to reschedule like everyone else would have to in the same situation. If we did that, we'd be in jail.

by Airb330 2009-03-11 12:19PM | 0 recs

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Re: Nothing If Not Classy

I remember that Tom Delay episode. DeLay was reprimanded by a guard for smoking a cigar on federal property, the guard told him he had to put it out because it violated federal law. His response was "I am the federal government."

The good news here is that Vitter is up re-election and episodes such as this hinder his prospects. So kudos David. Act up some more.

by Charles Lemos 2009-03-11 02:25PM | 0 recs

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Yes, but he is up for re-election in LA

Never underestimate the ability of a southern Republican to double down on stupid.

by WashStateBlue 2009-03-11 02:37PM | 0 recs

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TSA Now Investigating...

Per Taegan Goddard's Political Wire.

Is Vitter going to lose his vaunted status as the first Republican senator from LA since Reconstruction?

I don't think the Dems were angling heavy for his seat, but he continues to make it so easy....

by Zeitgeist9000 2009-03-11 06:06PM | 0 recs