This is being reported over at TPM and Roll Call.
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:
There are a couple of different issues at play here. The first is the most obvious. A very conservative Senator misses his flight and then loses it over the fact that he was late. Given who that Senator was and his recent "indiscretions", this is just more fodder for those of us who find him a sanctimonious jerk. A U.S. Senator throws a temper tantrum and asks the question, "Do you know who I am?" as if he is all-important and the rules should be bent for him.
There is another issue and that is the issue of air rage. While Senator Vitter's incident happened on the ground, it could fall under the same category. A passenger loses their temper, starts yelling and screaming at an airline employee and acts irrationally. Senator Vitter's irrational act was opening the door at the gate and setting the alarm off. Put yourself in the shoes of the crew. You are on the plane, ready to depart and you hear the alarm sounding. You immediatly wonder what the hell is going on. You don't know what is going on but your adrenalin starts to rush. You are responsible for the other passengers sitting on the plane and their safety is your top priority. Think of this. Suppose the Senator had been allowed to board the flight. Would he repeat the same type of behavior while the plane was in-flight? This happens too often.
I say this as someone who worked as a Flight Attendant for many years. I had incidents of air rage on flights. Most, if not all were alcohol related. Two were also drug-related. I was hit one time and would have been a second time had I not ducked. It does not happen all the time but when it does, as reported here it is not a good experience and no one should have to go through that. When this happens it scares the hell out of the other passengers. They did not pay money for this.
Finally, I would like to say one more thing. In my years of flying, I had many people ask me the question that Senator Vitter shouted to the airline employee working at the gate. Senator, I have one thing to tell you. If I had a dollar for all the people who asked that same question, I would be very, very rich. Yes, that person probably knew you. When someone asked me that question I knew who they were. That question does not impress anyone. In fact, because you asked me or that employee that question, you made a lasting impression of being a total jerk. That impression will stay with that person forever as it did me when others asked the same question. You also showed me just how insecure you are even though you are powerful. It also showed me how you treat other people. Trust me, word will get around about your actions and the way you acted. What could have changed that is if you wrote a letter to the airline and the employee apoligizing for your behavior. But I doubt that anyone will hold their breath waiting for that to happen.
Update: Raw Story has additional details on the incident via Roll Call. The airline involved was United Airlines.
"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," the paper's Heard on the Hill column noted.
Update 2:
Wonkette also has a blurb about this incident. Titled "Diaperman Throws a Temper Tantrum" they raise the logical question that one would ask if they missed their flight.
A normal person would say, "Oh well, can you try to get me on the next flight then?"
Scroll down the page for their reporting, you'll love the pic they used.
Update 3: Keith Olbermann reported on "Countdown" that according to The Hotline the TSA is investigating Senator Vitter's tantrum. According to The Hotline, he was warned not to open the jetway door by the agent working the flight.
The Transportation Security Administration is examining Sen. David Vitter's much-reported decision to open the closed gateway door to his plane -- even though he was warned against it by an airline worker.
"We will be reviewing the alleged incident," Lauren Gaches, a TSA spokeswoman, told On Call this evening.
Senator Vitter, for his part must be feeling the heat from his tirade at Dulles. Via THe Hotline, the NOLA Times-Picayune reported that his office released a statement today. Vitter's spin? That this was much ado about nothing.
Vitter said today that Roll Call is making much too much of the incident.
"After being delayed on the Senate floor ensuring a vote on my anti-pay-raise amendment and in a rush to make my flight home for town hall meetings the next day, I accidentally went through a wrong door at the gate," Vitter said in a statement. "I did have a conversation with an airline employee, but it was certainly not like this silly gossip column made it out to be."
Senator Vitter, you need to check that anger when you check-in for a flight