The Transportation Security Administration has cleared Senator David Vitter (R-LA) of wrongdoing in his reported airport rage incident.
To be exact, it was determined that Vitter did not pose a security threat. He did open the door to his plane's gate, which he should not have done after it had been shut, but he didn't go further after the alarm went off.
The TSA's statement: "TSA worked with local partners to review the incident and determined the actions of the individual did not pose a security threat. The individual caused a door to alarm but did not proceed into a restricted area."
The TSA has just declared that it is totally cool and perfectly legal for you to go around airports opening doors to restricted areas and setting off alarms as long as you do not "proceed into a restricted area." (Or does this only apply to Republican Senators who are in a hurry and don't want to be treated like us common lowlifes.) Anybody else think that the TSA's decision sets a horribly dangerous precedent?
One thing that is clear is that Hookerlover David Vitter is exceptional at committing potentially or clearly illegal acts and getting away with it clean as a whistle.
Here's Vitter's rap sheet so far:
Late-90's to Early-00's (?): Solicited an unknown number of prostitutes in possibly multiple jurisdictions including Louisiana and the District of Columbia.
April 7, 2008: Was accomplice to the damaging of public property at the City Hall of Gonzales, Louisiana; and then fled the scene of the crime.
March 5, 2009: Created a public disturbance at an airport boarding gate, reportedly yelling at airport staff; and then violated TSA policy by opening the door to a restricted area in defiance of the airport staff, setting off an alarm; and then reportedly departed the scene of the crime when security was to be alerted.
How many more crimes can Vitter commit before Election Day 2010? Further, is every Republican in Louisiana content to support this values-deficient, hypocritical scofflaw?
At a Sept. 21, 1993, town hall meeting in Metairie, he got into a confrontation with a questioner that led to a lawsuit against him.
Mercedes Hernandez, who was involved in Republican politics, testified that she frequently attended local meetings to engage officials on the issues, usually tape-recording the events. At a town hall meeting, Hernandez asked the state representative about a rumor she'd heard that he was supporting a gay-rights bill in the Legislature. Vitter became "enraged by her question, left the podium where he was standing, advanced toward her in a rapid, threatening manner, pushing aside chairs ... and grabbed a portable tape recorder" that Hernandez was holding, according to her legal complaint.
