No one would envy most of our nation’s Congressmen right now. They’re trying to orchestrate a brutal overhaul of the healthcare system, figure out two wars, battle the lingering recession and are probably sweating over the next election. Who could blame them for being a little testy?
Well, maybe US Airways. The Democratic Senator flew from New York to Washington (he represents New York) on Sunday, and apparently the stress of trying to whip Joe Lieberman into shape was too much, turning him into every flight attendant’s worst nightmare: the arrogant and entitled passenger.
Seems Chuckie (maybe resembling the demonic doll of movie fame a bit at this point) was told by a flight attendant to shut off his cellphone. And he declined! Even after she told him THE WHOLE PLANE was waiting for his call to end so they could begin take-off. Ever the rule-spouting lawmaker (he IS Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee), the Brooklyn pedagogue told the flight attendant he was ‘entitled to use the device until the cabin door was closed.’
The FA then informed him that he was required to turn it off if told to do so by the flight crew. He asked if he could finish his call, she said no. At which point he escalated the exchange from irritable guy status all the way into supreme jerk territory by arguing with her. (He did hang up, though, apparently.)
The unflappable flight attendant responded that she didn’t make the rules, just followed them, and walked away.
Such a clear disregard for FAA policy and aviation manners is bad enough when someone also happens to be on the Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security. We’ve all been hit over the head with the need to adhere to a flight attendant’s instructions since 9/11. What happened next just shows you that members of Congress can be rude, ill-mannered cretins, too.
A still-unhappy Schumer turned to his seatmate, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and called the flight attendant the ‘B-word’ (rhymes with glitch). My, my! What happened to all that Congressional etiquette? You know, the legendary politeness that has warring members referring to each other as the “The Gentleman from Wisconsin” or “The Gentlewoman from Maryland?”
Apparently Schumer needs lessons in both deportment and following instructions. Moments after being told to turn the phone off, Schumer’s cell rang again. “Its Harry Reid calling,” he was heard to say, “I guess healthcare will have to wait until we land.”
Maybe then-Senator Alfonse D’Amato was right, and Schumer is a putzhead, as he famously called his opponent in the 1998 Senate race. Seems back then Chuckie had less tolerance for the use of obscene insults (‘putz’ is Yiddish for a part of the male anatomy). He called a press conference to criticize D’Amato for calling him names and offending his religion (Schumer is Jewish).
Meanwhile, Schumer’s office is trying to downplay the grossly offensive gaffe, issuing a statement that reads, “The senator made an off-the-cuff comment under his breath that he shouldn’t have made, and he regrets it.” Although it does make me wonder, what he would have called a male flight attendant? Maybe Jon Stewart can offer some suggestions. (Note: Stewart famously called Schumer a “f*ing idiot” on “The Daily Show”).
Maybe after healthcare, Schumer can take on gender discrimination and hostile work environments. Right after he learns that flight attendants are people (just like him), too.
