Bob Filner (D-CA)
.
..
"Patches" Kennedy (D-RI) Former Dem. Cong. Cynthia McKinney
.
In a classic "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?" moment, we find yet another US Congressman in hot water for trying to demand treatment above that afforded the rest of us "little people." In true Patrick Kennedy/ Cynthia McKinney fashion, WJLA.com is reporting that California
Rep. Bob Filner is facing an assault and battery charge after an incident at Dulles Airport where he allegedly pushed an United Airlines bag claim employee….[snip].Filner, a Democrat from California, allegedly attempted to enter an employees-only area on Sunday night.
Naturally, there was a problem with his luggage, and the lawmaker was too much in a rush to follow the same procedure everyone else has to abide by. No, instead he tangles with some poor airport worker who was undoubtedly simply doing his job. Several witnesses
said they heard Filner yell "You can’t stop me," before pushing aside the employee and refusing to leave the office.
His office said in a statement that the Congressman was on his way to visit Iraq and that the incident was not as has been reported, calling the charges "ridiculous." Must be an isolated incident, huh? Simply a misunderstanding… on the part of the airport worker and the cops, right? Probably. But then there’s this:
Filner, an eight-term incumbent who chairs the Veterans Affairs Committee, has displayed flashes of temper in the past..About a year ago, he hurled obscenities at two Veterans Affairs officials after a briefing about the burglary of a laptop with military personnel information. The VA officials termed the briefing a "publicity stunt," which angered Filner.
It’s funny how history repeats itself sometimes, isn’t it? This is from a news story describing Patrick "Patches" Kennedy’s infamous airport brouhaha back in March of 2000:
the Rhode Island Democrat was rushing to catch a plane and Patton tried to stop him from putting an oversized bag through an X-ray machine. A security videotape of the argument showed the congressman shove Patton backward, jostling a metal detector archway. In the lawsuit, Mallory said Kennedy used "great force" and "intentionally lifted his hands and lunged at plaintiff and attempted to force his way past."
Some of them really do think they’re better than us, don’t they?