No Security Pat-Downs for Boehner

[brooklynite]

Source: New York Times

7 p.m. | Updated Representative John A. Boehner, soon to be the Speaker of the House, has pledged to fly commercial airlines back to his home district in Ohio. But that does not mean that he will be subjected to the hassles of ordinary passengers, including the controversial security pat-downs.

As he left Washington on Friday, Mr. Boehner headed across the Potomac River to Reagan National Airport, which was bustling with afternoon travelers. But there was no waiting in line for Mr. Boehner, who was escorted around the metal detectors and body scanners, and taken directly to the gate.

Mr. Boehner, who was wearing a casual yellow sweater and tan slacks, carried his own bags and smiled pleasantly at passengers who were leaving the security checkpoint inside the airport terminal. It was unclear whether any passengers waiting in the security line, including Representative Allen Boyd, a Florida Democrat who lost his re-election bid, saw Mr. Boehner.

...snip...

Michael Steel, a spokesman for the Republican leader, said in a statement that Mr. Boehner was not receiving special treatment. And a law enforcement official said that any member of Congress or administration official with a security detail is allowed to bypass security.

Read more: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/no-security-pat-downs-for-boehner/?scp=2&sq=boehner&st=cse

---

Whatever "the appropriate security procedures" are, can anyone imagine a worse time to pull rank as far as airport security goes?

[cutlassmama]

1. He's "special", LOL

[saigon68]

61. Yes he is a THUG who is ABOVE THE LAW He is of the RULING CLASS

Bow down to him SERFS

[hedgehog]

2. Probably the word came down from on high to treat Senators

and Congressmen with kid gloves after this:

Sen. Kennedy Flagged by No-Fly List
By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 20, 2004; Page A01

U.S. Sen. Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy said yesterday that he was stopped and questioned at airports on the East Coast five times in March because his name appeared on the government's secret "no-fly" list.

Federal air security officials said the initial error that led to scrutiny of the Massachusetts Democrat should not have happened even though they recognize that the no-fly list is imperfect. But privately they acknowledged being embarrassed that it took the senator and his staff more than three weeks to get his name removed.

While he worked to clear himself, Kennedy kept having to wait in terminals at Reagan National, Boston's Logan International and at least one other airport, his staff said. All of the flights were on US Airways. When the senator checked in at the counter, airline employees told him they could not issue him a boarding pass because he appeared on the list. Kennedy was delayed until a supervisor could be summoned to identify him and give approval for him to board the plane.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17073-2004Aug19.html

[Alameda]

37. Ann Richards had something to say about it....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LA1dfHqLTc

Boy I wonder what she would have to say about it now?

[heliarc]

47. Boy, do I miss Ann Richards

Breath of fresh air that woman. She was a great person. Rest Easy Ann.

[awoke_in_2003]

52. damn, I miss that fiesty woman. nt

[awoke_in_2003]

54. "my crotch set off her wand...

she was totally disturbed". Damn, i spewed beer with that one.

[Raven]

3. Goodness! He's the real threat to national security....what are they thinking????

[hughee99]

6. Maybe they were hoping he had a bomb and would blow himself up. n/t

[blue neen]

46. Post of the day!

:yourock:

[hughee99]

4. Any member of congress? Tell it to John Dingell

He got strip searched because of his artificial hip. Perhaps this was under an "older policy", though.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,193705,00.html

[librechik]

5. look for a lot more of this now that the Repubs think they are in charge

the rest of us are all catfood.

[bergie321]

7. He probably

Wanted to go into the scanner but his handlers told him it wouldn't help his tan.

[herbm]

8. A man of the people. Arrogant as....er.... elected official. He's no Republican, he's a

greedy bastard.

[Angry Dragon]

9. Two sets of laws

One set for the people that are trying to rape this country --- free pass
One set for the people that are just trying to survive ----Fuck You

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. Maybe Boner wants to be stroked instead

Idiots like him should take the bus anyway.

[DCKit]

21. In the executive lounge. n/t

[RKP5637]

11. Boner's don't get patted down. n/t

[dbt]

12. Any bets as to whether Democrats get the same exemptions?

Srsly, EVERY member of Congre$$ should get the full patdown until this farce is outlawed. TSA is a joke.

[kelly1mm]

50. Any member of congress or the administration WITH A SECURITY

DETAIL gets to bypass security. It was in the article and the exerpt in the OP. Certain members of congress (Speaker, Majoity Leader, Minority Leader) have secuity details. Do you really think Nancy Pelosi goes through the security checkpoint? (well, if she was not on a military aircraft in the first place anyway)

[Yeahyeah]

13. Yellow sweater and tan slacks?Maybe if you dress like Pat Boone you get a free pass?

[heliarc]

48. LOL nt

[liberal N proud]

14. But the pilots of the damn plane have to tolerate the daily groping?

The people who could fly the plane into the ground or anything else are searched for weapons while an orange asshole gets a free pass?

:nuke:

[boppers]

32. Pilots are being exempted.

The TSA realized that the pilots already had the means to take the plane down.

[liberal N proud]

33. That is totally new

Until today they were subject to it. I just googled it and found this posted n Reuters at 7:00pm EST. It was news to me.

UPDATE 1-Pilots get reprieve from new U.S. screening checks

Fri Nov 19, 2010 6:58pm EST

* Latest shift by TSA after complaints about screening

Change comes ahead of busy holiday travel period

* Lawmakers call patdown policy "overly intrusive" (Adds lawmakers comments)

By Jeremy Pelofsky
WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - U.S. airline pilots will be allowed to bypass new heightened security screening at U.S. airports, the Transportation Security Administration said on Friday, relenting after a lawsuit and outcry that pilots already undergo rigorous background checks.

Pilots have complained bitterly they should not have to go through new full-body scanners or be subjected to thorough patdowns when they already go through extensive security checks and control the airplane.

"Allowing these uniformed pilots, whose identity has been verified, to go through expedited screening at the checkpoint just makes for smart security and an efficient use of our resources," TSA Administrator John Pistole said in a prepared statement.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1921169320101119

[boppers]

40. The world moves fast. :) eom

[LiberalArkie]

15. TSA Guards were probably afraid of his security detail

[pmorlan1]

16. Special Treatment

I wonder who else will get special treatment? Try everyone who has the bucks to fly private planes (CEO's, media stars, bankers, etc.).

We are doing screening for all the commercial flights because they say it will keep us safe. What about all of those private corporate jets? What if the terrorists get onto those private planes and fly them into buildings? I say if they're going to screen the commercial flights they have to start screening for the private planes. How "safe" are we if we don't screen all of the planes?

Of course we know they will never screen private planes. So once again the privileged few get to bypass what the rest of us are forced to endure.

[TheWatcher]

17. If this not a clear indication that the Rule Of law only applies to the Proles who have no choice

Then I suppose there never will be one.

Land Of the Cowards, Home Of The Enslaved.

What a FUCKING JOKE.

Mr. Boehner, who was wearing a casual yellow sweater and tan slacks, carried his own bags and smiled pleasantly at passengers who were leaving the security checkpoint inside the airport terminal.

Here's my response to the arrogant, waste of Oxygen, Mr. Bonehead:

There’s no bread, let them eat cake
There’s no end to what they’ll take
Flaunt the fruits of noble birth
Wash the salt into the earth

But they’re marching to bastille day
la guillotine will claim
Her bloody prize

free the dungeons of the innocent
the king Will kneel, and let his kingdom rise

Bloodstained velvet, dirty lace
Naked fear on every face
See them bow their heads to die
As we would bow as they rode by

And we’re marching to bastille day
la guillotine will claim
Her bloody prize

sing, o choirs of cacophony
the king has Kneeled, to let his kingdom rise

Lessons taught but never learned
All around us anger burns
Guide the future by the past
Long ago the mould was cast

For they marched up to bastille day
la guillotine claimed
Her bloody prize

hear the echoes of the centuries
power isn’t All that money buys

-Rush Bastille Day

[The abyss]

55. Well stated TheWatcher!

Sic transit gloria mundi

[Starbucks Anarchist]

18. TSA agents didn't want to be drenched in spray tan.

[sarcasmo]

19. Serfs must go through while the overlords get a pass.

[Iowa]

64. You nailed it.

[avaistheone1]

76. Steerage passengers arebeing treated differently

just like on the Titanic.

:grr:

[Devil_Fish]

20. never mind.

[The Straight Story]

22. Obama is not subject to those searches either, and this was made possible on our watch

I can't bitch about repugs here when it was our party and president who made it all possible.

[louis-t]

23. I believe this was Chertoff's doing, but...

Obama could try to get it undone. If he did, and there was a terrorist attack? Hoo-boy, would we hear some screaming from the right.

[activa8tr]

28. Air Force one should have pat-downs for the President?

That makes no sense.

[high density]

34. I think it makes as much sense as assuming everybody who flies is a criminal

who requires a strip search and/or groping before getting on a plane.

If Obama and his minions feel this is a great thing, I would really appreciate it if they'd submit to it as well.

[LibDemAlways]

24. I realize most of us figured this was the case, but it should

outrage the public nonetheless. Teenagers and old ladies' crotches are being grabbed, and this asshole is escorted around security? Fuck that.

[Kennah]

25. My sources say ...

... that TSA asked they not be made to pat down search the Boner since they did not to risk exposure to dioxin.

The Boner asked that he not be made to go through the scanner or else he'd darken up and the Tea Party would expel him as one of the two things they hate the most.

[24601]

26. My brother in law works for the airport there and was on this

detail. I asked him and he said that TSA screened Bohner in private before being escorted around the public area. They were going to give him a pass but he insisted getting the same checkout. It was a pat down because the private room had no screening machines.

Does anyone know how they screen President Obama and his family before getting on AF One and the Bidens before boarding AF Two?

[bottomofthehill]

49. adorable but not true

first, treated like everyone else would be a public frisking, second, his spokesman mr steele said he has a security detail and is treated like everyone else with a detail, he bypasses security screening and third, there was a film crew doing a day in the life documentary that was stopped at the gate as they had no ticket and he was not in a private room but a strait bypass at the gate, but nice try on your brother-in-laws part just the same

[24601]

58. Absolutely true - and my BOL is a cradle to grave Dem. But what

you are suggesting just isn't feasible and the would cause disruption to the flying public

Whether we like it or not, all politics aside, Bohner has been elected to the position that's two heartbeats away from from the Presidency so the Secret Service is calling the shots. Even though he's not speaker yet, he is protected like President Obama was when he was President-Elect. (You may have noticed Obama's Secret Service detail increased by orders of magnitude when he transformed from Candidate to POTUS-Elect.) With Bohner, I wasn't there and am getting this from a relative, but I believe his protective detail the United States Capitol Police in plain clothes.

The security screening is a gnat's ass. Flying coach is a gnat's ass and a PR gimmick. The big shift is that Bohner flys commercial while previous speakers flew in the luxury of dedicated Air Force Aircraft.

Bottom line - Bohner's travel, like POTUS and V/POTUS is a Continuity of Government issue as soon as he's sworn in as Speaker. His protection is not a political issue and we need to Move On to something real. Since he's forgoing dedicated aircraft his predecessor demanded, this isn't anything to exploit for political gain. In fact we lose on it.

I'll go out on a limb and infer that you know that documentaries are edited and you don't see everything - in this case security-related segments. But I'll take Stan's word over theirs any day. FYI, Bohner's screening was not conducted in the vicinity of the gate. I do believe, however, that the security detail officers were allowed to keep their weapons - maybe you can shout about that because after all, Bohner could always ask to play with one of their guns after they are on the plane.

[bottomofthehill]

59. Not saying he should not be covered once he is elected Speaker

What I am saying is that he is not treated like everyone else if he is screened off site and further, I am saying he is not screened offsite. Additionally, when he was the Minority Leader he was not screened and the Democratic Whip, Mr Clyburn is not screened Senator Reid, and McConnell are not either and they have no continuity of office issues. They have Federal Security Details and are able to bypass security screeneng, as I have seen many times at DCA and IAD but also in many other cities and as Mr Steele readily admits. There are hundreds of people with security details (DOD, State US Capitol Police, Secret Service, US Marshals, FBI.......) who bypass security at airports on a daily basis. Many who work at Homeland Security who thought up these stupid rules.


Additionally, I am willing to bet, although I cant guarantee, that as Speaker, he will me flying MILLAIR soon enough.

[activa8tr]

27. " Mr. Boehner was not receiving special treatment" SURE!

We ALL can just be escorted around the scanners! That sounds right!

[benld74]

29. None of the TSA workers wanted to get ORANGE HANDS

[marasinghe]

30. missed opportunity for an ing commercial

boner could be the slimy orange reptile equivalent of the gecko, for the twen-teens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpeg2YHKIJU&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f87kfB3YwSg

[Locrian]

31. I just flew today. Ughh.

I just flew today - got body scanned AND felt up. Ugh. Was half awake - hope is was good for them (sarcasm)

But it was interesting at the gate. They have "extra" TSA there for random inspections: of course NOBODY standing in the first class (cheesy red carpet zone) was picked on. Just the common folk. I guess terrorists always fly coach.

[LisaL]

35. WTF good is this scanner if they pat you down

anyway?

[LibDemAlways]

36. How many times do they have to inspect people? This is

getting ridiculous. I hope everyone who doesn't absolutely have to fly doesn't. Reduce airline revenues to the point where the CEOs start screaming for changes. The public should not have to put up with this shit.

[daleo]

62. Did they say why you got the double treatment?

Because that's really bizarre.

[wordpix]

66. My middle-aged self was heavily groped while going thru security with teen nephews & sister-in-law

all of us with American accents. Very likely I looked like a terrorist :sarcasm: and that's the reason.

[brooklynite]

77. You can complain about a lot of things but "First Class" treatment isn't one of them...

I have Elite status with one of the major airline, and have been upgraded five times in the past two months. What that gets me is the right to move to the front of the line for the ID check. After that, I'm standing in the screening line as everyone else, and the TSA people don't know what my flight situation is when I go through the X-Ray machine. There are foreign airports which have dedicated elite security scans, but not in the US.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

38. Boehner could be working for Osam Bin Ladin for all we know!

he could be part of a terrorist network!

[emilyg]

39. That's so sweet

Michael Steel, a spokesman for the Republican leader, said in a statement that Mr. Boehner was not receiving special treatment. And a law enforcement official said that any member of Congress or administration official with a security detail is allowed to bypass security

[quakerboy]

41. To be fair

If we have to worry about senators and pilots, we have way bigger problems

Then again, if he is pretending to be "one of the people" he should probably go through the same travails as any other traveler, rather than bypassing the little inconveniences just because he can.

[yurbud]

42. would you want to pat down a guy named BONER?

That's like playing Russian Roulette with a loaded jergens dispenser.

[onehandle]

43. The Elite. nt

[WestSeattle2]

44. My guess is that they could not find a TSA employee who

could get near the guy without hurling. I'm sure he reeks of stale cigarette smoke and indoor tanning lotion. If I were a TSA employee faced with the prospect of patting down Boehner or groping Grandma, it would be Grandma in a heartbeat.

Just sayin'......

[Historic NY]

45. The orange man is better than other people of color....

someone should have made him cough.

[awoke_in_2003]

51. what is hard to believe...

is that any congress critter decided to fly amongst the unwashed masses. Of course, this was a rehearsed publicity stunt.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

53. He needs a full body cavity search

His brain seems to be missing

[micraphone]

56. LOL good one.. +

"Michael Steel, a spokesman for the Republican leader, said in a statement that Mr. Boehner was not receiving special treatment"...

When he waltzes right through "security" without stopping, smiling as he goes... don't look good to the "peons". Right?

Even repugs. Hah.

[saigon68]

75. Shit for Brains

[BigBearJohn]

57. I guess Boehner didn't want his boner checked. We might find out how SMALL it is.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

60. Geee, I wonder what would of happened if he had a "D" bye his name?

[saigon68]

63. Every CROTCH GROPED one less vote for Obama

[ProudDad]

68. Same thing

The BIG D -- Obama, doesn't have to put up with this shit...

[wordpix]

65. Michael RNC Money-for-Strip-Club Steele certainly knows what special treatment is

He's an expert :crazy: :rofl:

[ProudDad]

67. Maybe someone just gropped by the fascists of TSA

will slug this little pissant just for the hell of it...

I'd pay to see that!

[24601]

69. It wasn't the grope & fondling as much as it was when he had

finished and said, "You shore gots a purty mouth - real womnanly-like. Now, you do me."

Problem was, I couldn't call a supervisor because he was the supe! What could I do? I didn't want to meet their proctologist and miss my flight. Damn, I wish I'd gotten a free drink with it.

[Crunchy Frog]

70. What? Nobody wants to grope a Boner? Or do Boners dislike being groped?

:shrug:

[Johnny Harpo]

71. No....John-Boy Will Destroy Us From The Inside

[Ter]

72. I know this isn't going to be popular, but we shouldn't waste time checking him

He's the head of the House of Representatives, and the number one ranking Republican in the world. He's a ZERO terrorist threat, and is even allowed to carry a handgun on virtually any US airplane.

Boehner, Obama, Biden, Reid, Clinton, nor any of the former presidents should have to go through this waste of time. They're not run of the mill employees. If Boehner wants to hijack a plane, the nation is screwed beyond repair already.

[LisaL]

73. And what kind of threat is a five year old kid or a 80 year old

grandma? The fact that they are no threat doesn't stop them from being searched. TSA doesn't exempt children from their pat downs or naked scans.

[Ter]

74. Very little...

But still more than the Speaker of the House, Senate Majority Leader, or President.