Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) Calls US Airways Shuttle Flight Attendant a "Bitch" After She Told Him to Turn Off His Phone before Takeoff

Well, I guess this health care reform fight is really weighing heavily on Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) because he is acting a little weird lately. According to Politico, Schumer's voice carried a little farther than he would have liked on a US Airways shuttle from New York to Washington D.C. last Sunday. You see, Chuck Schumer called a flight attendant a bitch because he was told to turn off his cellphone before the flight took off. Wait, isn't that standard operating procedure or did Senator Schumer want US Airways to cater to his needs? It is amazing that these politicians continue to put their foot in their mouths, only to come back and issue an apology after the fact.

Schumer and his seatmate, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), were chatting on their phones before takeoff when an announcement indicated that it was time to turn off the phones. Both senators kept talking.

According to the GOP aide, a flight attendant then approached Schumer and told him the entire plane was waiting on him to shut down his phone.

Schumer asked if he could finish his conversation. When the flight attendant said “no,” Schumer ended his call but continued to argue his case. He said he was entitled to keep his phone on until the cabin door was closed. The flight attendant said he was obliged to turn it off whenever a flight attendant asked.

“He argued with her about the rule,” the source said. “She said she doesn’t make the rules, she just follows them.” When the flight attendant walked away, the witness says Schumer turned to Gillibrand and uttered the B-word. Source: Politico

Sen. Schumer's spokesman Brian Fallon issued a statement saying “the senator made an off-the-cuff comment under his breath that he shouldn’t have made, and he regrets it.”