There’s a big story today in Politico about polling done on behalf of the DCCC that shows if Democrats don’t confront the culture war issues they are going to lose badly in November. I can’t say that I agree with the entire premise — it seems to suggest that Dems need to agree with Republicans. (They call it “correcting the record.”) But the idea that Democrats can ignore the culture war and run on kitchen table issues alone is ridiculous, in my view. The country is in a collective snit over any number of things and the Democrats have plenty to work with to attack their opposition if they’ll use it.
A group of Republican senators is pushing back against efforts to create a federal “no-fly” list for unruly passengers, arguing that doing so would essentially draw an equivalence between terrorists and opponents of mask mandates.
The eight Republican senators voiced their concerns in a letter Monday to Attorney General Merrick Garland. They noted that, according to Federal Aviation Administration data, the vast majority of reports of unruly passengers have been related to the mandated use of face masks amid the pandemic.
“While we strongly condemn any violence towards airline workers, there is significant uncertainty around the efficacy of this mandate, as highlighted by the CEO of Southwest Airlines during a recent Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing,” the senators wrote. “Creating a federal ‘no-fly’ list for unruly passengers who are skeptical of this mandate would seemingly equate them to terrorists who seek to actively take the lives of Americans and perpetrate attacks on the homeland.”
The senators argued that the Transportation Security Administration “was created in the wake of 9/11 to protect Americans from future horrific attacks, not to regulate human behavior onboard flights.”
The eight Republicans signing the letter are Sens. Cynthia M. Lummis (Wyo.), Mike Lee (Utah), James Lankford (Okla.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Kevin Cramer (N.D.), Ted Cruz (Tex.), John Hoeven (N.D.) and Rick Scott (Fla.).
Earlier this month, Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian sent a letter to Garland urging him to support industry efforts to create a national list that would bar those convicted of onboard incidents from travel. Airlines maintain their own lists of passengers who are barred from traveling but don’t share information with other carriers. Bastian said Delta has 1,900 people on its no-fly list.
As recently as last weekend, two American Airlines flights were forced to divert from their destinations because of unruly passengers. In one case, a passenger attempted to open the main passenger door while the aircraft was in flight.
In a separate incident, a Delta Air Lines passenger allegedly tried to open an emergency door in flight last week in the hope that other passengers would record him sharing his views on coronavirus vaccines. The passenger is now facing federal charges.
Unions representing airline workers have argued that a centralized list is necessary because a passenger banned from one airline can simply book a flight on another carrier.
In a statement Tuesday, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA called the eight senators’ letter “irresponsible and political brinkmanship that puts our economic security at risk right along with our lives.”
“Homeland security is homeland security,” said the union’s president, Sara Nelson. “Our flights are under attack by a small number of people and it has to stop. … This is not about ‘masks,’ and the worst attacks have nothing to do with masks. You’re either for protecting crew and passengers from these attacks or you’re against.”
I can’t think of anything that annoys people more than these disruptive jackass airplane passengers. I feel quite sure that includes nearly all Independent voters and many Republicans as well. It’s ridiculous. That GOP Senators would defend them is an unbelievable free shot and the Democrats should make sure everyone knows about it.
These are little things but they symbolize bigger issues. The Republicans have prolonged this pandemic by pandering to anti-vaxxers and crackpots and it’s made all of us more miserable. Yes, if Democrats use those issues they will no doubt offend right wing Republicans. So what? They aren’t going to vote for them anyway. These people deserve to be criticized. This nihilistic behavior has cost the United States hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths, lots of long term illness and a society that’s coming apart at the seams because they refuse to do what’s necessary. You want a culture war weapon? THIS is a culture war weapon. They should deploy it.