The natives are getting restless — from Staten Island all the way to Beverly Hills.
How long can these catastrophically ill-conceived shutdowns go on?
Can’t we just declare victory and stop pretending that this is the Black Death?
What makes these draconian measures even more intolerable is that apparently next to none of the politicians imposing them have even the slightest intention of actually abiding by their own ludicrous rules.
This hypocrisy has been going on since the beginning of the Panic — just ask Karyn Polito or Marty Walsh. But over the last few days, these political hacks have become ever more brazen about their policy of rules-for-thee-but-not-for-me.
Occasionally they back down, like Gov. Andrew Cuomo when he canceled Thanksgiving plans for his 89-year-old mom and two daughters to join him in flouting his own rules for the peons.
But most of the time, these Trump-hating hacks brazenly violate their own stupid rules. Then when they get caught, just shrug and say, “What are you gonna do about it, pal?”
Consider the mayor of Austin, Texas. It’s a blue city, which means almost all of the residents are either crazy or terrified or both. They believe in nothing, so they fall for anything. Like, for instance, COVID-1984.
Their mayor’s name is Steve Adler.
Last month, his daughter got married. At the time, gatherings of more than 10 people were prohibited in Austin. Unless you were the mayor — for his kid’s wedding, Hizzoner invited 20 people to gather, all Beautiful People no doubt.
Then the mayor and seven others flew off for a few days R&R at a resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. On a private jet. (The mayor makes $82,387 a year.)
Once he got settled in his vacation digs, he recorded a scolding video for his subjects, er constituents:
“We need to stay home if you can. We need to keep the numbers down. Now is not the time to relax.”
Unless you’re in Cabo San Lucas.
Then there’s California. Before Thanksgiving, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued instructions to everyone to, among other things, keep a mask on between bites of turkey. No gatherings of more than 10, everything outside, and no more than two hours together. (“Hey Granny, you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here!”)
After his ridiculous diktat, Newsom went out to dinner … at one of the priciest restaurants in the nation, the French Laundry, in Yountville, where a bottle of wine can cost up to $100,000. Among the other guests in the Newsom party — the top lobbyist for medical interests in Sacramento.
Busted. Newsom said the meal was outdoors and everyone was wearing a mask. An LA TV station then produced photographs – it was inside, and no one was wearing a mask.
That was last week’s French Laundry story. Now it turns out, the very next night, in what appears to be the same posh private dining room, the mayor of San Francisco — London Breed — showed up for the 60th birthday party of a Hong Kong billionaire’s daughter-in-law.
This is the same Mayor Breed who issued the first citywide lockdown in the U.S., on March 16.
Breed chowed down at the French Laundry on Nov. 7. On Nov. 10, she banned all indoor restaurant dining in San Francisco.
Then there’s the mayor of San Jose, Sam Liccardo. He summarily told his city to “cancel the big gatherings” for Thanksgiving. His office said he would be “staying home.”
Turns out, he went to his elderly parents’ home for the big feast, with at least eight people.
“I have a very large family,” he explained after being busted by a local TV station. (Have you noticed, newspapers seldom break gotcha stories about two-faced pols anymore? It’s always local TV, or maybe, as in the case of Pay to Play Polito, a blog.)
Mayor Liccardo’s office said they didn’t lie about his plans, they just “misspoke.”
Then there’s Los Angeles Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. You may know her better as Zelda Gilroy in the ancient TV series Dobie Gillis. Now she’s almost 80, a career hack. Earlier this week, she was in the 3-2 majority on the board of supervisors that voted to ban outdoor dining in the county.
Eating outside is, Zelda thundered, “a most dangerous situation.”
Shortly after the vote, hours before her own ban went into effect, she was observed at her favorite restaurant in her own neighborhood, Il Forno Trattoria. She was … outside.
Zelda Gilroy has stopped giving interviews about her fine dining habits, saying it’s a “non-story.”
Notice the lack of remorse here, pretty much across the board. The most any of these Democrats will cop to is “regret” for their hypocrisy.
The only one who’s thrown himself on the mercy of the court of public opinion is Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
Last week, you may recall, he used Twitter to “urge” everyone in Denver to shelter in place for the holiday. He seems to have composed his scolding tweet while being driven to the airport to board a (commercial) flight to Mississippi, where he met his wife and daughter for the holiday.
Busted, Mayor Hancock issued a real apology. Describing his behavior, he even used the “h” word — “hypocritical.”
Thank you, Mayor Hancock.
One last thought: if any of these frauds truly believed they were in the slightest bit of danger, would they really be acting in such utter disregard of their own rules?
And if they don’t think the panic is a problem for them, where do these despicable politicians get off making it a problem for the rest of us?
Is asking this question going to get me banned from social media?
