House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was caught on tape getting her hair styled at a San Francisco salon last Monday afternoon while not wearing a mask and while salons were currently closed by local orders. Pelosi claims to have been set up by the salon’s owner, something even uber liberal CNN host Don Lemon wasn’t buying. The optics for Pelosi as one of the faces of the Democrat party were horrible and deserved to be shared far and wide.
But she is not alone. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney was photographed at a Maryland restaurant while dining establishments in his town remain shuttered because of the coronavirus. Now, the Mayor wasn’t breaking any law as diners in Maryland are reported to be allowed to serve guests in a limited capacity, but he has also been a vocal proponent of social distancing and mask wearing, actions he clearly wasn’t practicing in the photograph. The photograph went viral, forcing the Mayor to tweet a half-hearted apology.
Speaking of social gatherings, some Democrats have gone to the extreme in their efforts to control them. Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell has gone so far as to ban all social gatherings inside and outside, including in private homes! But that doesn’t seem to stop his Democrat brethren like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo from being repeatedly spotted not wearing a mask while demanding that New Yorkers wear them. Or how about New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s trips to the gym? His flimsy excuse for doing so? He stated that he needed “to exercise to be able to stay healthy and make decisions.” But to hell with the health of the rest of New Yorkers, right, Mr. de Blasio? Oh, and your decisions need a lot of work, too.
It appears preening Democrat leaders just cannot help themselves from keeping their hair well-coiffed. Remember literally watching your own and your neighbor’s hair grow during the early months of the shutdown? Or how about the various facial hair styles sported by your colleagues on Zoom calls? You could not find an open barber shop or hair salon and those stylists who dared to make house calls were rounded up and punished in some cities.
That did not stop Chicago’s Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot from getting her hair styled in early April. You see, in the Mayor’s estimation, instead of commiserating with her suffering constituents, it was more important that she, in her opinion as the “public face” of Chicago, look good for the cameras and social media outlets. Tell that to the first responders who pulled 24-hour shifts in the early stages of the pandemic, Madam Mayor.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s wife, M.K. Muenster-Pritzker, left Illinois for the family farm in Florida to avoid her husband’s stay-at-home order, while the rest of Illinoisians had to shelter in place. Life is certainly good when you can escape to your $12.1 million equestrian estate in South Florida, isn’t it, Ms. Muenster-Pritzker?
Democrats talk a good game regarding the seriousness of the pandemic, but their actions tell another story: one set of rules for them as the ruling class and another quite different set for the rest of us. Take a close look at their behavior, because there is no reason to believe that it will change should they acquire power this November.
Andrew Mangione is Senior Vice President for AMAC’s advocacy affiliate, AMAC Action. He leads AMAC’s grassroots efforts, represents AMAC’s membership in Washington, D.C., and helps chart the association’s policy course. He also serves as a national spokesperson.