It’s been 15 years since Peter Schweizer released his best-selling book, “Do As I Say, Not As I Do,” exposing the glorious hypocrisy of leftist politicians such as Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy, Al Franken, and Ralph Nader, and shining a light on Michael Moore, George Soros, Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, and Barbra Streisand.
But, despite the passage of time, not only have most of those leftists never shown any hint of regret, growth, or change, other leftists have joined them in the endless two-faced parade. Case in point, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock (D), who, as Christian Britschgi reports for Reason, tweeted his grand insight telling people to limit their holiday travel and gatherings, shortly before he boarded a plane to head to Mississippi to enjoy Thanksgiving with his wife and daughter.
Yep. Hancock insulted the memory of rebel John Hancock by putting his own name to this in-your-face, emoji-packed drivel:
Pass the potatoes, not COVID.
— Michael B. Hancock 😷 (@MayorHancock) November 25, 2020
🏘️Stay home as much as you can, especially if you're sick.
💻Host virtual gatherings instead of in-person dinners.
❌Avoid travel, if you can.
🍲Order your holiday meal from a local eatery.
🎁Shop online with a small business for #BlackFriday. pic.twitter.com/acQpWs2Ism
And that’s only part of what upset more than a few observers. In fact, this two-faced display came shortly after his government flexed its unconstitutional muscle, threatening people with a newly updated set of “restrictions” on their liberty. Writes Britschgi:
On Friday, Denver public health authorities, at the behest of Colorado's state government, issued additional pandemic restrictions that include the shuttering of indoor dining at restaurants, a 10 percent capacity cap at gyms, and a 25 percent capacity cap at houses of worship.
Because, ya know, as Thanksgiving approached, there probably were few things better than reminding people of the importance of private property – which is the lesson Governor Bradford explained was the impetus for their large Thanksgiving celebration.
And since Hancock swore an oath to uphold and operate by the US Constitution and the Colorado Constitution, it’s doubly nice that he should break both of them while insulting the intelligence of the proles at the same time.
What a guy.
And he’s not alone. In Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser traveled to Delaware to attend a celebration of President-elect Joe Biden's win over President Trump, despite issuing health guidelines asking D.C. residents to travel only for essential business, and mandating they quarantine for 14 days when returning from high-risk states - including Delaware.
And in California Gov. Gavin Newsom attended a birthday party at a high-end restaurant in Napa Valley violation of his own COVID-19 limits on gatherings, even has a spike in COVID cases has prompted the government-mandated closure of indoor dining in most of the state under Newsom's own rules.
Or in Michigan, where Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered much of the state, including the Upper Peninsula, closed to tourists and restricted from doing business, even as her own husband, Dr. Marc Mallory, asked a local marina to move his name up a list ahead of everyone else and drop his boat in the water first - because he's the governor's husband.
Then there’s New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose overbearing condescension only is exceeded – perhaps – by his tendency to act like a Macy’s Parade balloon called Hypocrite The Kid. His was the flourishing bounty of news reports telling us how he didn’t want others to travel or have big thanksgiving gatherings, while he prepped plans to have his elderly mom and two daughters brought to Albany to dine with him at the estate.
Classy.
Then there’s Dr. Neil Ferguson, the infamous creator of the astoundingly inflated COVID19 infection and death model that was adopted by boorish characters in the UK and US government, including people like Dr. Anthony Fauci. As Reason's Jerome Tuccille notes, Ferguson…
…the epidemiologist behind Britain's lockdown policy, met with his married girlfriend in defiance of the restrictions he promoted. Eager to threaten the common people with penalties if they failed to socially distance, he saw no reason to inconvenience himself the same way—although at least he conceded that propriety required him to resign his government post when the trysts were discovered in May.
Oh, and who can forget Fauci’s turn at, first, claiming that masks were worthless to stop COVID19 (which is correct) when, later, he said it was necessary to say that but that he said it to stop people from getting masks that he thought were needed for “health workers”, then his turn claiming masks were important, then his turn sitting in the stands at a baseball stadium having a grand ol’ time – with his mask down.
And, as Tuccille notes, Fauci is not alone in his explosive hypocrisy…
That attitude is obvious in Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, whose wife and daughter visited properties in Florida and Wisconsin even as he ordered state residents to stay at home except for ‘essential’ activities. ‘My official duties have nothing to do with my family," Pritzker huffed when a reporter called him out about his family's wanderings. ‘So I'm not going to answer that question. It's inappropriate, and I find it reprehensible.’
Ahh, moralistic outrage, when called out for one’s own lack of morality.
Classy -- just like Cuomo.
Meanwhile, her edicts have seen cops sent to arrest innocent business people simply for trying to run their businesses and accept voluntary patronage.
And Tuccille offers more:
For Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, the it moment was a hearty meal at a Maryland restaurant while indoor dining in his own city remained forbidden by his order. ‘I know some are upset that I dined indoors at a restaurant in Maryland yesterday,’ Kenney sniffed on Twitter in August. ‘I felt the risk was low because the county I visited has had fewer than 800 COVID-19 cases, compared to over 33,000 cases in Philadelphia. Regardless, I understand the frustration.’
Then there’s Her Highness, Nancy Pelosi, who was caught on video in September breaking state and San Francisco “mandates” forbidding just her kind of maskless visit to a hair stylist.
And there’s hardcore lefty, Rachel Levine, the Pennsylvania “Health Secretary” for obnoxious Governor Tom Wolf, who, shortly after issuing an edict to move COVID19-infected patients into nursing homes, had “her” 95 year-old mom removed from one.
“Rules for thee, but not for me,” seems to be the only poetry they know.
And, on the subject of PA, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention leftist PA State Rep Wendy Ullman, who got caught on camera joking with the aforementioned Wolf about how she would don a mask while on camera for “a little political theatre."
Do you consider the absolute destruction of rights and livelihoods “political theatre?”
Do you consider it to be far past the time that people who understand rights and private property stand, educate friends and family, and push back at people like them and their new pal, Mayor Hancock?
If so, thank you. The human race relies on people like you to fight people like them.
(Cover Photo: Mike Johnston)