The Nancy Pelosi salon scandal has been, appropriately, receiving a lot of attention. On its face it is insulting, an abuse of power, and a punch in the nose of all Americans who have obeyed COVID-19 lockdown restrictions at the expense of their quality of life, and in so many instances, their life’s work.
But there she was, in broad daylight, on a security camera inside a closed salon in San Francisco; there goes Mrs. Pelosi waltzing along without a mask, her hair wet, and in the presence of salon staff.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California remains under fire for bizarre and arbitrary rules keeping the economy of that state shut down. Small business owners are being destroyed, as people are being driven into poverty. San Francisco’s politicians, as of Sept. 1, raised their scepter and declared salons could open for outdoor hair-styling only. They do not allow hair coloring outside because other restrictions ban certain chemicals from being introduced to the environment.
The salon Mrs. Pelosi was visiting was shut to the general public but was contacted by a freelance stylist who rents a station in the salon who said that Mrs. Pelosi had contacted them and was coming in. The salon owner spoke bluntly in an interview with Fox News, “It was a slap in the face that she went in, you know, that she feels that she can just go and get her stuff done while no one else can go in, and I can’t work … We’re supposed to look up to this woman, right It is just disturbing.”
While this episode, in and of itself, is worthy of outrage, it is just one more illustration of how the ruling class believes that they are above the law. It’s not just insulting, it is dangerous. It shows that politicians feel more than comfortable issuing draconian, grotesque and dangerous laws — viewing American citizens as collateral damage in their fun little game and obsessive drive for power.
While Nancy Pelosi flouts the law in her home city as women who are not multi-millionaires watch their hard work and futures go down the drain, we also have Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney who banned indoor dining in that great American city due to COVID-19. He was then seen enjoying a lovely indoor dining experience in the state of Maryland.
Philadelphians noticed, and are not happy. Philadelphia celebrity restaurateur Marc Vetri made his opinion known on Twitter: “Hi @phillymayor !!! Glad you’re enjoying indoor dining with no social distancing or mask-wearing in Maryland tonight while restaurants here in Philly close, suffer and fight for every nickel just to survive. I guess all your press briefings and your narrative of unsafe indoor dining don’t apply to you. Thank you for clearing it all up for us tonight.”
This arrogant flouting of what are supposed to be existential laws and rules reveals something especially urgent: These politicians are admitting, with their own behavior, that they don’t believe those rules are even necessary.
The lockdown of small businesses, including restaurants, is based on the argument that it’s a matter of life and death. “Wear that mask, or you are going to kill grandma.” Or “indoor dining can’t happen because you’re gonna die or you’re gonna cause somebody else to die.” And then the “Keep that salon (or store, or gym, or church) closed because again, everyone’s going to die,” lecture.
Neither Mrs. Pelosi nor Mr. Kenney felt they were in danger by flouting laws and rules they force on others in the name of the ubiquitous “safety.” We see this double-standard on a gigantic scale with condemnation and scorn by Democratic politicians of Trump political gatherings, while they support, and even encourage, left-wing political demonstrations and riots.
Isn’t it time we end this?
Many are observing that this hypocrisy and the nonsensical nature of the shutdown prove it is a political effort to depress the economy because it might hurt President Trump. The Daily Caller reported internal polling at the Trump campaign “showing that likely voters still care significantly more about jobs and the economy than any other issue heading into the 2020 election.”
No doubt the Democrats have found the same thing. Many have been perplexed at the inexplicable decisions by Democrats keeping major American cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco shut down. But by shutting down those economic engines perhaps they imagine this will harm Trump. You, they don’t even think about. Their hatred for Mr. Trump is completely consuming them. At our expense.
There is widespread concern that there will be cheating in the Nov. 3 election, something that should not surprise us, nor should it seem so outrageous considering the destruction Democrats are allowing in the cities they control due to their panic at losing, again, to Mr. Trump and the American people. Deliberate economic destruction, while allowing domestic terrorism to continue on a nightly basis in some great American cities, tells us at the very least what they’re capable of.