Category: US Politics

Several high profile Democrat politicians ignored guidance related to the Chinese coronavirus when it appeared to be personally convenient — a realization that comes as Democrat politicians, such as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, attempt to limit gatherings in personal residences ahead of the holiday season.

Democrat politicians have stood united in criticizing the Trump administration’s response to the virus, accusing the president and his supporters of not taking it seriously, particularly when it comes to wearing a mask and avoiding unnecessary public gatherings. However, several of these same politicians have violated their own purported beliefs — and self-declared moral standing — by removing their masks and engaging with crowds, even in recent days. Below are some of the most notable offenders.

1. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot: 

A video from Saturday, November 7, shows Lightfoot standing in the midst of a large crowd, celebrating Joe Biden’s purported victory.

“This is a great day for our country. We get to take our democracy back,” she said as she stood in the midst of a large group as a mask dangled from her left ear.

“I just want to say, for all those people who voted, you made this happen,” Lightfoot said as the crowd cheered, clapped, and shouted.

The Chicago mayor did not appear to be overtly concerned by the lack of social distancing among members of the group and continued to speak to them without a mask covering her face.

“We should absolutely celebrate this victory. We should savor every minute of it. But the hard work starts tomorrow,” she added:

Just days later, Lightfoot, alongside the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, launched the “Protect Chicago” strategy, described as an effort to urge Chicagoans to “change their behavior through targeted regulations, strong messaging, and a community-based outreach strategy.”

Part of that effort includes a stay-at-home advisory and a ten-person cap for social events, whether indoors or outdoors. According to the press release, the limit “applies to events such as weddings, birthday parties, business dinners/social events, and funerals, and is applicable to any venue where a meeting or social event is taking place, including meeting rooms.”

Lightfoot also advises Chicagoans to cancel their Thanksgiving plans to combat the Chinese coronavirus:

The press release specifically encourages residents to “use remote modes of communication like phone or video chat instead of visiting friends or family, especially on holidays such as Thanksgiving.”

Lightfoot did not express the same concerns mere days ago as she celebrated in the streets with dozens of Biden-Harris supporters. She has since defended her participation in the street celebration.

“There are times when we actually do need to have a relief and come together, and I felt like that was one of those times,” she said during an appearance on MSNBC. “That crowd was gathered whether I was there or not.”

2. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker:

Pritzker, who recently warned that another stay-at-home order could be forthcoming, also joined a crowd in the streets following the media’s declaration of Biden’s purported victory:

According to Patch, the governor’s public visit “occurred less than 24 hours after Pritzker’s administration had announced the governor had been exposed to COVID-19 at an ‘external meeting’ Monday and would again quarantine as a precaution.”

On Thursday, just days after congregating with a large crowd, Pritzker warned that the state will “quickly reach the point when some form of a mandatory stay-at-home order” if “things don’t take a turn in the coming days.”

“With every fiber of my being, I do not want us to get there. But right now, that seems like where we are heading,” he stated.

3. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo:

Like Lightfoot, Cuomo has issued additional restrictions in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, including the 10 p.m. closure of gyms, bars, and restaurants, as well as a limit on gatherings at private residences. Occupancy, according to the governor, should not exceed 10 individuals.

Cuomo, who said that he would have “decked” Trump if not for his status as governor, has also been spotted in public without a mask on more than one occasion despite his insistence that masks are “cool”:

Cuomo has also done little, if anything at all, to combat the large crowds of Black Lives Matter protesters who have repeatedly taken to the streets over the past several months. Yet, he has discouraged churches and synagogues from operating.

4. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio:

Like Cuomo, the New York mayor has remained incredibly selective on the enforcement of coronavirus restrictions in recent months, banning large gatherings but making an exception for large Black Lives Matter protests.

“This is a historic moment of change. We have to respect that but also say to people the kinds of gatherings we’re used to, the parades, the fairs — we just can’t have that while we’re focusing on health right now,” he said over the summer. Additionally, contact tracers were reportedly instructed not to ask individuals if they had attended widespread protests.

In April, de Blasio and his wife were spotted strolling through a park without masks.

5. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer:

Schumer has routinely criticized Trump’s response to the Chinese coronavirus and has repeatedly emphasized the importance of wearing masks, yet he took to the streets of New York on Saturday, removing his mask while triumphantly celebrating with a large group of Biden-Harris supporters:

It remains unclear why Schumer found it appropriate to remove his mask among such a large crowd, given his emphasis on the importance of them:

Notably, Schumer’s mask hung below his nose during a joint press conference on Thursday:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

6. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

On Monday, the speaker listed mask-wearing and social distancing as essential “to save lives.” However, neither stopped her from getting a blowout at a San Francisco hair salon as such businesses remained shuttered in the city in late August. Surveillance footage of Pelosi’s visit showed the maskless speaker walking through the salon. She ultimately went with the “Marion Barry defense” and accused the salon of setting her up and demanded an apology.

More recently, Pelosi defended holding a dinner for incoming members of Congress as Democrat leaders abroad urge Americans to cancel their traditional Thanksgiving plans.

“It’s very spaced,” Pelosi reportedly said:

Leaders changed the format at the last minute on Friday following the immense backlash. According to Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, there was “no group dinner.” Instead, members picked up boxed meals.

7. Biden-Harris supporters:

Biden-Harris supporters swarmed the streets after several media outlets called the presidential race for Biden last weekend, earning little to no criticism from champions of coronavirus restrictions, who have criticized Trump for holding massive outdoor rallies in the weeks leading up to the election:

It remains unclear how many Democrat politicians will adhere to their self-imposed restrictions and effectively “cancel” traditional Thanksgiving plans, though Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) reportedly plans to hold Thanksgiving over Zoom.

The United States Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear a case from California growers who claim a state law allowing labor union officials to make contact with workers during nonworking hours is violating their private property rights.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the development:

The state’s Agricultural Labor Relations Board adopted the rules shortly after California’s passage in 1975 of the nation’s first law allowing farmworkers to join unions. They allow union representatives onto farmers’ property for an hour before work, an hour after work and during the lunch hour, for up to 40 days a year.

The state Supreme Court upheld the regulations in 1976, and growers did not challenge them for another 40 years, a period in which the nation’s high court became more conservative and protective of property rights. In a lawsuit by a strawberry grower in Siskiyou County and a grape and citrus fruit farm in Fresno, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 in May 2019 that the state was not interfering substantially with the owners’ control of their property by allowing union entry for limited periods.

On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted review of the growers’ appeal, which was supported by state and national farm organizations. The justices will hear arguments early next year and are due to decide by the end of June whether the state is violating the growers’ property rights.

“The Constitution forbids government from requiring you to allow unwanted strangers onto your property. And union activists are no exception,” attorney Joshua Thompson of the Pacific Legal Foundation, which represents the growers, said in the Chronicle report.

Mario Martinez, a lawyer for United Farm Workers, told the Chronicle he was “disappointed” by the court’s decision.

“A court review of California’s legislation appears to be another attempt to unfairly discriminate against farmworkers, but we look forward to persuading the court that the Ninth Circuit decision should be upheld,” Martinez said.

In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled that union organizers could enter employers’ property only in the “rare case” that the union could show “unique obstacles” preventing it from contacting employees in alternative ways.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority in the 6-3 decision, which overturned National Labor Relations Board regulations allowing unions broader access.

Unions have claimed in the past that it is difficult to reach workers because of their shifting work schedules, lack of public meeting spaces, and the challenge of reaching workers without permanent housing.

“In the current case, the federal appeals court said last year that the board’s explanation satisfied the Supreme Court’s 1992 requirement to show ‘unique obstacles’ to ordinary contact,” the Chronicle reported. “The dissenting judge, Edward Leavy, described landowners’ right to exclude unwanted visitors as ‘one of the most fundamental sticks in the bundle of property rights.’”

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Black Lives Matter protesters harassed a Black woman wearing a Trump jacket and pushing a stroller through BLM Plaza. The attack led to a fight and left two little girls in tears.

A group of anti-Trump protesters began harassing a Black woman wearing pro-Trump clothing while she pushed a baby stroller through Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House on Saturday. The family had just left the Million MAGA March.

A video tweeted by Daily Caller journalist Shelby Talcott shows the woman and her young daughter walking down a street in Washington, DC, pushing a baby stroller. A woman to the right can be seen taking cell phone pictures of the family.

“Get the f**k away from my family,” the mother says as others begin to crowd around her. The mother continues yelling as a man and a woman approach her family from behind.

A man with a Don’t Tread on Me flag steps in and attempts to intervene in the conflict, the video shows. The woman attempts to steal the flag from the man and a fight breaks out.

Another Daily Caller video shows the danger the BLM protesters put the family in. During the fight, the man with the flag is pushed backward and falls on a young girl.

D.C. Metro police officers quickly moved in from where they had been observing the situation develop and attempted to separate the group.

As the fight develops, the mother moves her kids to a safe position and yells at police to arrest the woman involved. Police can be seen placing a man in handcuffs who started throwing punches at the man with the flag.

The videos end showing the pre-teen girls screaming in terror as they watched the scene unfold.

In a video showing the aftermath, a man wearing a “F**k Racism” shirt yells at the Black woman, “Why did you bring your kid here?”

“You need to press charges,” another woman says.

“I want to press charges,” the mother responded.

One of the officers responded that he was going to lock up everyone involved in the attack on the family.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Parler @BobPrice, and Facebook.