Guy Farmer: Do as I say, not as I do

Some "progressive" politicians with autocratic tendencies seem to enjoy telling the rest of us how to live our lives, what to eat, what kind of vehicle to drive, and how to behave in politically correct ways. A notable example of these "nanny" politicians is California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a San Francisco Bay Area liberal elitist, as are Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein, among others.

Unfortunately, too many Bay Area progressives have moved to Northern Nevada and are attempting to implement the kinds of policies they were trying to escape in our large and unruly neighbor to the West. My fellow Nevadans, repeat after me: "We don't care how they do it in California." Amen!

Back to Newsom, who seems tempted to issue a statewide lockdown order, the media recently caught him violating his own rules, revealing the kind of hypocrisy progressives often practice. After threatening a statewide lockdown – as has Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, by the way – Newsom was seen cavorting with family members and friends at a posh Napa Valley restaurant where dinners cost more than $300, excluding wine.

According to the Associated Press, Newsom "acknowledged that he attended a birthday party with a dozen friends… in the wine country north of San Francisco." And moreover, "Newsom declined to specify how many households the diners represented, but did not dispute that it was more than three," the limit he's inflicting on his fellow Californians. Republican Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, who is suing Newsom for imposing draconian restrictions in the Golden State, said Newsom's behavior "seems to be out of step… with the policies he's putting in place."

The respected Wall Street Journal agreed with Kiley, commenting that Newsom was "caught violating his own social distancing rules… with at least a dozen people from more than three households" at a fancy Wine Country restaurant. This is how Bay Area elites live their lives while locking down their less privileged neighbors.

We remember how Pelosi suffered through an earlier lockdown in her Snob Hill (excuse me, Nob Hill) condo by binging on gourmet ice cream stored in a $20,000 home freezer. Nevertheless, she's very concerned about the "little people" she represents in Washington, D.C.

"Nobody should begrudge the governor for celebrating a birthday with friends," the Journal continued. "The problem is that he (Newsom) and many politicians require the hoi polloi to follow strict virus rules that they don't abide by themselves. Then they threaten lockdowns as punishment if the little people don't comply."

Does any of this sound familiar? It should because Sisolak, currently quarantined with COVID-19, has threatened a statewide lockdown if we don't comply with his orders. Although Sisolak hasn't violated his own orders, that we know of, some of those orders seem contradictory, to say the least. Our casinos are open but our churches are closed. What does this say about our governor's priorities?

Sisolak's Coronavirus Czar, Caleb Cage, singled out Elko County as he criticized "local elected officials… who are undermining efforts to slow the spread of the virus." Just one question: Who elected Caleb Cage? We know that the virus looks much different in smaller counties than it does in Las Vegas or Reno. For example, we had a spike in COVID cases in Carson last Sunday, but 343 of 369 new cases were at the Warm Springs Correctional Facility (prison), thereby distorting "Quad County" virus statistics.

Yes, wear a mask and do the right things to combat COVID-19, but don't panic. We'll get through this together.

Guy W. Farmer is the Appeal's senior political columnist.