TAMPA, Fla.- The Democratic doubletalk and hypocrisy on COVID-19 restrictions is legendary at this point, even if the mainstream media seeks to bury the news.
To its credit, Business Insider a couple of months ago identified a baker’s dozen of prominent Democrats who in a few short weeks had come up short of following virus mandates they either enacted or supported.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Mayors London Bred, Lori Lightfoot, and Muriel Bowser, of San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., respectively, made the cut.
Noting many of these cases in December, the staid, stoic Governing magazine pointed out, “By demonstrating their belief that it’s okay to indulge, if only briefly, politicians have made their own job of getting the public to accept new or continuing (virus) restrictions that much harder.”
Add Tampa’s Jane Castor to the list.
On Super Bowl Sunday, as the hometown Buccaneers claimed supremacy in the NFL, a CNN reporter breathlessly relayed the spectacle of maskless revelers partying in Tampa’s best-known bar district.
“You’re supposed to be wearing a mask if you’re anywhere near Raymond James Stadium, if you’re in a bar or a restaurant or anywhere in one of these event or entertainment areas,” reporter Randi Kaye shared.
“And you can see from the pictures and the video that we have that people are just not paying much attention to that mask mandate. They are supposed to be fined up to $500.”
Kaye added that she had called the Tampa police to ask why they weren’t enforcing the city’s mask mandate.
And from her lips to Mayor Castor’s ears.
The day after CNN’s hyperventilating meltdown, Castor said, “Everyone knows that simply wearing a mask dramatically reduces the spread of COVID-19.”
“I’m proud to say that the majority of individuals that I saw out and about enjoying the festivities associated with the Super Bowl were complying,” Castor added. And then she promised to grant Kaye’s wish.
“We had tens of thousands of people all over the city, downtown, out by the stadium, and very, very few incidents. So, I’m proud of our community but those few bad actors will be identified, and the Tampa Police Department will handle it.”
History presents a problem for Democrats who make such noise. As Castor soon found out.
In January, Columnist Chris Ingram said, “The mayor is taking action by pursuing the suspension or revocation of the liquor licenses of those bars or restaurants that have two or more citations from the city. The owners say they did the best they could do, and that patrons on the street not wearing masks are not their responsibility.”
Ingram penned a column titled, “‘Calamity Jane’ Tampa’s Hypocrite in Chief,” as the city was taking action against several bars and restaurants that they claim have repeatedly ignored the city’s COVID-19 restrictions. Yet Castor herself has repeatedly violated her own order.
As Clay Travis, host of the “Outkick the Coverage” podcast, put it, “The Mayor of Tampa wants to investigate & prosecute fans who were celebrating the Bucs Super Bowl win without wearing masks. Based on photos of the mayor also maskless at Tampa sporting events she should start by prosecuting herself.”