The Corruption of the COVID Dictator Class [OPINION]

Chances are you've had to miss a funeral for a friend or the final hours of a loved one's life because coronavirus restrictions kept you away. Perhaps your kid had to have a drive-by birthday parade to mark their Sweet 16. Your kids certainly didn't have a graduation party. Your kids weren't even allowed to graduate unless it was done virtually. Hell, your kids weren't even allowed to finish the school year.

Now, if you were part of the coronavirus dictator ruling class those rules wouldn't have applied to you and your family. Just ask Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, who after insisting that you stay home except for essential travel attended a graduation party over the weekend for not one but two of her brother's kids. Polito, her brother, and their parents own the three homes that make up the exclusive Tatisatt Circle in Shrewsbury.

Turtleboy Sports posted pics from the scene showing "over a dozen cars" in their shared driveway on Saturday and says the photo was taken after some of the guests had already left.

Polito admits she attended the event.

“I did stop by to say hello,” she said. “It was an outdoor gathering, when I was there — spread apart, social distancing — which is allowed under the governor’s order and with the social guidance that we’ve issued.”

This, just a day after New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell told me he'd have the police visit the city's churches to make sure they weren't violating his edict on crowd size based on restrictions placed on gatherings by the Baker-Polito tag team.

When you are the mayor of Chicago, you can get a haircut even when you tell everyone else they can't have one. When you're the governor of Michigan, your husband can pull strings to get his boat in the water even as you forbid the knaves to purchase seeds to grow food. When you are the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, you can party on even while you berate the peasants for wanting to go back to work.

This stuff stinks and it's exactly why faith in government continues to sink. It also makes folks believe that all of this has been a big waste of time and money and that it probably could have been avoided.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.