Entitlement at root of Pelosi’s blowout blunder

Following coronavirus restrictions and wearing masks is of vital importance during the pandemic. Unless you’re a member of the Democratic elite and these protocols are inconvenient — then it’s all about you and your needs.

In House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s case, it was all about her hair. Apparently Madame Speaker needed a wash and blowout Monday, and wasn’t going to let San Franscisco’s rules keeping salons closed stop her. Salons in that city have been closed since March, and were only given the all-clear to reopen Sept. 1 for outdoor styling services only.

But video footage accompanying news reports show Pelosi inside eSalon, walking while appearing maskless, followed by a masked stylist.

Salon owner Erica Kious told Fox News that independent stylists work for her and rent chairs in the salon.

“One of the stylists who rents a chair from me contacted me Sunday night,” Kious said. That stylist had been contacted by Pelosi’s assistant, looking for an appointment.

“I was like, are you kidding me right now? Do I let this happen? What do I do?” Kious said, adding that she “can’t control” what her stylists do if they rent chairs from her, as “they’re not paying” at this time.

“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,” Kious said.

This could have been a great teachable moment, an opportunity for Pelosi to stand up and take responsibility for flouting the rules as she has slammed President Trump for going maskless.

Instead, the football of blame was kicked over the goalpost of “not me.”

Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said that the speaker was following the rules as presented to her.

“The Speaker always wears a mask and complies with local COVID requirements. This business offered for the Speaker to come in on Monday and told her they were allowed by the city to have one customer at a time in the business. The Speaker complied with the rules as presented to her by this establishment,” he said.

Nancy Pelosi represents California’s 12th Congressional District, which encompasses most of San Francisco. So we are to believe the congresswoman did not know of the coronavirus restrictions in her own district, and instead relied on a salon owner to fill her in on what was proper?

Harmeet Dhillon, an attorney and co-chair of Lawyers For Trump told KTVU Pelosi and perhaps even the salon should be fined.

“I’ve represented other types of businesses that have been severely punished for violating the very same law that Nancy Pelosi broke yesterday,” Dhillon said.

Why would a stylist open the place for Pelosi?

“You know a big politician says she wants her hair done. You’ve been sitting on your couch for six months. You’re going to take the opportunity. You know I don’t judge the person personally because I understand they need to make some money,” Rory Cox, co-owner of Yubalance, a personal fitness gym in San Francisco told KTVU.

The notion that Pelosi allegedly relied on a salon stylist to apprise her of coronavirus restrictions is worrying on a few levels: For one, it speaks to either ignorance or deliberate obtuseness as to the rules in her own district, it skirts the question “Why didn’t a staff member look them up?” and smacks of elitism and entitlement.

That’s a hair-raising combination.