“Do as I say, not as I do” is a catchphrase for hypocrisy. There’s even a book about it, “Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy,” by conservative muckraker Peter Schweitzer.

One example among dozens: In 2002 Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the future House speaker, was given the Cesar Chavez Award from the United Farm Workers. This was despite the fact that she and her husband, Paul, owned a plush Napa Valley vineyard employing non-union farm workers.

And who could forget the countless liberal politicians, from Pelosi to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who were caught violating coronavirus restrictions they themselves promoted and imposed on millions of others?

Here’s a 2023 example should there be a new edition of the book.

Newsom recently signed a Senate bill by that mandated venture capital firms in the state must file with the state Civil Rights Department yearly, detailed diversity data on the “founding team,” meaning the original owners and major original contributors, such as researchers.

Categories include race, ethnicity, gender identity, disability status, LGBTQ+ identification, veteran or disabled veteran status, California residency and anyone who refused to respond to a questionnaire.

“This bill resonates deeply with my commitment to advance equity and provide for greater economic empowerment of historically underrepresented communities,” he said upon signing the bill.

But in a brazen act of hypocrisy Newsom vetoed another Senate bill that would have required the governor’s office to provide similar information on his appointees to state boards and commissions.

In his veto message, he said the reporting required by the bill is “optional and self-reported by candidates,” so it “would not necessarily accurately reflect the diversity of appointees.”

But it would have given us some information. It would also give insight into whether Newsom himself is capable of living up to the standards he is apparently comfortable imposing on others.

This also is troubling because the public sector ought to live by higher standards than the private sector because it uses the public’s money and the law to coerce results.

The private sector does not. Indeed, the recent California mandates on venture capital firms are an unnecessary burden. Federal, state and local laws already ban discrimination, and are enforced by the Civil Rights Department and other entities.

Liberals like Newsom know this, of course, but they value virtue signaling above everything else.

— Tribune News Service