Few Americans embody the Covid regime as well as Dr. Richard Pan. He acquired his power through courting contributions from the pharmaceutical industry and then used his power in government to demand censorship of his opponents. While Americans suffered under lockdowns and mandates, he demonstrated an ongoing disdain for constitutional freedoms and disregard for human suffering.
He spouted untruths while accusing his opponents of misinformation, and he used the cudgel of “public health” to justify his attacks on the American way of life. All the while, he appeared obtuse to the profound damage his policies had on children.
Pan, a former California State Senator, evidently believes he deserves more power as he has announced his candidacy for Mayor of Sacramento. The election in March provides an opportunity for a referendum on the Covid regime’s most fundamental tenets: censorship, lockdowns, school closures, mask policies, vaccine mandates, and the influence of the pharmaceutical industry.
The Archetype of the Regime
As a California State Senator, Pan authored Assembly Bill 2098, a law that authorized the California Medical Board to strip doctors of their medical licensing if they shared Covid “misinformation,” which he defined as any statement that “is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus.” Governor Gavin Newsom later repealed the law after a federal district court found it unconstitutional.
Pan did little to hide his disdain for free speech. He called on the California Medical Board to revoke Dr. Jay Bhattacharya’s medical license for opposing AB 2098. In an op-ed for the Washington Post, he called anti-vaccine advocacy “akin to domestic terrorism” and demanded that social media companies ban users and groups that challenged government-approved Covid narratives.
In the article, he accused those who didn’t share his vaccine fanaticism as being corrupted by “a financial interest.” Pan’s career path, however, suggests conflicts of interest of his own.
Pan entered the California State Senate in 2014 after winning a tightly contested primary. The Sacramento Bee reported that Pan “raised more money than his opponents” and “also benefit[ed] from big spending by outside interest groups,” including health care lobbyists.
The following year, Pan received more contributions from the pharmaceutical industry than any of his colleagues as he introduced legislation to heighten vaccine requirements. Big Pharma and its trade groups “gave more than $2 million to current members of the Legislature,” The Sacramento Bee reported that year. “The top recipient of industry campaign cash is Sen. Richard Pan, a Sacramento Democrat and doctor who is carrying the vaccine bill.”
