It was refreshing, for a change, to see the U.S. House of Congress come together and cast bipartisan votes to expel a scoundrel named Rep. George Santos (R-New York).
He was elected by New York’s third congressional district and began his term in January 2023. He is only the sixth member of the House to be expelled in its long history.
Misinformed gullible voters elected this mendacious clown to Congress, but then his long litany of lies cracked wide open. He dealt out preposterous whoppers, like a House of Cards that came tumbling down – at long last.
Santos, 35, is now in desperate plea negotiations for a number of federal charges that include wire fraud, aggravated identify theft and conspiracy to commit offenses against America.
Santos is an incessant pathological liar, so much so that he lies in knee-jerk fashion even when he doesn’t have to. Lying is his ingrown hobby.
Among his stupid lies are these:
He graduated from Baruch College with degrees in economics and finance and was a standout on its volleyball team. Not! In fact, he never graduated from any college.
He worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup as a financier and investor. Not!
His mother was a survivor of the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers Sept. 11, 2001. Not!
He is Jewish. Not!
His grandparents in Europe had to flee Hitler’s Germany. Not!
Promises to spend campaign contributions to get elected so he could represent his constituents. Not! He used much of that money for ego vanity expenses like Botox treatments and other self-aggrandizing purchases.
His niece was kidnapped from a playground by kidnappers connected to the Chinese communist party. Not!
He claimed his unsuccessful bid for election had been “stolen” from him. Not!
He promised to raise funds to help a homeless veteran to get medical help for his dying comfort dog. Not! Santos took the money for himself. The dog died.
He said he lost four of his employees in the Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando, Fla. Not!
Well, enough. Those are just some of his preposterous claims.
Santos is an extreme example of a new and dangerous trend among politicians that telling loud, ludicrous lies endears candidates to voters, and the louder and more preposterous the lies the more that people applaud. They find the lies entertaining or proof that the candidate is not like other contenders who promise voters the moon and the stars. And, not to forget, this new breed of brazen liars are not “politically correct” or “woke,” which thrills political reactionaries.
All too many millions of Americans are convinced that all politicians are liars.
You’ll often hear this: “Oh, they ALL do that. They ALL lie; they’re ALL crooked.”
That is why many people do not bother to vote – because candidates are ALL no good. Just a bunch of crooks. That is a cynical excuse not to do one’s homework, not to find out the facts, not to go and vote even for the lesser of two “evils.”
And it’s those same ill-informed lazy cynics who applaud liars and demagogues and authoritarians because they think, mistakenly, that at least they are up-front about their lies and devious schemes. They don’t hide their lies like other insincere politicians who promise and never deliver.
But, in fact, they (political leaders) are not ALL like that. There have been outstanding public servants in the U.S. Congress and elsewhere throughout American history who worked – still work – so hard to make this a better nation for all of its people.
It’s good to know Rep. George Santos has been expelled from the U.S. House. It might – just might! – send a message that serial liars and persistent lawbreakers had best not apply to become public servants as a means to realize their own crooked pursuits.
It’s time we the voters start respecting and applauding honesty, integrity and public service instead of clapping clownishly for blustering liars and corrupt schemers.
