Congressman George Santos (R-N.Y.) has been a very, very bad boy. So naughty, in fact, that politicians and pundits left, right, and center have insisted he be removed from Congress. The issue, as has been well publicized, is that these critics are deeply offended — down to their very souls — that he’s the George Constanza (of Seinfeld fame) of politics and fabricated his résumé while seeking office. Yes, their great revelation is this:
A politician lied.
Why, one can just hear the ghost of Captain Renault (of Casablanca fame) exclaiming in the halls of Congress, “I’m shocked, shocked, to find that lying is going on in here!”
Will we ever recover?
Oh, don’t get me wrong: Santos has taken having a “flexible” relationship with Truth during résumé “enhancement” to levels unseen since the young Frank Abagnale (of real-life and Catch Me If You Can fame). He has apparently lied about matters ranging from working for Goldman Sachs to graduating from Baruch College to being a landlord to, perhaps, saving 2,500 dogs. Why, illustrating how times have changed, the legislator has even had to defend himself against claims that he’s not actually “gay.”
(“Really, I swear, I’m a homosexual! Vote for me!”)
In reality, though, it might be refreshing that, unlike Joe Biden, Andrew Cuomo, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.), Santos wears his personality disorder openly.
One person who certainly doesn’t agree, though, is longtime columnist Peggy Noonan. Noonan, an admirer of ex-representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, says it’s a “mistake” to let Santos remain in Congress. In fact, calling it “deeply stupid,” Noonan made her case in her weekly Wall Street Journal column on Sunday, writing (as quoted by American Thinker):
George Santos was never elected to Congress. A nice young man, 34-years old, a conservative who’d struggled against the odds — the son of immigrants, born in some want, an ethnic minority whose grandparents fled the Holocaust. He rose to be educated at one of New York’s greatest private schools, to be a star athlete at a great college, earned a masters in business administration, forged on to become an impressive figure in finance with positions at Goldman Sachs and Citicorp. He came to own mansions on Long Island. Only in America.…
That’s who was elected. That’s who won, by 8 points.
But that man didn’t exist.
American Thinker states that since Santos nonetheless qualifies for office under Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution, Noonan “is claiming the right to countermand” our founding document. This said, her above passage is metaphorically true and perhaps compelling. But now that we’re on the subject, let’s discuss another man. We could also say:
Joe Biden was never (s)elected president. A nice elderly man, 78-years old, a moderate who’d been “raised in the Puerto Rican community at home,” who was arrested in South Africa while trying to see Nelson Mandela, who had a son who died in Iraq, who faced down gang leader Corn Pop. He pulled himself up by his bootstraps; he was offered a job by an Idaho lumber company, “used to drive” an 18-wheeler, rose to be in the top half of his class at Syracuse University College of Law, and was “appointed” to the Naval Academy. Only in America.…
That’s who was (s)elected. That’s who won, by 4 points.
But that man didn’t exist.
In other words, if Santos read The Secret Campaign Life of a Political Walter Mitty, Biden wrote the book. According to the The New York Times, though, such behavior simply amounts to “embellished narratives” — except when George Santos does it.
(Biden also made 67 “false and misleading claims” in his first 100 days in office, according to the left-wing Washington Post.)
But then here’s what Santos didn’t do. He didn’t say, “If you like your doctor or health care provider, you can keep them.” Barack Obama did. It was a lie, too.
Santos also didn’t speak Ebonics-style to a mostly-black New Orleans audience and claim that the primarily black victims of Hurricane Katrina were being denied the aid that mainly white 9/11 and Hurricane Andrew (Florida) victims got, even though they received more aid than NYC and Florida combined. Obama did.
Now, there’s a difference between Santos’ lies and Obama’s kind. Santos lied about his background to get elected, which is certainly wrong. Yet if his congressional votes align with his campaign platform, he’ll be delivering on what he promised his constituents — he’ll be doing the job he was elected to do.
When a politician promises to deliver a certain policy but then does the opposite, however, it actually affects people’s lives. It’s not then just that voters aren’t getting the man they elected, but that they’re not getting the legislator they elected.
The same is true when, as Obama also did, a politician engages in race-baiting: This can affect people’s lives profoundly — by sparking racial violence. (Note: A white physician was just murdered by a black man who reportedly yelled “white privilege!” during the attack.)
It’s the difference between a doctor who lies about his credentials but does a good job with your surgery, and one who’s truthful about his background but removes a kidney when he’d been hired to take out your gallbladder.
Santos should be removed from office — when Biden, Sen. Elizabeth “Fauxcahontas” Warren, and Sen. Richard “Stolen Valor” Blumenthal are. Until then, he can support his party’s policies just as effectively as the other side’s liars can support their party’s policies.
