Pathological liar George Costanza of “Seinfeld” fame once said, “It’s not a lie if you believe it.” And it would seem that Congress Member-elect George Santos has taken that advice to heart.
The Republican politician, who’s set to become the 3rd District’s new voice on Capitol Hill next month, won his election by building a network of falsehoods unprecedented in the history of New York politics — and that’s saying something.
As the New York Times proved in its exposé last week, and as Santos confessed during a media blitz the day after Christmas, the candidate lied about virtually everything — his career, his education, his criminal record, his family background, even his faith.
Yet, in a truly Costanza-esque display of utter shamelessness, Santos feels entitled to taking the Congressional seat he won in November despite having lied to every voter in his district about who he is.
“I campaigned talking about the people’s concerns, not my résumé,” Santos told the New York Post. “I intend to deliver on the promises I made during the campaign.”
Can you believe the nerve of this guy?
How dare this clown display such contempt for the voters and disrespect for our system of government to admit to such moral malfeasance and outright fraud, yet still not resign the seat to which he was elected through that malfeasance and fraud?
There is absolutely zero justification for Santos to be seated on Jan. 3 in the new Congress — but even Santos knows that no one will force him out, at least until the voters get their say in two years.
That’s because Santos endorsed the incoming House majority leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, in the hotly-contested speaker’s race. Republicans may have won a majority of House seats, but McCarthy isn’t a lock to become speaker due to party infighting instigated by the far-right wing.
We can’t imagine that another shameless politician like McCarthy — who quickly retracted his condemnation of Donald Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack because the Trumpists got mad at him for doing so — will refuse to seat Santos, knowing that he badly needs that vote in his quest to become the next speaker.
In many ways, George Santos perfectly encapsulates the problem with the Republican Party today: the brazen lying to voters, the lack of personal responsibility, and the wholesale disrespect of government and its institutions.
Now that problem belongs to the 3rd District of New York, to the voters of northeast Queens and northern Nassau County — because Santos lied to them like a fake architect or an amateur marine biologist.
And for the next two years, they’ll need to remember one thing: It’s not the truth if George Santos says it.
