The George Santos debacle just got even uglier for House Republicans
In the year of 1861, three members of Congress were expelled. This is because they had supported the Confederate states. A good reason for expulsion. In 2002, James Anthony Traficant Jr. was expelled from Congress. The reason for his expulsion was that he was convicted of ten felony counts, including bribery, filing false tax returns, and racketeering.
In 2022, the good people of New York were defrauded by a bad seed by the name of George Santos (we think that’s his name) who is now under indictment for 13 different counts, including wire fraud and theft of public funds.
It is rare indeed when a Congressperson gets expelled. But George Santos, though he may hold the title of Congressman, is not, in reality, a congressman. George Santos is a less skilled but no less foolhardy version of Mr. Ripley. He’s a con artist, a person who looks for “marks.” And he found them in his constituents.
This is why Democrats have moved to expel him from Congress. Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California introduced the resolution. Republicans are now put in a position where they have to show how they feel about Santos — on the record.
It should not be a tough choice. Santos is like a nasty rash one can’t get rid of. But they SHOULD get rid of him, and it should be done as soon as possible. If one looks at the members of Congress, looks at all the faces, Santos sticks out. He has this aura from around him.There are simply some people who immediately leave a bad taste in one’s mouth. One can look at them and KNOW something is wrong with them.
And that is the case with Santos. His sins are many, and far from being apologetic, he seems to grow more defiant by the day. Santos has no other source of income except Congress. No wonder he wants to stay! And one thing is sure. The longer he stays, the more damage he does to the reputation of Congress.
When asked about Santos the other day Kevin McCarthy, a blow-up doll wholly controlled by Marjorie Taylor Greene, bumbled, fumbled and stumbled and could not give a coherent answer. He brought up John Durham and compared Adam Schiff to Santos, which is what one would expect a fool like Kevin to do.
But moderate Republicans are in a quandary right now. What do they do? I do not expect the expulsion of Santos to happen — yet. Surprises are always possible, but Republicans lack one necessary ingredient to assure Santos’s constituents that the fraud they voted for will be gone. That something is called a spline. We’ll see what happens.
