I WAS DELIGHTED TO LEARN, ON ELECTION NIGHT, THAT MY OLD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT, THE ONE I GREW UP IN, THE THIRD DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, HAD ELECTED A REPUBLICAN.  Now, I'm not so delighted.  Turns out the elected "Republican" is actually a professional liar.  He lied about his entire background.  From Fox: 

Rep.-elect George Santos, R-N.Y., who flipped a hotly-contested congressional seat on the edge of New York City, responded to criticism of misleading or fabricated items on his resume in a contentious interview on Fox News Tuesday, insisting he is not a "fraud" or a "fake."

Santos has come under fire for claims he graduated from Manhattan's Baruch College, his connection to Judaism and work in the financial sector. He defeated Robert Zimmerman, a longtime Democratic activist who has also appeared on Fox News in the past, as the two vied for outgoing Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi's seat encompassing part of Nassau County and northeastern Queens.

On "Tucker Carlson Tonight," former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who was guest-hosting for Tucker Carlson, grilled Santos on the claims and whether the voters in New York's 3rd Congressional district should be able to trust the person they elected.

Gabbard asked Santos what the term "integrity" means to him in light of the revelations, to which the congressman-to-be replied it means to carry oneself "in an honorable way." He repeated admitting to making a mistake.

"I think humans are flawed, and we all make mistakes, Tulsi," he said. "I think we can all look at ourselves in the mirror and admit that once in our life we made a mistake. I'm having to admit this on national television for the whole country to see. And I have the courage to do so because I believe that in order to move past this and move forward and be an effective member of Congress, I have to face my mistakes, and I'm facing them."

Santos said he nonetheless remains committed to the issues he campaigned on this year, saying he is "not a fraud" and worked "damn hard to get where I got my entire life."
In response, Gabbard said integrity does mean carrying oneself with honor but also indicates commitment to the truth.

"[I]f I were one of those in New York's third district right now, now that the election is over and I'm finding out all of these lies that you've told… my question is, do you have no shame?" Gabbard asked.

COMMENT:  This was no simple "mistake."  Santos, if that is his name, lied about where he went to school, his professional record, even his religion, claiming that his parents were Holocaust survivors.  I know that some people on our side are saying that, yes, this is wrong, but that Democrats have gotten away with such lies for years.  We recall how Elizabeth Warren built her career around a Native American heritage that never existed.   We recall Dem Senator Richard Blumenthal lying about his military record.  And we certainly know that Joe Biden has, over his career, embellished virtually everything he's ever done.  One fib after another.  Always given a pass by an obedient press.  And, oh yes, Hillary Clinton never was under fire in a war zone.  But, whatever.

And yet, I have to believe that cynicism has its limits.  Yes, life is unfair.  The media has covered for the sins of its liberal pals.  But I do feel we must be better, and say out loud that we are.  This man Santos should be expelled from the Republican Party.  It is rumored that Kevin McCarthy may need Santos's vote to become speaker.  I think McCarthy should say right now that he doesn't want that vote, that he won't accept it, and that anyone who would is unfit to serve as speaker.  What do the anti-Kevin holdouts say to that?  I think we'd be hailing Speaker McCarthy.

We've been here before.  In the 1950s a Republican congressman from Utah, Douglas Stringfellow, was running for his second term.  He had been elected the first time on his claim that he'd been a war hero, a recipient of the Silver Star, wounded in action, and the sole survivor of a secret mission.  It suddenly became known during his campaign for re-election that none of this was true.  The Republican Party immediately demanded that he withdraw as a candidate and named another man to take his place.  That was the right thing to do.  The replacement candidate won.

I guess we're just in a different age. 

December 28, 2022