It wasn’t abundantly clear, but I could have sworn that I spotted George Santos in the crowd of politicians on the floor of Thursday’s joint session of Congress. It was my only glimpse of the ousted Representative from New York’s third congressional district, so I decided that my eyes were deceiving me.
But it turns out I was right. He was there. Right there on the floor of the House, seen hobnobbing with the groin-groping Lauren Boebert.
I would have thought that even having the slightest sense of self-respect would have kept him at home somewhere in Queens, watching the proceedings of President Biden’s State of the Union address on television while rehearsing answers to questions about the speech that nobody would really care to ask. After all, any answer from Santos about anything would quickly be regarded as either idiotic or a lie. Possibly both.
Friday morning I learned that once somebody is elected to Congress, that somebody has lifetime floor privileges. This is a situation that needs addressing. Why, after all, aren’t those privileges given to any one of the rest of us? I, for instance, would have made an appearance there in hopes that Representative Jamie Raskin from Maryland’s eighth congressional district could give me a quick tutorial in political theory and constitutional law.
I would also take the occasion to show Secretary of State Antony Blinken my tattoo of the number given to his stepfather, Samuel Pisar, in Auschwitz, the Nazi deathcamp in Poland. I think he’d approve of this most sincere gesture to honor a Holocaust survivor.
But back to George Santos, America’s favorite fabricator who most recently claimed that his mother had died for the fourth time, this time while crossing the Rio Grande in her attempt to gain refugee status.
Actually, Mr. Santos doesn’t need my help in generating untruths about anything. It seems his story telling is perhaps the only thing he’s capable of. It’s unknown if he’s suffering from a disease or syndrome that is defined by habitual lying, or if it’s caused by an un-diagnosed degenerative brain trauma.
While there are many who think the disgraced former congressman belongs in jail for lying and for any of his 23 felony counts in an unresolved criminal case, it should be noted that if every elected politician who lied to Congress was convicted of doing so, our prisons would be bursting at their seams with white-collar criminals writing their memoirs.
During Thursday night’s broadcast of President Biden’s speech, Mr. Santos decided to use social media to announce his candidacy for the Congressional district next to the one from which he was ousted. The announcement was met generally with guffaws and head-shaking laughter.
For as long as I can remember, chutzpa has been defined by the story of the boy who was found guilty of murdering his parents, then begging the judge for mercy because he was an orphan.
George Santos seems to have inherited—actually, created—rights to that definition.
If memory serves, government has been a beacon of opportunity for the unsavory among us. The electorate has typically looked down on those caught with their mitts in the cookie jar. Saving face, they have resigned their offices, returning to their districts with their tails between their legs. Richard M. Nixon demonstrated a modicum of decency by resigning his office, even if a prearranged pardon was in the offing.
Today’s political climate seems to tolerate bad behavior. Afraid of losing his party’s slim majority, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy made little effort to oust Santos. Elevated to Speaker on the fourth ballot was Mike Johnson, R-La., a constitutional lawyer who looks like a suburban high school algebra teacher and is opposed to supporting Ukraine. He has used his skills to craft some creative legal theories, the most notable of which was to devise an argument aimed at keeping Donald Trump in power, despite his having lost the 2020 election.
While Trump certainly can’t be credited with creating political crime, he surely has perfected it as a culture. He has been indicted on four felony counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and witness tampering.
Perhaps even more disturbing is the culture of hate he’s cultivated.
Trump, whose dinners with Ye, the antisemitic rapper, and white nationalist Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago in 2022, have paved the way for the likes of Mark Robinson to gain favor in certain Republican circles.
The African American Robinson “has promoted various far-right conspiracy theories, has engaged in Holocaust denial, and has often made inflammatory anti-LGBT, antisemitic, racist, anti-atheist, and Islamophobic statements,” according to Wikipedia.
Among his many other terrible qualities is that of misogyny. The lieutenant governor of North Carolina has made clear his vision for the future.
“I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn’t vote.”
Yet another reason for Republicans to quit calling themselves the party of Lincoln.
Photo illustration by Courtney A. Liska
Pickled Onions (Cipolle sott’aceto)
This is a wonderful condiment or garnish for hearty courses of grilled meats.
4 red onions
1 Tbs. crushed juniper berries
1 qt. white wine vinegar
1 qt. water
2 bay leaves
1 Tbs. black peppercorns
½ c. granulated sugar
Place all the ingredients into a 6-qt. saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let onions cool in the liquid. Refrigerate until ready to serve.