One of the oft-unspoken realities of our political leaders is that the instinct for power does not necessarily come from a good place in the human psyche. Often, politicians are greedy, unscrupulous, and at times downright deceptive. Perhaps no event in recent memory matches this description as aptly as disgraced Representative George Santos, who recently tried to buy back some goodwill in a misguided statement about Continuing Resolutions (CR) that was quickly mocked into oblivion.
On the morning of Sept. 5, 2024, Santos took to X to rail on about how CRs are a “stark reminder of the legislative dysfunction that has plagued the U.S. government for years.” He called them a “stopgap measure to keep the government funded in the absence of a formal budget” and “a symptom of congressional gridlock.”
Coming from anyone else, this might seem like a fairly level-headed approach to a congressional problem from someone with some real solutions. That’s not the case, though, mostly because he is a liar and a con man. In case anyone forgot, Santos was expelled from Congress in January 2021 after an investigation by the Congressional House Ethics Committee.
He’s accused of a lot of things, including lying on his resume; pretending to be Jewish scamming money from a GoFundMe campaign for a dying service dog; claiming his mother was in New York during 9/11; claiming his grandparents were in the Holocaust and that he had a connection to the Orlando, Florida Pulse nightclub shooting, among other things.
On Aug. 19, he pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. He faces up to 8 years in prison, with a maximum possible sentence of more than 20 years. All of this, and he still seems to think he has some kind of authority, as evidenced by his long post bemoaning the way the government works.
He said that he hopes Congress can “break free” from its cycle of “dysfunction, restore order to the legislative process, and re-establish the principles of accountability and transparency that are essential to the proper functioning of our government.” Once that happens, he said, Congress can “begin to rebuild the public’s trust and fulfill their responsibilities to the nation.”
Trust? That’s rich. The man who has admitted to openly lying about so many things wants people to trust the government. Does he even get the irony? He’s one of the reasons trust is at such a low level for these high-level political institutions.
But the beauty of the internet is that it’s a great equalizer. Anyone can talk to anyone regardless of vocation or social status. Like this comment in response to his misguided diatribe:
This was followed by a simple reminder of why Santos is no place to preach.
Some proceeded to ask the more important questions, like when he will be deported. Well, the probability of him serving a hefty prison time is higher.