When Jerry Seinfeld was trying to beat a lie detector test in a harebrained scheme to impress a woman, his buddy George Costanza gave him this iconic advice: “Remember Jerry, it’s not a lie if you believe it.”
When politicians are lying, do they really believe they’re not? Ask another George, as in Santos.
MCCARTHY SAYS SANTOS WILL BE REMOVED FROM CONGRESS IF INVESTIGATION FINDS HE BROKE THE LAW
Now a member of Congress,
George Santos
didn’t merely “overstate’ his resume, as he now admits doing. He invented a new person and managed to sell this false identity to the people of New York’s Third Congressional District. Astonishingly, he won the House seat by portraying himself, his education, his career, his achievements and even his family as something they apparently were not. The trick Santos played on the voters was not just politics as usual, but something much sicker and more sinister.
How did Santos pull it off?
He ran for Congress not once, but twice. Santos’ first campaign in 2020 was against Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, who was expected to easily win re-election. Few Republicans were interested in taking on Suozzi, which gave Santos an easy shot at the GOP nomination. At the time, he wasn’t a registered voter in the district and was already gaining a reputation for exaggeration. Suozzi ignored Santos, confident he’d defeat the little-known upstart, which he did by nearly 47,000 votes. Despite the wide margin, Santos refused to accept defeat. Indeed, he actually went to the orientation session for new members of Congress.
Aiming for a 2022 rematch, Santos launched a second campaign. He picked up early support — including from New York U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican leader in Congress — although some party operatives were already having doubts. One of his former consultants, alarmed by numerous red flags, went to a newspaper with the story and they refused to cover it.
When questions were raised, impostor Santos deflected and complained the inquiries were “invasive.” His staff reportedly found out about some of the fabrications and urged him to drop out. Santos kept going, though the staffers quit. He continued to raise and spend money, some of which went into local party coffers. He also hung around Mar-a-Lago to collect cash from wealthy donors.
Santos got a lucky break in late 2021. Incumbent Suozzi announced he wasn’t seeking re-election, and that gave the GOP a better chance to pick up the seat. Despite efforts to recruit another Republican to run, Santos had a head start for the nomination, which he ultimately secured without opposition. He was also helped when a court scuttled a redistricting plan that would have redrawn the district to make it more Democratic.
In the general election, Santos faced Democratic businessman Robert Zimmerman, a frequent cable TV pontificator who previously lost three races for Congress and State Assembly. Though Democrats in Washington had a file on Santos, Zimmerman decided his funds would be better spent on voter contact than on further opposition research. It was a stunningly bad decision.
Santos beat Zimmerman by 20,000 votes. Soon after, stories surfaced about his shocking fabrications.
While there is no constitutional mechanism to recall U.S. Representatives, members can be expelled by a two-thirds vote of the House, a remedy rarely used. The House can also censure or reprimand a member, and strip him or her of committee assignments. House Republican leaders so far have not taken any action, although former supporters and party leaders in Santos’ district are pressing him to resign.
Perhaps Santos should do what George Constanza did when things weren’t going well — the opposite of what he’d ordinarily do. As Jerry Seinfeld explained to his hapless friend, “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.”
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Every instinct George Santos has is wrong. For him, the opposite would be to do the honorable thing, which would also be good for his party, and resign.
Ron Faucheux is a nonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer. He publishes
LunchtimePolitics.com
, a nationwide newsletter on polls and public opinion.
