Ever since we were young, we have been taught not to lie or be dishonest when it comes to school or work-related documents. I have heard this countless times, whether it be not to plagiarize in English class, use accurate financial information on the FAFSA, or when listing activities and statistics on a résumé.
Therefore, as a regular reader of the New York Times, I found it absolutely APPALLING when I discovered an article that suggested his campaign image – his stories, credentials, etc. could be entirely falsified. After checking numerous other sources, like one should do when reviewing political information or other general news (as every source contains at least a speck of bias), the picture only became clearer. George Santos, a newly-elected House of Representatives official from New York’s third district, lied or falsified essentially every possible aspect of his campaign. From the fact that he stated he was Jewish, an aspect that even the NY GOP decided was a lie and therefore called on him should resign, to other things like his former places of work and educational degrees. It’s never a good sign when your own political party calls on you to resign, but I appreciate that both of the dominant United States factions agree that general dishonesty doesn’t belong in a political atmosphere.
Furthermore, numerous politicians on both sides of the equation have added their respective commentary – in particular, I found Paul Ryan’s call for resignation to be powerful. Ryan, the 54th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and noted Republican, comes from a position of great political knowledge and authority. If even he is calling for resignation, then it’s clear that Santos’ claim to his elected position is something that should be questioned, and not blindly accepted (like current Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy seems to believe).
As someone who agrees with certain ideas of both political parties (and doesn’t hold a firmly-planted bias with either side), I think the solution to this problem is obvious. Remove Santos from his position, completely ban him from ever running for future positions, and perhaps sentence him to punishment if the law calls for it. If we as a people decide to allow this proven liar to remain in a place of power, what does it say about our governing ideals and Democracy as a whole? This story is a current development, with additional pieces of information being brought to light by the hour. In the coming weeks, we can only hope to receive good news about this topic. Regardless of whether you are Republican, Democrat, or an Independent, I’m interested to hear about your opinions on this matter in the comment forum below – should Santos be forced to resign? If he does, what’s the best alternative to restore political integrity for future elections? Also, what should happen with Santos’ seat if he is removed?
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Cameron,
Great work on this civic issues blog. It may be slightly embarrassing to admit my lack of political awareness of this situation as this is actually the first time I am hearing about this scandal. I do not stay as up-to-date as I should, but that’s why I am very thankful I have gotten to read your post and educate myself on this topic. I do believe that George Santos should be forced to resign from his elected position as this does not properly reflect the aims and ideas of our nation. Children, as you mentioned, are always taught that lying is not okay, so what example are we setting if we let a politician like Santos remain in this position of power? I think if they successfully got him to reside, they should elect the person who was next closest in votes or just do an entirely new election without Santos in the running. This would not be to erase this aspect of history but not promote the idea of lying to get further in life. I feel like this position is very similar to the one you held throughout this post. I enjoyed the somewhat light-hearted comments throughout the blog with the captions on your pictures as it really enhanced the reader’s enjoyment. Great work!
I completely agree that Santos’ dishonesty throughout his campaign was, as you put it, despicable. While I think it is a good thing that many republicans have called for him to be removed from office, I doubt it will happen with republicans holding such a slim majority in the House and Kevin McCarthy doing his best to cling to power. Yesterday I read an interesting article (also from the New York Times) about Santos that discussed how he dressed the part of his lies – preppy, upscale, wealthy north easterner – by wearing so many sweaters, fleeces, and blazers. However, the Times revealed that much of his designer wardrobe was stolen or grifted.
I 100% agree that Santos should no longer hold his seat in the House of Reps. Dishonesty, especially in a place of politics, is never okay. I have no reason to believe that he would resign, as giving up a position in power will never be easy. This kind of reminds me of that high-society scandal, which now has a Netflix show about it called ‘Inventing Anna’. It’s incredible to me how that could’ve slipped through so many peoples’ fingers, particularly lying about educational background. That is something that should’ve been triple checked. I don’t think he needs to retire I think he needs to have his seat taken away. As in the Constitution it says that with a majority of 2/3, they are able to expel a member, and give the seat to someone deserving and honest. This is a very interesting story and I’m happy I read about it in your blog post. I will stay on top of this story and hopefully he will get removed soon.
Cameron, this was a very enlightening blog post. I appreciate your ability to state the events in an unbiased perspective since, as you said, much political commentary comes from a biased forum. I value honesty and integrity and believe that the representation of the people, the government, should as well. It is good that some representatives are urging Santos to resign. I do not think he should hold a position he got from lying. I am not sure about the legal aspects involved with a resignation, but I do think that his resignation should be pushed. It is unethical to lie to the general public about these important facts which helped him secure his position.