Republicans’ defense of 'sociopath' George Santos shows their total lack of 'moral standard': conservative

29 December 2022

When Rep.-Elect George Santos admitted that he “embellished” his “résumé” during his 2022 campaign, the New Yorker’s critics were quick to respond that his fabrications went way beyond embellishment. Santos (whose district includes parts of Queens and Long Island) claimed that his grandparents were Ukrainian Jews and Holocaust survivors, that he had an abundance of real estate assets, and that his mother was killed on 9/11 — none of which was true.

Regardless, some Republicans have been rushing to Santos’ defense, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. And Senate Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has been in no hurry to throw Santos under the bus, as he knows he will need Santos’ vote if he is going to be chosen as House speaker in 2023.

In a scathing column published by The Bulwark on December 28, Never Trump conservative Charlie Sykes emphasizes that the Santos scandal is not only an indictment of the congressman-elect, but underscores the GOP’s overall dysfunction.

“Embellished? I do not think that word means what the Talented Mr. Santos thinks it means,” Sykes explains. “To ‘embellish’ is to adorn, decorate, enhance, gild, beautify, and festoon — and on occasion, it means to ‘exaggerate.’ This Santos did not do. He just made s**t up out of whole cloth. He did not place doodads on his résumé: He lied about his schooling, his degrees, his background, his criminal history, his employment, and about the non-existent properties he claimed to own.”

The conservative columnist continues, “He lied that his employees were killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting. He lied about his Jew-ishness and about his grandparents escaping the Holocaust. He used fake quotes from Winston Churchill. He lied about his money, probably lied on financial disclosure forms — which is actually a crime — and lied about his lying. And then, having constructed this Babel of Fabulism, he turned to the playbook of disingenuous non-apologies.”

Sykes laments that because Santos is a Republican, he is getting a pass from other members of his party.

“Of course, a political party with any sort of intact immune system would move quickly to send this sociopath back to ScamLand, whence he came,” Sykes argues. “But this is the GOP circa 2022, and so, it faces a painful dilemma. With a narrow majority in the House, Republicans — and especially Kevin McCarthy — need his vote, of course. But that’s not the real problem here, is it?”

Sykes continues, “After years of ignoring, enabling and rationalizing Big Lies and small ones, it will now be exceedingly difficult for the GOP to find their misplaced conscience that might morph into outrage and something like a moral standard. As Nick Catoggio writes, ‘Anyone willing to set aside their qualms about Trump for the sake of holding executive power logically should be willing to set aside their qualms about Santos for the sake of holding legislative power.’ So, not surprisingly, GOP leaders are either silent, or in a forgiving mood.”

Greene, Sykes observes, is “all in” for Santos. After former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (an ex-Democrat turned independent) asked Santos some tough questions when filling in for Tucker Carlson on Fox News, Greene attacked her for showing “zero grace.” The far-right Georgia congresswoman tweeted, “I think we Republicans should give George Santos a chance and see how he legislates and votes, not treat him the same as the left is.”

Sykes laments, “The responsibility for this entire goat-rope lies with Santos and the GOP, but it’s worth noting that all of this should have been exposed before the election by the local media and Dem oppo research. Balls were dropped.”

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