Wineke: Does lying about everything matter?
MADISON, Wis. — Over the course of this nation’s history some very weird people have managed to get themselves elected to public office, but New York Representative-elect George Santos has to rank high on any list.
Since he was elected in November, Santos has been found to have lied about. . .well, pretty much everything.
He lied about his education, claiming to have degrees from Baruch College and New York University. It seems he never studied at either institution.
He lied about working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, but he never did.
He said his grandparents survived the Holocaust and that he is Jewish. They didn’t and he isn’t.
He said he is the first “openly gay” Republican to be elected to Congress. He isn’t.
That would actually be the late Rep. Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin, one of the state’s most distinguished legislators. Santos was married to a woman until recently, which doesn’t mean he isn’t gay, but when you add it to his other lies. . .who knows?
Though he seems to have no known source of income (he lied about owning numerous properties), Santos apparently loaned his campaign $700,000, and, to date, no one knows where that money came from.
I think it’s probably true that many politicians lie about things.
President Biden seems absolutely convinced he once went to jail in civil rights activities – though no one can find evidence that that is true. President Clinton. . .well, enough said.
What sets Santos apart is that, rather than finding evidence that he doesn’t tell the truth, fact-checkers are finding it difficult to discover anything he was actually honest about.
But he is part of a very small Republican majority in Congress, so I expect he will take office and soon be treated with respect.
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