The George Santos experience is playing out quite well for House Democrats.
The freshman Republican representative from New York, a self-admitted liar who’s currently the subject of local, state, federal, international and congressional ethics investigations, appears to be dead weight for House Republicans.
That was abundantly clear when Republicans from his district called on him to resign earlier this year. The GOP’s ire toward Santos has reared itself in some rather public ways since then, including a widely publicized verbal altercation with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah.
Democrats seem to be having a field day watching Republicans squirm with every new Santos revelation.
And an article Tuesday in Politico helps explain why:
Adding to the House GOP’s woeful New York state of mind, House Democrats’ largest super PAC announced last month a $45 million program designed to claw back an advantage there next fall. The PAC is likely to spend part of that cash trying to link Santos to New York’s four most electorally vulnerable new House Republicans: Reps. Mike Lawler, Brandon Williams, D’Esposito and Molinaro. If that quartet is hoping Santos might embrace the standard practice for scandal-plagued members, avoiding the media and keeping his head down, they’re going to be disappointed.
Santos is a one-man headwind for House Republicans — in particular, Republicans in and around his district in Nassau County, which leans more to the center politically than the far right.
On Tuesday, three House Republicans from New York — Anthony D’Esposito, Nick Lalota and Brandon Williams — gathered to tout two new bills targeting Santos.
The lawmakers said the legislation — the No Fame for Fraud Resolution and the No Fortune for Fraud Act — would prohibit people who’ve been convicted of certain crimes from profiting from their stories.
“Should fraudsters, like George Santos, be indicted or convicted of crimes listed in my legislation — our legislation — they won’t be able to make money from a book deal, a TV movie, ‘Dancing With the Stars’ or the next Netflix special,” D’Esposito said.
Said Lalota: “George Santos is a scam artist, and we New York Republicans are here to stop him.”
(Hooray, the arsonists are here to put out the fire!)
Lalota added: “We New York Republicans can smell a scam from a mile away, and George Santos’ scam absolutely stinks.”
To be clear, New York Republicans didn’t exactly smell a scam from a mile away — they stepped right in it.
To be clear, New York Republicans didn’t exactly smell a scam from a mile away — they stepped right in it.
That said, Tuesday’s news conference appeared to be more about the scene than the substance — as in New York Republicans relished the opportunity to be seen bashing Santos.
Williams, for example, compared Santos to a murderer, saying the legislative proposals would be similar to other restrictions — “perhaps a murder that’s been committed and the perpetrator cannot profit” — and serve “to protect our democracy, to protect the integrity of this House, to protect the voters of Long Island.”
Framing the legislation as a way to protect Long Island voters is one way to put it. It’s just as likely this legislation is meant to protect New York Republicans from those voters, as well as any backlash these lawmakers may get because of Santos.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.