Dem
51
GOP
49
We have written about Rep.-elect George Santos (R-NY) here and here. To summarize these items, Santos lied about his education, his job history, his grandparents, and just about everything else in his background. He invented a complete life that he never lived. General speaking, lying in public is not a crime, except in some specific cases such as falsely representing products, but usually not when you are the product. Still, Santos has taken the art of lying to new heights, constructing an entire C.V. where just about every line is false.
Politico was curious about how voters in Santos' district feel about their new all-fake representative, so they sent a couple of reporters over there to talk to some of them. The district covers the northern half of Long Island, from Great Neck to Smithtown. It was represented by Democrat Tom Suozzi until he resigned to run for governor. The PVI is D+2.
What the reporters found is that among some people in the district, the dislike of Democrats is so strong that they would rather have a fabulist representing them than a Democrat. One woman in Glen Cove, who preferred to remain anonymous, said she was more wary of the Democrats than of Santos. She said: "Truthfully, I don't trust the Democrats on anything they say. I see it on the TV and I turn it off." Billionaire John Catsimatidis, who lives in the district, said that Santos is no different than Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who exaggerated his military service record when he ran for the Senate in 2010. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman (R) said he would withhold judgment. The Democrats the reporters spoke to were furious, but that was to be expected.
For Democrats who can't understand how stupid the voters can be, imagine the situation were reversed. The Democrat was a pathological liar who invented an education background and career out of whole cloth, but on the issues was a generic Democrat. And the opponent was Kari Lake, who has a sterling career that she has presented honestly. Which one would you vote for? (V)