basquebromance
Diamond Member
- Nov 26, 2015
- 109,396
- 27,119
- 2,220
- Banned
- #1
In a world where norms and codes of conduct mattered, George Santos’s would be an open and shut case. But as long as he remains useful to the narrow Republican House majority, the chronically dishonest congressman likely isn’t going anywhere.
To even call Santos a liar, in fact, risks understating the case. Politicians lie all the time, but their rhetorical contrivances usually have to do with things like the size of the federal deficit or how they once voted on a bill that no one remembers. What Santos does belongs to an entirely different, and altogether more postmodern, order of dishonesty and is less about stretching or bending the truth than pulling it straight from the ether.
Santos may thus be a bullshit merchant without peer, but if he does resign it will be less because his lies have “caught up with him” than because he ceases to be useful to the broader Republican cause. Raw, and in this case petty, calculations of power and ideology generally matter more in politics than norms or ethereal codes of conduct. GOP elites might be privately embarrassed by Santos, but the experience of the Trump and Obama eras suggest they grasp this reality better than their liberal adversaries — and will continue to remain impervious to shame and outrage until other considerations intrude.
newrepublic.com
To even call Santos a liar, in fact, risks understating the case. Politicians lie all the time, but their rhetorical contrivances usually have to do with things like the size of the federal deficit or how they once voted on a bill that no one remembers. What Santos does belongs to an entirely different, and altogether more postmodern, order of dishonesty and is less about stretching or bending the truth than pulling it straight from the ether.
Santos may thus be a bullshit merchant without peer, but if he does resign it will be less because his lies have “caught up with him” than because he ceases to be useful to the broader Republican cause. Raw, and in this case petty, calculations of power and ideology generally matter more in politics than norms or ethereal codes of conduct. GOP elites might be privately embarrassed by Santos, but the experience of the Trump and Obama eras suggest they grasp this reality better than their liberal adversaries — and will continue to remain impervious to shame and outrage until other considerations intrude.
Actually, George Santos Has Been Pretty Good for the Republican Party
It may not last forever, but the scandal-plagued congressman is helpfully distracting attention from the House’s bona fide extremists and their weird ideas.
newrepublic.com
