By now, anyone who is even slightly familiar with politics knows about Representative George Santos (R-NY 03). After winning his first term by flipping New York’s 3rd district, stories about Santos’ numerous lies told on the campaign trail sprung up almost immediately, and he quickly became one of, if not the most disliked member of congress. Santos' current approval rating sits at a dismal 7% in his district while 83% disapprove according to a poll done by Siena College.
To make matters worse for Santos, 78% of voters in his district believe he should resign, with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents overwhelmingly agreeing in that same poll. Lying politicians are nothing new, but this whole episode begs an interesting question, why aren’t all dishonest politicians subject to the same scrutiny?
Sometimes these liars are voted out of office, (like Santos will likely be in 2024), but most of them continually get reelected. Some prominent examples are Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA 30), who promoted the debunked Steele Dossier out of spite, Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), who ran for a third term after swearing up and down he’d run for two, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who lied about serving in Vietnam, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA 14), constantly peddles conspiracy theories, and Representative Andy Kim (D-NJ 3), who claimed that he was a national security officer for Republican and Democrat Presidents. What is more aggravating is that all the aforementioned politicians were reelected in the 2022 midterm cycle. George Santos deserves every bit of scrutiny thrown his way, but the public’s reaction toward him should be the same for every other lying politician.
This is truly a textbook example of how the previously mentioned politicians should be treated when you blatantly lie to your people. You should be heavily criticized and voted out when your term is up, so it just doesn’t make sense why Santos rightfully gets condemned, but the others slip through the cracks.
Frankly, it shouldn’t just be the people in congress, local level politicians and even Presidents should be held to the same standard. Think about it this way, if we the people vote for our elected officials, why should they be rewarded with subsequent terms for lying? If someone owned a business, you wouldn’t expect them to keep an employee who steals from them, so why should the people we elect to serve us get a pass? This isn’t even a partisan issue, both sides are guilty, they are supposed to work for the people, and the people can fire them. We can all learn from the George Santos debacle when our leaders fail the people who voted for them, they must all face the rightful treatment given to Santos.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcome. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Dylan Hicks dhicks@student.dean.edu or Dean Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu
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