George Santos gets one thing right about Republicans: Their expulsion vote is "theater"

[marmar]

George Santos gets one thing right about Republicans: Their expulsion vote is "theater"
Whatever happens to the New York congressman, Republicans are still a party of grifters and con artists

By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 1, 2023 6:00AM (EST)


(Salon) Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. is probably not winning that Oscar, but it's not for a lack of trying. With the enthusiasm of a drag queen channeling Joan Crawford, the embattled GOP congressman has given us three over-the-top performances of outrage over the possibility that he could become the sixth person ever to be expelled from Congress. Last week, facing growing pressure from Republicans after his 23 felony indictments for fraud, Santos refused to resign in a 3-hour diatribe on X-Spaces. Insisting that Congress has "felons galore" who get "drunk every night," Santos argued that he is being unfairly singled out and compared himself to Mary Magdalene. Then on Thursday morning, he held a self-pitying press conference, accusing his colleagues of "bullying" him by planning to hold a vote on whether to expel him, likely on Friday.

"It's all theater," he raved.

....(snip)....

Santos is almost certainly faking his umbrage. He's well aware that, in addition to the federal charges against him, the House investigation found "substantial evidence" that he stole campaign donations and spent them on designer clothes, Botox injections, and OnlyFans. Plus, he has a history of using the tactic of wildly exaggerated rage to intimidate people out of asking questions about his alleged fraud. In the case where Santos is accused of using a sick dog to raise money, only to abscond with the cash, the dog's owner claims Santos blew up at him when asked about the promised veterinary care. Basically, Santos screamed at the guy until his alleged victim gave up. Wielding fake anger like a weapon is unlikely to work in this case, though what do I know? Donald Trump uses the same move to keep Republicans in line quite effectively.

But as silly as this display was, in one small sense, Santos is right: If Republicans do move to expel him, it's nothing more than theater. Republicans don't care if one of their own is a fraud or a criminal. The most obvious example is Trump, whose indictment count sits at 91 charges across four jurisdictions, making Santos look like a piker. And that's not even counting the financial crimes Trump has committed. Trump is currently in a civil trial regarding his decades of fraud. The judge has already ruled that he's guilty in that case, and the only real question left is how serious the penalties will be. ..............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2023/12/01/george-santos-gets-one-thing-right-about-republicans-their-expulsion-vote-is-theater/

[NCIndie]

1. Too true.

I wonder if Santos's problems would rise to the level of expulsion (in their eyes) if he was a bit more "mainstream." Expelling an odd, gay man is also good theater.