The Dog Died

Curious George and the limits of populist grift.

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Rep. George Santos (R-NY) leaves the U.S. Capitol on January 12, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.)

What’s the funniest political scandal you can imagine?

Like Han Solo, I can imagine quite a bit.

Imagine, for instance, that a former president from one party spent months under investigation for improperly retaining classified documents—only for the current president from the other party to get caught with classified documents stashed away too. In his garage. Next to his ‘Vette.

Pretty funny.

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  1. Grebnebar

    If George Santos resigns, or is expelled somehow, then I assume he will confess to one more lie, that lie being that he is a Republican. That way, he can register as a Democrat, have his many past "exaggerations" ok'd by the public opinion shapers, run in the special election to fill his vacated position, and get re-elected. That would be great ... it would at least keep him off the street.

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  2. James Morphew

    I, too, am curious as to why McCarthy& House Republicans haven't moved against Santos. However, Mr. Catoggio paints with a very broad brush when he insults all Republicans quite so thoroughly. I realize The Dispatch was born with a strong NeverTrump heritage, but to let that metastasize into a NeverRepublican position is a bit over the top.

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  3. Mjp61971

    The post from Arizona with gay slurs should be removed.

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    Bono Vox

    I didn’t know that George Mentos and The Don went way back…how’s come Democratic oppo research didn’t find the picture of a young Trump as a drag Queen with fellow flamer, I mean Orangeman in drag…did they think the Republicans would take care of him. This is what Idiocracy looks like…Jesus, can You please come back in fulfillment of The Scriptures and throw all the bums out…to think that 100% of self respecting Republican Congressmen (oh, and Congresswomen…you all woke, no joke generation) have not already told the little pudge fudge packer to get the hell out of Congress and turn yourself in to the local authorities to answer for killing a poor man’s dog, I mean being a career criminal…well, like Allstate, NOT, we are in good hands people, Kevin McCarthy is still your Speaker and Joe Biden is still your President (thanks Diamond, or was it Silk). Trumpism begot Biden. Dumb begot dumber. Liar begot liarer. Gotta run on. Thanks for taking my rant Boiling Frogs. Praise Allah Pundit. Peace through superior mental firepower

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    Ben Connelly

    “ Even so, I’m optimistic that House Republicans will eventually move against Santos.”

    That surprises me, but I guess even pessimists have to be optimistic about something.

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    1. Lisa Rogers

      I don't see it happening either. McCarthy is too weak a leader. Gaetz or Greene might make him do it eventually... or not... if they felt it had sufficient fundraising potential. I don't think it's likely, especially given how narrow the GOP's majority is. But if anything's possible, I guess we'll see.

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        Ben Connelly

        I think Santos will probably be prosecuted for some crime we don’t yet know about at some point, so he’ll be removed from Congress that way. McCarthy agrees and thinks prosecutors will take care of Santos for him.

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        1. Lisa Rogers

          Hmmm. Maybe. Personally, I'd be in favor of extraditing Santos to Brazil for the open warrant he has there -- though I won't speculate on the feasibility of that. The thing is, strategically, the GOP has been counting on others to clean up their messes for so long, I'm still skeptical about it ever happening. Mitch McConnell reportedly was counting on Democrats to get rid of Trump for the GOP. Two impeachments later, Trump is still attached to the party and is in the running for 2024. If the GOP won't clean its own house, no wonder it's becoming a sinking ship.

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            Ben Connelly

            Yeah I suppose that might work.

            You’re right. With our luck on this timeline Santos would just barely get off for any crime he’s committed in the States.

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    Rochejaquelein

    Great article, but please -- "No doubt many liberals who prefer open borders would be fine with having an “undocumented” representative in the federal legislature" is ludicrous. There are a handful of academics and clergy that truly support open borders (and some of the economists that do aren't liberal in the partisan sense) and its a grotesque abuse of language to pretend its a mainstream position.

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    1. Lisa Rogers

      Agreed. Open borders is not a mainstream liberal position. And while Biden has made some contributing mistakes, so have his predecessors. It's an issue that needs bipartisan cooperation. Inflammatory rhetoric doesn't help.

      Still, great article otherwise.

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  7. Clark.Monson

    I had a roommate when I was 19 who Santos reminds me of. He seemed like a reasonably affable person--until it dawned on the rest of us that he lied about everything, all the time. He claimed that his dad was a high-level executive with a major US corporation; he wasn't. He claimed that he had been part of a prestigious youth choir; he hadn't. He made all sorts of claims that were either wholly implausible or we later learned were false. And he was a kleptomaniac. He stole hundreds of dollars from a previous roommate. He stole prized possessions and blamed it on others. The guy had no remorse and no concern for right or wrong.

    A year or two after we went our separate ways, I got a call from him. He was trying to get me and other former acquaintances to invest in his "import business." I found a polite way of saying "not on your life." Hopefully everyone else said the same, but he probably took some people in. About five or so years ago, I was curious what had happened to him and Googled his name. I figured he would be in prison for financial fraud. I was right about him being in prison, but wrong about the crime. He was in a Filipino prison for murdering his wife. The picture in the news article was definitely him, no mistaking it.

    Some people are just straight up evil, with no conscience. Santos strikes me as one of those.

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    BrettH

    Wow, what a terrible excuse for a human being.

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    Michael Falciani

    Ruff article. This guy is one sick puppy. McCarthy will have to keep him on a short leash.

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  10. DTruitt

    All this digital ink spilled over one crank Congressman? Why? Why does this dude matter except to his own constituents who can vote him out of office in less than two years?

    This is nothing but political porn. Makes writers like Catoggio giddy, almost orgasmic ... but it is a total waste of digital space at The Dispatch.

    How about focusing on stuff that actually matters to voters and to the republic? Policy stuff, for instance ... yeah, how boring, much more exciting to catch a politician in a lie ... which is akin to catching a 9 month old baby pooping in his or her diaper, as in "Duh!" There is always a small percentage of kooks in Congress, always has been, always will be.

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    1. AJLiberty

      Santos is one more bizarro character in increasingly bizarro times. It's news and AllahNick unpacks it perfectly. Don't get me wrong, there's more nutrition in a hefty policy blurb, but let's be frank, in a divided, toxic, dysfunctional DC, where is there hope for even incremental policy strides? The story remains the dysfunction...and we should continue to stare it down until the previously normal Republicans escape their body-snatching pods, sober up, and kick the attention-seekers to the curb. Santos, wherever would he have gotten the idea that the GOP was the party ripe for a grifting?

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      Kizedek

      Kooks, or frauds?

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    3. BPhillips

      You don't think its important that the House Speaker gave this scumbag a committee assignment? I'm going to disagree with you here. Some people still think character matters.

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      1. Kellyg2479

        If you're looking for character you shouldn't be casting your gaze at the U.S. Congress.

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      Seth B

      For what it's worth, I'm glad Nick wrote this. Like you, I normally don't pay much attention to such stuff (partly for the reasons you mention), but I'm happy to have Nick here to summarize it for us - and to do it with his usual panache.

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