The results are in!

December 1, 2023 9:03 AM

Santos is out. And by a fairly decisive margin of 311-114. Watching the election from across the pond, I just could not believe this charlatan was able to convince so many people of his lies. Now let's see him behind bars along with the Orange Shitgibbon.
posted by essexjan (89 comments total)

Too obviously corrupt for (some) Republicans is VERY obviously corrupt.
posted by Artw at 9:06 AM on December 1, 2023 [18 favorites]

Jim Jordan says 'who is next?' [BBC Live Blog]

I think it's very telling that he is worried about this.
posted by mazola at 9:11 AM on December 1, 2023 [48 favorites]

Here is the list of votes, including the names of the 114 Republicans who voted to keep this deranged (if admittedly hilarious) clown in the his seat. The execrable Elise Stefanik (you went to Harvard for goodness sake!) and of course the Speaker are on the list. Who's your favorite?
posted by The Bellman at 9:13 AM on December 1, 2023

He's out, and he never deserved to be in, but...

Part of me thinks that the Republicans who voted to expel got two victories: they got to make themselves look ethical by getting rid of a known liar/fraudster, *and* a precedent is now set which makes them more able to put Democrats up for expulsion in the future.

(Even if future Republican-led expulsion votes go nowhere, they'd be a great way for a minority party to waste Congressional time.)

Remember Zooey Zephyr.

Remember the Tennessee Three.

Remember the very recent censure of Rashida Tlaib.

It's worth being on guard.
posted by Pallas Athena at 9:15 AM on December 1, 2023 [43 favorites]

Loved the garbage truck slowly passing behind him as he made his last pitch to the media. 'Takin' out the trash...'
posted by aeshnid at 9:15 AM on December 1, 2023 [6 favorites]

I think it finally got personal for some Republicans. Via Joshua Friedman on Bluesky : "Rep. Max Miller, who called Santos a "crook" on the floor yesterday, sends out this e-mail to fellow members."

Colleagues -

Late yesterday on the floor I alluded to a personal impact of Rep. Santos's conduct. Earlier this year I learned that the Santos campaign had charged my personal credit card - and the personal card of my Mother - for contribution amounts that exceeded FEC limits. Neither my Mother nor I approved these charges or were aware of them. We have spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees in the resulting follow up.

I've seen a list of roughly 400 other people to whom the Santos campaign allegedly did this. I believe some other members of this conference might have had the same experience.

While I understand and respect the position of those who will vote against the expulsion resolution, my personal experience related to the allegations and findings of the Ethics Committee compels me to vote for the resolution.
Since I alluded to this on the floor yesterday, and because of the significance of the question before us, I believe you're entitled to this further explanation for my position.

(I added the emphasis: it wasn't in the original.)
posted by maudlin at 9:16 AM on December 1, 2023 [25 favorites]

The WashPo story has a hilarious detail

“You know what? As unofficially already no longer a member of Congress, I no longer have to answer a single question to you guys,” Santos said, as his car pulled away immediately.

I like to imagine he made a Z Snap as he turned to enter the car.
posted by Nelson at 9:17 AM on December 1, 2023 [36 favorites]

Loved how he had his coat draped over his shoulder like a cloak , like he was waiting for a solo flute to start playing "The World Turned Upside Down."
posted by dannyboybell at 9:17 AM on December 1, 2023 [6 favorites]

Too obviously corrupt for (some) Republicans is VERY obviously corrupt.

What did him in, the only thing that did him in, was that he was stealing from his fellow Republicans, and not just the rank and file that they normally grift.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 9:18 AM on December 1, 2023 [44 favorites]

Well, dip me in yogurt and call me a Push-Pop: an old boss who got elected to Congress in 2020 as a MAGA dingleberry (among his first votes: not certifying Biden and not impeaching Trump) voted to expel Santos. Congratulations, you broken clock of a man.
posted by RakDaddy at 9:23 AM on December 1, 2023 [19 favorites]

a precedent is now set which makes them more able to put Democrats up for expulsion in the future.

You need a 2/3 majority to expel a member of the house and, if the republicans ever get a 2/3 majority by themselves, the country is pretty much fucked regardless.
posted by nathan_teske at 9:23 AM on December 1, 2023 [49 favorites]

Happy to see the gears of justice grind, however slowly. But also a bit happy the Democratic party has an opportunity for a do-over after completely flubbing the oppo last time.
posted by pwnguin at 9:24 AM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

In related news, shares of Sephora dropped sharply today, with Jean-André Rougeot admitting that the company may go bankrupt without the influx of small-dollar Republican donations.
posted by mittens at 9:25 AM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

Within minutes of Santos' departure, a similar looking car arrived, and out stepped a man with a massive beard and mustache, who held up a sheet of paper on which read:

"I APPOINT BORGE BANTOS TO BE US GOVERNMENT

SIGNED

THE GOVERNOR OF THAT STATE THAT GEORGE SANTOS IS FROM"

After which heavily-bearded and now expliciably sunglassed indoors Borge Bantos walked into the House chambers and clumsily introduced himself to whoever didn't run away relatively quickly.
posted by AzraelBrown at 9:41 AM on December 1, 2023 [32 favorites]

It is a sad day indeed when such a patriot as George Santos, not only a veteran of all three world wars but also the first black woman to win both a Nobel Peace Prize and the Stanley Cup, is expelled from congress.
posted by Pickman's Next Top Model at 9:45 AM on December 1, 2023 [121 favorites]

The Republican party has lost diversity by expelling practically its only gay, one of its few Latinos, one of its few immigrants, one of its few Jew-ish, one of its few extraterrestrials. Not to mention he invented volleyball.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:50 AM on December 1, 2023 [27 favorites]

Do we know why a handful of Dems voted to oppose, or voted present?
posted by snofoam at 9:54 AM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

Can’t believe they blew him up. RIP to a real (fake) one.
posted by rodlymight at 9:57 AM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

Some Dems have gone on the record saying that there should be a criminal conviction first. They worry, for example, that a Republican controlled congress might push for expulsion of AOC on Trumped-up (sic) charges.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 9:59 AM on December 1, 2023 [6 favorites]

The report itself. Meanwhile, in the senate....
posted by BWA at 10:01 AM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

The Republican party has lost diversity by expelling practically its only gay, one of its few Latinos, one of its few immigrants, one of its few Jew-ish, one of its few extraterrestrials. Not to mention he invented volleyball.

The resemblance is striking
posted by nathan_teske at 10:10 AM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

The only reason he held on this long is because the GOP house majority is very slim. He really should have been expelled much earlier, but McCarthy needed his vote for speaker, and then the rest of the GOP wanted to keep their majority, as thin as it is. But any savvy republican in Congress realizes that not voting for expulsion is a very bad look, and that as slim as the majority is plus the factor of how many Biden districts are up in 2024 - you're not getting anything done anyways.
posted by azpenguin at 10:10 AM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Yeah, Democratic rep Nikema Williams from Georgia had previously stated after last month's pre-report vote that "It would be dangerous to set the precedent of expelling a Member of Congress who has not been convicted of a crime." Virginia Dem rep Bobby Scott had similar reasoning in his statement released a few minutes ago.

I imagine googling would find similar explanations from the two Dems who just voted "present" - Jonathan Jackson of Illinois and Al Green of Texas.
posted by mediareport at 10:25 AM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

I think it's very telling that he is worried about this.
I hope Jordan is crapping his pants about it.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:31 AM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

Bold of everyone in this thread to assume the House is going to exist in 5 years
posted by rhymedirective at 10:32 AM on December 1, 2023 [11 favorites]

Ew. Dem rep Nikema Williams' statement from today doesn't even use the "not yet convicted" rationale; she just says "the people of his district should decide." What a terrible perspective.

George Santos is not worthy of serving in the House of Representatives. He will likely be convicted of the crimes of which he was accused. This is the People’s House – and although the House Ethics Committee findings were damning, the people of New York’s Third Congressional District should decide who represents them. I’ll always side on giving power to the voters.
posted by mediareport at 10:32 AM on December 1, 2023

Not that Santos doesn't deserve to be kicked out, but...all theatrics said and done I don't think he'd been doing much in the way of real harm, unlike the other hardcore MAGA Republicans who continue their active political damage unabated. As far as I can tell the whole Santos rigamarole has been mere (but effective) distraction.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:32 AM on December 1, 2023 [6 favorites]

"Why would I want to stay here?" he said. "To hell with this place."

I hope to have many occasions to quote the man (especially after I'm thrown out).
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:38 AM on December 1, 2023

"I saw “DIVA DOWN” was trending and I just knew….goodbye George Santos. You were an evil gay 1960s Batman villain candle in the wind."
posted by orange swan at 10:39 AM on December 1, 2023 [11 favorites]

This is a delightful bit of news, and I am in hope there will be more expulsions before too long.
posted by orange swan at 10:40 AM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

I just could not believe this charlatan was able to convince so many people of his lies.

That's like the least surprising part of the whole saga
posted by gottabefunky at 10:44 AM on December 1, 2023 [7 favorites]

(And it sounds like someone needs to change banks: Neither my Mother nor I approved these charges or were aware of them. We have spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees in the resulting follow up.)
posted by gottabefunky at 10:45 AM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

I can't believe they kicked out the only Nobel prize winning astronaut in Congress.
posted by spilon at 10:49 AM on December 1, 2023 [10 favorites]

What did him in, the only thing that did him in, was that he was stealing from his fellow Republicans, and not just the rank and file that they normally grift.

You're probably right, but I thought it was over for him when I heard about the Sephora. Loathsome and predatory they expect, but to Republicans, femme is inexcusable.

It was probably wise to avoid expelling him before a report came down, but I think it is too late to avoid it for "precedent," considering how slowly the wheels of justice turn. Besides, the GOP have largely shed themselves of scruples about precedent, particularly in court.
posted by Countess Elena at 10:51 AM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

Miller's letter may have been decisive in swinging the vote against Santos. At least, NPR's story makes it sound like the voting was pretty close and that Miller's story helped influence it and Mediaite agrees.

As to the tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, the key part of his letter (Twitter link) is this:

Earlier this year I learned that the Santos campaign had charged my personal credit card — and the personal credit card of my Mother — for contribution amounts that exceeded FEC limits.

Not only did Santos steal from Miller and his mother but he did so in a way that implicated them in election fraud. If you're a sitting congressman and you find that it looks like you violated campaign finance limits, you better bet that you call your expensive lawyer immediately.
posted by Nelson at 10:54 AM on December 1, 2023 [25 favorites]

you went to Harvard for goodness sake!

You may be overestimating the relationship between a Harvard degree and an aversion to crime.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:55 AM on December 1, 2023 [61 favorites]

Part of me thinks that the Republicans who voted to expel got two victories: they got to make themselves look ethical by getting rid of a known liar/fraudster, *and* a precedent is now set which makes them more able to put Democrats up for expulsion in the future.

As soon as I read you say this, I immediately head for the vote tallies whispering "please let Cruz have voted 'nay'" before I remembered that Ted Cruz is in the Senate.

Although, I am a bit surprised that AOC apparently didn't vote at all either way. Which is either...smart or dumb, I'm not sure which.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:59 AM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

There are at least 100 people in congress who should have been expelled years ago.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:18 AM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

The "dangerous precedent" argument is effervescent bullshit.

As if Republicans gave 2 licks about precedent. They ignore subpoenas with no consequences. A huge number of them tried to overthrow the government in 2020. The Dobbs decision.

As if Santos, with an ethics investigation concluded that he did a lot of not only shady but felonious things, sets the exact same precedent that would be used to expel someone because you don't like their politics. Like almost everything from that vacant husk of a party, it's all a lie.
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:33 AM on December 1, 2023 [23 favorites]

*and* a precedent is now set which makes them more able to put Democrats up for expulsion in the future.

Did all of those Republicans who objected to the election results on January 6th care that they were setting a precedent that may make Democrats more likely to object to future election results?

No?

Okay then. Why is 'setting a bad precedent' only ever thought to be harmful to Democrats?
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:34 AM on December 1, 2023 [22 favorites]

Part of me thinks that the Republicans who voted to expel got two victories: they got to make themselves look ethical by getting rid of a known liar/fraudster, *and* a precedent is now set which makes them more able to put Democrats up for expulsion in the future.

This is almost NYT-headline-levels of turning an embarrassment for the Republicans and a reduction in their already slim House majority into certain future doom for the (DISARRAYED!) Democrats. Any Dem who, like Santos, can get almost half of their own party's caucus to vote to turf them should really be out on their butt anyway. And the overall optics might give Senate Democrats the nudge to boot slimebag Bob Menendez of New Jersey, since his replacement can quickly be appointed by NJ's Democratic governor (unlike Santos's successor, who must be chosen in a special election).
posted by hangashore at 11:37 AM on December 1, 2023 [13 favorites]

two Dems who just voted "present" - Jonathan Jackson of Illinois and Al Green of Texas.

I think the representative from Texas had his words misrepresented. He said, "Here I am" not "Present"; and he really just wanted the House to stay together.
posted by lord_wolf at 11:48 AM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

As if Republicans gave 2 licks about precedent.

Funny you mention that: GOP Melts Down As Dick Durbin Uses Its Tactics For Advancing Biden Judges
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:50 AM on December 1, 2023 [28 favorites]

Why is 'setting a bad precedent' only ever thought to be harmful to Democrats?

Because the Republican party is now fully embracing minoritarian politics, and now have another lever to pull. It may not be harmful to Democrats, but is surely harmful to democracy. Precedents can only ever be bad if you expect to be held to them later.
posted by pwnguin at 11:50 AM on December 1, 2023 [4 favorites]

A wag on my Facebook friendlist just asked a question:

"So what's the over/under on when Dancing With The Stars reaches out to George Santos to compete on the show?"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:51 AM on December 1, 2023 [11 favorites]

Corrupt as fuck from the beginning, it took 11 months for the House to do something and 114 members still voted to keep him in. That's fine.
posted by tommasz at 12:08 PM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

I bet he's going to be the new head of public relations for Twitter.
posted by MrVisible at 12:12 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Dancing With The Stars

Don't underestimate how fast The Masked Singer is going to slide into Santos' DMs.
posted by AzraelBrown at 12:27 PM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

Santos set a terrible precedent for wearing a cranberry velveteen blazer after Thanksgiving. America will never recover.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:29 PM on December 1, 2023 [5 favorites]

I kind of wish Santos was some anodyne third party politician instead of being a member of the party actively trying to turn the country fascist so we could keep him around. I mean, he stole campaign money for skincare products and OnlyFans - it's horrible but absolutely legendary.
posted by charred husk at 12:36 PM on December 1, 2023 [5 favorites]

AOC apparently didn't vote at all

Neither did Sheila Jackson Lee and Dean Phillips, as well as ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy and fellow GOP circus clowns Rick Crawford, Bill Johnson, Mike Kelly and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, according to the full House voting list.
posted by virago at 12:55 PM on December 1, 2023

Okay then. Why is 'setting a bad precedent' only ever thought to be harmful to Democrats?

Because only Democrats respect precedent and almost always hesitate to go against it, even when it would be in their own best interests and/or the good of the nation for them to do so.
posted by delfin at 1:05 PM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

Okay then. Why is 'setting a bad precedent' only ever thought to be harmful to Democrats?

As a progressive, I have a real fear that the Democratic leadership and centrists will not go the mattresses to defend progressive members when the GOP will almost assuredly bring up baseless expulsion votes against them.
posted by KingEdRa at 1:05 PM on December 1, 2023 [7 favorites]

I think they’d already be leading the charge given the opportunity.
posted by Artw at 1:07 PM on December 1, 2023 [4 favorites]

GOP Melts Down

Ooh let's get a quote in here:

“There’s going to be a lot of consequences coming here,” warned Cotton. “I cautioned a lot of you. Listen to me! I cautioned a lot of you!”
...
“Mr. Cotton says the chairman needs to rethink his decision,” said Cotton, as his name came up in the roll call. “That’s what Mr. Cotton says.”

disarrayed
posted by away for regrooving at 1:08 PM on December 1, 2023 [6 favorites]

This is an absolute travesty! For fuck's sake, George Santos invented apple pie!

He.. no, wait, I can't carry on like this. That fool's whole countenance and vibe is practically undiluted cartoon villain. Having a mustache to twiddle would be way too on point. Even bacon drippings and diner griddles think he's way too greasy.

You would have to be either criminally insane or a real piece of shit or both to willingly give that dirtbag a credit card number, and if you did you deserve whatever trials and tribulations that resulted from it.
posted by loquacious at 1:13 PM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

As a progressive, I have a real fear

A gentle reminder that two-thirds of the House have to vote to expel one of its members.

Baseless expulsion votes might happen as a procedural matter, but I'd honestly like to know where people are getting enough Democratic Party votes to expel someone in their own party. That's a really high threshold to cross.

Baseless votes to expel a progressive Dem because of their political stance would come from partisan Republicans. Santos had to be kicked out by his own party, and they did so reluctantly, and not because of partisanship.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:13 PM on December 1, 2023 [6 favorites]

What are the odds that Santos takes a page from George Costanza and just shows up in Congress next week "like it never happened."
posted by SPrintF at 1:36 PM on December 1, 2023 [9 favorites]

Bartleby, the Congressman.

"You were expelled. Leave."

"I would prefer not to."

Realistically, though, he'll have a gig at Newsmax before the sun comes up.
posted by delfin at 1:47 PM on December 1, 2023 [4 favorites]

What are the odds that Santos takes a page from George Costanza and just shows up in Congress next week "like it never happened."

He already did that once:

Following his first campaign for Congress, Santos traveled all the way down to Washington, DC in November 2020 to attend new member orientation — a series of training sessions and tours held immediately after each election to give victorious House candidates a crash course on the job they've just won.

Back home, election returns still showed Santos leading Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York, though a trove of tens of thousands of mail-in ballots that were widely expected to favor Suozzi had yet to be counted.

posted by RonButNotStupid at 1:48 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

I have a real fear that the Democratic leadership and centrists will not go the mattresses to defend progressive members when the GOP will almost assuredly bring up baseless expulsion votes against them.

I think there's a bit of precedent in the case of their having forced Al Franken out, arguably prematurely. Holding your members to a higher standard is one thing, but bowing to public pressure without a full investigation is another. (Santos definitely got a full investigation.)
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 1:59 PM on December 1, 2023 [7 favorites]

If nothing else, the social media tears of chuds who bemoan that Santos was expelled over mere allegations, "but there's PROOF that Biden and his whole family and Pelosi and Schiff and Tlaib and Omar and Swalwell and Mayorkas and such have committed treason openly, and not ONE of them has even been indicted" taste sweet. Kind of like Diet Dr. Pepper.
posted by delfin at 2:20 PM on December 1, 2023

Hey as long as he can avoid jail he gets to be a full-time grifter without having to deal with the pesky overhead of showing up in Congress. I'm sure there's a line a mile long of suckers waiting to open their wallets to him to own the libs.

Actually he's kind of got the perfect resume to be Trump's campaign manager now.
posted by jason_steakums at 2:39 PM on December 1, 2023 [4 favorites]

" that a Republican controlled congress might push for expulsion of AOC on Trumped-up (sic) charges."

They'd do it regardless.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 3:26 PM on December 1, 2023 [5 favorites]

> We have spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees in the resulting follow up.

Its trivial and entirely in your rights to reverse an unapproved transaction with a charge back. So I don't get why they were in need of a lawyer's help in any way.
posted by Fupped Duck at 3:32 PM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

Its trivial and entirely in your rights to reverse an unapproved transaction with a charge back. So I don't get why they were in need of a lawyer's help in any way.

The contributions would appear to be in violation of campaign finance law.
posted by praemunire at 3:34 PM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

Republicans will do anything they have the power to do if they decide it’s advantageous, and no appeal to precedent or decency will matter.

I don’t really see a political grifting future for Santos in right wing media, I don’t think he’s ever evinced that much talent or enthusiasm for hard-right culture war. He’s more of a pure grifter who puts on whatever persona he can exploit. I’d more expect to see something like a quack medicine grift next.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 3:35 PM on December 1, 2023 [6 favorites]

Actually he's kind of got the perfect resume to be Trump's campaign manager now.

Look, only Trump is allowed to funnel campaign funds into Trump's own pocket, he's not gonna hire some loose cannon who's shown that he would know how to skim off the top of Trump's funding and keep it for himself.
posted by soundguy99 at 3:52 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Give him Mehdi's spot cowards
posted by fluttering hellfire at 3:55 PM on December 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

I don't get why they were in need of a lawyer's help in any way.

I explained this in a previous comment. Not sure why I'm bothering to repeat that in a comment now, since apparently it won't get read.
posted by Nelson at 3:56 PM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

Santos has been useful in the sense that he revealed just how pathetically hypocritical modern conservatives can be. Like, Santos is a textbook toxic drag queen, a diva who lies about every fucking thing, screws over everybody she encounters and is just generally a backstabbing lunatic in a feather boa. (I'm a queen myself, so I know the type.) We all knew that that's who Santos was, and he barely made an effort to hide it. Conservatives are always howling about the evils of drag queen story hour at the library and doing everything they can to make life worse for trans people everywhere, but then this bitch comes along and the Republicans thought he was hunky-dory as long as he was useful to them.

Santos will be back. He'll be on a reality show, then he'll be back in politics, then he'll be on a reality show, on and on forever. The same trajectory followed by Sarah Palin, Sean Spicer, Omarosa and other absurd Republican trainwrecks. The tragedy of our age is that, unlike the rest of his ilk, Trump somehow escaped from that reality show/politics cycle. That fucker should really be in the Celebrity Big Brother house right now, grousing about the mess Kato Kaelin left in the hot tub.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 4:40 PM on December 1, 2023 [21 favorites]

Trump did The Apprentice already.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 4:49 PM on December 1, 2023

Santos will be back.


Unless he gets pardoned, that's unclear. Wire fraud is on the list of charges. His legal resources are likely limited.
posted by Selena777 at 5:01 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Farewell to George Santos, the Perfect MAGA Republican (Michelle Goldberg, NYT)
posted by box at 5:14 PM on December 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Unless he gets pardoned, that's unclear.

Nothing will change much if Santos goes to jail. As soon as he gets out the reality show producers will come calling and the folks at Fox News will have a seat waiting for him as a pundit. The only comfort is that eventually people do tend to just get tired of these jerks. I thought we'd be hearing about Sarah Palin's antics for the rest of our lives, but, praise Jesus, nobody seems to give much of a shit about her anymore.

Trump did The Apprentice already.

Well, yeah. My point was that Trump was just another garbage person in the endless reality show/Republican politics cycle, but unlike the others he left reality TV behind for good to become a planet-threatening monster. It is grimly appropriate that when America's fuhrer came, he would be a bullshit celebrity with a spray tan and a comb-over.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:24 PM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

If I parsed the FEC campaign donations limits right, that's over $3,300.

Seen on Mastodon: "🎶 I saw Congress kicking Santos out 🎵"
posted by Pronoiac at 6:29 PM on December 1, 2023 [7 favorites]

> Ursula Hitler: "Santos will be back. He'll be on a reality show"

In fact, I'm having trouble envisioning a future where Santos is not in some kind of reality show. Everything about his manner and behavior seems like it was straight out of a Bravo series. I could have sworn that in one of the interviews or press conferences where he was talking about this expulsion vote that he sounded exactly like a contestant on a reality show confessional talking about the possibility of "being sent home".
posted by mhum at 6:58 PM on December 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

He certainly wasn't in Congress to make friends
posted by Nelson at 9:51 PM on December 1, 2023 [8 favorites]

> she just says "the people of his district should decide." What a terrible perspective.

Why is that terrible? It's the way I'm leaning, in a "don't make me defend George Santos, for the love of God" way.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:03 AM on December 2, 2023

Because it takes away a little-used but important tool for removing blatantly obvious sleazebags from Congress, and forces us to wait, possibly for years, for a conviction or the next election. Her new stated position, which differs from her previous one, is indeed terrible.
posted by mediareport at 7:17 AM on December 2, 2023 [6 favorites]

Especially in the case where the candidate appears to have broken multiple election laws on the campaign trail. IMO breaking campaign laws should be an automatic forfeit - run the election again sort of scenario. Not "Well, you got caught. And you'll maybe get turfed next election. But please feel free to use your illegally gotten gain for the next few years until the next election cycle comes around." That's just encouraging bad behaviour.
posted by Mitheral at 7:35 AM on December 2, 2023 [9 favorites]

He'll be fine. If nothing else he'll get a slot in "Dancing With the Stars" once they find out he was in the Bolshoi Ballet.
posted by brundlefly at 7:44 AM on December 2, 2023 [3 favorites]

> feel free to use your illegally gotten gain for the next few years until the next election cycle comes around

Fair. I guess in a better world there'd be quicker trials, so people didn't have time to use their ill gotten gain and would be kicked out after being convicted, but that's not the world we're currently in.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:04 AM on December 2, 2023

Context on Rep Nikema Williams' vote: When she was a Georgia state senator, she was arrested by the Capitol police while at work for no particular reason. I would imagine that has affected her perspective on things like this.
posted by hydropsyche at 9:10 AM on December 2, 2023 [5 favorites]

Williams didn't mention that as a reason, but perhaps you're right that it was a factor. It's certainly a better factor than the one I read for Jonathan Jackson's "present" vote, which was suspicion that it related to his brother Jesse Jackson Jr being forced to resign from the House in 2012, two weeks after being reelected, as he and his wife were getting investigated by the FBI for egregious campaign fund fraud (both eventually spent time in federal prison).

Jonathan Jackson's statement on his Santos vote is another "we need to wait until conviction in a court of law by a jury of his peers" piece, which, as Mitheral explains above, continues to be a truly terrible justification in this case particularly.
posted by mediareport at 4:00 AM on December 3, 2023

Santos has finally moved on to what should have been his career in the first place: Cameo.
posted by signal at 4:18 PM on December 4, 2023 [2 favorites]

Republican running for George Santos' House seat is convicted on Jan. 6 charges
posted by Artw at 11:01 PM on December 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

Jimmy Kimmel has started paying Santos to say things on Cameo and airing the results. It's a funny idea but so far he's just got Santos saying silly things instead of anything really pointed.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 4:22 AM on December 8, 2023

....so. Santos' ouster and "cameo career" were briefly discussed on the British show THE LAST LEG last night; THE LAST LEG is a weekly news comedy show hosted by 3 comedians, two of whom have limb differences. So they also discuss disability community issues. And thus a bit before the Santos bit, they mentioned a somewhat odd thing the main host Adam Hills did, a sort of Masked-singer benefit gala to support a disabled marathon runner. He joked that he'd done such a poor job he was going to be closing last night's show with a do-over.

But right before he did, the other two hosts surprised him with the news that they had actually bought a pep talk from Santos for him via Cameo. And they ran it - Santos said some generally encouraging things, before concluding by saying "break a leg, Adam!"

...Adam Hills only HAS the one leg.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:47 PM on December 9, 2023