Letter of the Day | Stooping to a new low level

THE EDITOR, Madam:

In November, George Santos told the electorate in Long Island, New York that he was the best choice for the US House of Representatives. He ran as a Republican, claiming to have worked for prestigious firms on Wall Street after graduating from an equally prestigious college. As a gay Hispanic with Jewish grandparents who escaped the holocaust in Europe during the World War II, he claimed to own 13 different properties. A local newspaper called him a “fabulist and a fake” while endorsing his opponent, but Mr Santos was elected with eight per cent more votes than the Democrat. Just before Christmas, an article in The New York Times debunked many of George Santos’ claims; unearthing evidence that he had never graduated from any college; never worked for those top-notch Wall Street firms; his grandparents were born in Brazil with no Jewish ancestry; and he owned no property, having been evicted for non-payment of rent three times in recent years. These facts circulated for a week before Congressman-elect Santos admitted that it was all true and he had indeed embellished his CV. Congress is scheduled to swear in its members on January 3, and there will be no prizes for guessing who the cameras will be focused on.

Imagine how voters feel after being taken for such a ride, and there’s proof that he divorced his wife only weeks before an unsuccessful election campaign in 2020; but with today’s proclivity for gender-bending relationships, that may not be of much importance in his claim to being gay. More important, Mr Santos took only a week to admit his lies, where other prominent politicians around the world have held onto their lies for decades. One example is, the Pentagon Papers, when leaked in 1971, revealed that presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson had all lied about America’s political and military involvement in South Vietnam from 1945 to 1968. Today, these four are considered by many to be in the pantheon of great leaders, even though their untruthfulness killed over 58,000 Americans, over 1.1-million Viet Kong fighters; about 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers, and an estimated two million civilians on both sides.

Nobody should ever believe that politics is an honourable profession, and, with Congress so evenly and critically balanced, it may be difficult for the Republican Party to banish Mr Santos. Let’s be honest, the quote from the Scriptures about “him without sin casting the first stone” may be very appropriate at this juncture. Indeed, it would be a mammoth task to find a politician anywhere in the world who has not been untruthful about something concerning their job, but just maybe George Santos has set the bar at a new low level for now.

Wishing all in the newsroom and all readers a peaceful, safe, prosperous and Happy New Year!

BERNIE SMITH

Parksville, BC

Canada