# How was George Santos' resume not an election issue? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 27, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188 "2022-12-27T23:46:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2023, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/401 "2023-01-18T22:28:41Z")
Latest from his loving fans at the NY Post: Remember how he claimed that his mother had been at work in/around WTC on 9/11 and that caused her later illness and death? Turns out according to INS/USCIS records, she was back in Brazil between 1999 and 2003. This dude is _ **special** _. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/402 "2023-01-18T22:31:47Z")
It gets _better_. A Brazilian LGBTQ+ activist in Brasil responded to a retweet of the NY Times article to say that Santos [used to be a drag queen](https://www.out.com/news/2023/1/18/social-media-posts-claim-george-santos-used-be-drag-performer). I have no idea if this is true or not, but at this point I’d believe just about anything. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2023, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/403 "2023-01-18T22:34:03Z")
I heard he was divorced from a woman. I wonder if George was also her? I’d fucking take that bet. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2023, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/404 "2023-01-18T23:33:43Z")
I’m starting to wonder if he even really exists. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2023, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/405 "2023-01-18T23:46:07Z")
If he didn’t, would it be necessary to invent him? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/406 "2023-01-19T01:05:45Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > A Brazilian LGBTQ+ activist in Brasil responded to a retweet of the NY Times article to say that Santos [used to be a drag queen](https://www.out.com/news/2023/1/18/social-media-posts-claim-george-santos-used-be-drag-performer) Well, now the GQP is going to put its foot down – no more story-telling for him! ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/407 "2023-01-19T01:13:51Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It was a comment on Santos being revealed as having lied outrageously to the electorate, yet a Republican saying we should still respect the fact that he was elected. I’m a Democrat, and I think that he should be allowed to vote on committees, as that is a big part of what he was elected to do — unless convicted of a crime. It isn’t obvious to me that Santos-style lies are worse than taking bribes. A bribe-taker votes the way they are bribed to vote. By contrast, Santos may well vote as the 54 percent who elected want him to. And there is a long history of members of both parties taking bribes. We’ve seen it repeatedly in Philadelphia, with most of the bribe-takers (like most of the honest politicians) being Democrats. The system here isn’t broken. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/408 "2023-01-19T01:20:08Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > that is a big part of what he was elected to do How can you claim he was elected to do anything, if he lied to the voters to get elected? If you’re making a point about formal procedures and due process, sure. I’m making an ethical one about what democracy is supposed to be about. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/409 "2023-01-19T01:28:27Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > How can you claim he was elected to do anything, if he lied to the voters to get elected? The voters that elected him see all the lies as “Pwning The Libruls”. They got what they wanted. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/410 "2023-01-19T01:38:14Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > How can you claim he was elected to do anything, if he lied to the voters to get elected? Democrats also make [blatantly untrue](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/12/13/250694372/obamas-you-can-keep-it-promise-is-lie-of-the-year) statements. Ask any Republican. In recent years, I, a Democrat, believe that Republicans, on average, lie more. Evidence for this can be found at fact-checking checking sites. But if election results are going to be disrespected because there were lies, most elections will be disrespected. As a supporter of little-d democracy, I’m against that. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/411 "2023-01-19T01:41:15Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It seems highly likely from what we’ve seen that Santos is a psychopath. Intelligent, but not the kind of exceptional intelligence that makes some psychopaths into successful CEOs. I think that accounts for everything we see. He doesn’t have some great plan, he’s just a pathological grifter and liar improvising. Reckless behavior is typical for a psychopath, and a common outcome is to crash and burn. I absolutely think this is the most likely explanation. Which would tie in with his reported past of identity theft / stolen checks, his lying about everything large and small (the fucking volleyball thing), and his statement _that everyone else does it_. The sorts of mental illness suggested by you and other posters all involve an element that that everyone else is just like them, they just don’t want to admit it. My ongoing questions is what sort of people were pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) into his campaign, and what the expected to get out of it. Which I hope we find out sooner than later. Of course, if it was just a grift to pocket money from his donors, well, it would be less sensational, but would fit in perfectly with the stupid psycho theory above… ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/412 "2023-01-19T01:45:32Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > It seems Santos stole $3000.00 meant for a veteran’s dying dog. Really. > > [Disabled Veteran: George Santos Took $3K From Dying Dog's GoFundMe | Oyster Bay, NY Patch](https://patch.com/new-york/oysterbay/disabled-veteran-george-santos-took-3k-dying-dogs-gofundme) I came here to post that. Instead I’ll just highlight the existing post. Santos denies the story. Since the guy is so consistently truthful, I guess we have to believe him. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/413 "2023-01-19T01:52:14Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > if election results are going to be disrespected because there were lies, most elections will be disrespected There seems to be a huge excluded middle here. Don’t you think we should at least have some basic standards that disqualify people who blatantly lie about their academic qualifications, career, military service etc.? Is the argument that vetting should just be left to opposing candidates to expose such lies prior to the election, and if they drop the ball on that we’re stuck with what we get? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/414 "2023-01-19T01:59:54Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > It isn’t obvious to me that Santos-style lies are worse than taking bribes. A bribe-taker votes the way they are bribed to vote. Bribes are illegal. The Officeholder can go to prison for taking bribes. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/415 "2023-01-19T02:02:52Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Don’t you think we should at least have some basic standards that disqualify people who blatantly lie about their academic qualifications, career, military service etc.? I think a key word in your post is “blatantly.” When the liar is someone who has very different policy views, it starts seeming a lot more blatant. I do think Santos lies a lot. Aside from everything else I have said, I have never believed in taking a moralistic stance towards the human near-universal of lying. Having DJT, who lies so much more often than the norm, as my president, did shake that belief a bit. But I still hold to it. Proving that we are almost all liars, from time to time, IMHO, will not, on balance, be helpful. I’d rather see more attention to issues than lies. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/416 "2023-01-19T04:16:13Z")
Honest question for @PhillyGuy - you’ve expressed a couple of different but related sentiments, and I DON’T want to misrepresent you, so I’m trying to figure out exactly where you draw the line. The first seems to be that lying is part and parcel of politics, and no amount of lies that do not directly harm an individual (such as the exceptions you carved out for regarding violence) override the will of the voters. The second is that being seated on a committee in the House is an assumed right, and that by denying a seat, for any reason without a criminal conviction is similarly disenfranchising the voters. I may well be misunderstanding, and wanted to ask where you draw the line on the two points, or if I’m totally wrong in how you intended to represent your POV. Especially the first point, because if there is zero liability for floating undetected lies, it leads to an interesting future, especially since the GOP in the Trump era fully embraced the concept of ‘alternate facts’. (not saying they’re past that, but…) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/417 "2023-01-19T04:55:43Z")
Sorry to interrupt this serious discussion of Bad Evil compared to Evil Evil (or maybe to lighten things up here), but does anyone else have this line from the Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy running through their head? I have, for weeks now. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RDwGnGAGYjU/hqdefault.jpg "The Canine Mutiny (1 of 2)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDwGnGAGYjU) “Oh, pardon me, _“Santos”,_ if that _is_ your real name…” ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/418 "2023-01-19T09:20:26Z")
Color me surprised. It appears that he may actually be part of the LGBTQ community. I just assumed that he lied about that as well as everything else. The latest reporting is that he performed (not well) as a drag queen in Brazil under the name Kitara. > **[Social Media Posts Claim George Santos Used to Be a Drag Performer](https://www.out.com/news/2023/1/18/social-media-posts-claim-george-santos-used-be-drag-performer)** > > The embattled Republican congressman went by the stage name Kitara Ravache, according to some posts on social media. You just can’t make this stuff up. I sure hope he never tried to read to children. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/419 "2023-01-19T09:55:17Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > By contrast, Santos may well vote as the 54 percent who elected want him to. Why should he? I’d lay long odds he wouldn’t be re-elected, and he isn’t the guy they voted for if his lies weren’t well known. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188/420 "2023-01-19T13:34:08Z")
Having fun here… OK, so let’s take a step back. We have a cross-dressing, dog-funds-stealing, possibly Brazilian (definitely in trouble in Brazil), Jewish-Hispanic man who has several fake identities, has been running… apparently… small cons for over a decade now… all of a sudden gets around a million shady bucks so he can become a Congressman and embarrass the New York, and national, GOP? Assuming this guys backer is an American (a big assumption, but lets go with it), who in God’s name could the backer be? Who has the time, the resources, even that sense of playful revenge, to run a con on the GOP like this? Just racking (wracking?) my brains here and two obvious candidates come up. _Al Franken_ has the time and lives in NYC, but I don’t know if he has the connections (probably) or the motivation (his beef is with Gillibrand, not the NY GOP). But then… omg, it was obvious. I realized who had the motivation. The spare time. The access to resources. The ingenuity. Connections where this could be buried under a chain of command so convoluted your orders _will_ never get back to you, just as it hasn’t for 40 years, not since you started building your dynasty back in the 1970s. And did I mention motivation? Against the GOP? In New York? My God, Santos’ secret backers can only be… [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52637037133_9dbbb03f10_b.jpg "887846934") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/52637037133/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-was-george-santos-resume-not-an-election-issue/977188.md?page=22)