Scandal in the Wind 2023. George Santos gets Sashayed

[The Mikado]

Tulsi Gabbard just bodied Santos while guest hosting Tucker tonight.

Imagine that. Santos was too far even for a transparently self-serving grifter like Tulsi.

If the institutional right-leaning media (Fox/NY Post/basically anything owned by NewsCorp) are doing this it seems like a pretty transparent sign that the Republican powers-that-be want him gone. My guess is they know where his money came from and can foresee the fallout. Don't be surprised if things move quickly almost immediately after he votes to make McCarthy speaker.

IMO it's basically the opposite. Tulsi is Tucker's guest host and Tucker is a staunch anti-Kevin McCarthy person. It seems to me much more like Tulsi and Tucker's game is to try to force Santos out to make McCarthy's math harder and increase the likelihood that someone else becomes Speaker. That what this is really about is Dumping Kevin McCarthy and Santos is just a way to that end.

[Pollster]

Tulsi Gabbard just bodied Santos while guest hosting Tucker tonight.

Imagine that. Santos was too far even for a transparently self-serving grifter like Tulsi.

If the institutional right-leaning media (Fox/NY Post/basically anything owned by NewsCorp) are doing this it seems like a pretty transparent sign that the Republican powers-that-be want him gone. My guess is they know where his money came from and can foresee the fallout. Don't be surprised if things move quickly almost immediately after he votes to make McCarthy speaker.

IMO it's basically the opposite. Tulsi is Tucker's guest host and Tucker is a staunch anti-Kevin McCarthy person. It seems to me much more like Tulsi and Tucker's game is to try to force Santos out to make McCarthy's math harder and increase the likelihood that someone else becomes Speaker. That what this is really about is Dumping Kevin McCarthy and Santos is just a way to that end.

Could very well be an enemy-of-my-enemy situation! But I don't want to start suspecting conspiracies and whatnot - this guy is hemorrhaging allies left and right.

[Smash255]

What sort of horrible opposition research did the dems do with this guy?

I think it's clear that they didn't. That's the problem. Clearly Zimmerman's campaign was so complacent they didn't do half-decent opposition research. Reminds me of this movie on Netflix where the police spend most of the movie looking for a missing girl before finding out right at the end that she'd died several years earlier. That's the level of incompetence and lack of research we're talking about here.

So, apparently Zimmerman did uncover a lot of this and tried to hit Santos with it, but the media refused to pick it up because they were more interested in puffing up a fictionalized crime wave *shrugs*.

I still 100% blame Zimmerman for not slamming Santos with this again and again and again. Had he done so properly there's no way it'd have been ignored no matter how "biased" the media may be. Sure maybe Fox wouldn't give it too much attention but the other stations would.

Zimmerman's campaign sucked.   Hell, I was contacted more by Gordon and Gillen's campaign than I was Zimmerman's.   I was on a previous list with Gordon since I'm in the Nassau portion of the old NY-02, but still his campaign did a lousy job at contacting voters in the district, and did an even worse job at oppo research.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Tulsi Gabbard just bodied Santos while guest hosting Tucker tonight.

Imagine that. Santos was too far even for a transparently self-serving grifter like Tulsi.

If the institutional right-leaning media (Fox/NY Post/basically anything owned by NewsCorp) are doing this it seems like a pretty transparent sign that the Republican powers-that-be want him gone. My guess is they know where his money came from and can foresee the fallout. Don't be surprised if things move quickly almost immediately after he votes to make McCarthy speaker.

IMO it's basically the opposite. Tulsi is Tucker's guest host and Tucker is a staunch anti-Kevin McCarthy person. It seems to me much more like Tulsi and Tucker's game is to try to force Santos out to make McCarthy's math harder and increase the likelihood that someone else becomes Speaker. That what this is really about is Dumping Kevin McCarthy and Santos is just a way to that end.

Could very well be an enemy-of-my-enemy situation! But I don't want to start suspecting conspiracies and whatnot - this guy is hemorrhaging allies left and right.

One thing to remember is that the House can't refuse to seat a duly elected incoming member for things like corruption or criminality, only for failing to meet the Constitutional requirements for the office (age, citizenship, and residency -- which admittedly could be in question here).  This was established by the Supreme Court in the Adam Clayton Powell case.  Unless it can be proven that Santos isn't a US citizen or resident of New York, he's going to be seated; the only way to remove him would be expulsion, which would require a 2/3 majority.  Assuming all Democrats go along, how likely is that 78 Republicans (77 after the VA-04 vacancy is filled) also vote to expel, knowing that the Democrats would likely win the seat back in a special election?

[Adam Griffin]

One thing to remember is that the House can't refuse to seat a duly elected incoming member for things like corruption or criminality, only for failing to meet the Constitutional requirements for the office (age, citizenship, and residency -- which admittedly could be in question here).  This was established by the Supreme Court in the Adam Clayton Powell case.  Unless it can be proven that Santos isn't a US citizen or resident of New York, he's going to be seated

Wait: it was my understanding that a candidate or member of Congress [who is a citizen] didn't even have to live in the state in which they're seeking office. Am I wrong or missing something?

EDIT: OK, I see the Constitution does have the state requirement. I'm sure I knew this and it's just the cobwebs in my brain these days. Guess I mixed that up with district-based residency!

[GeorgiaModerate]

One thing to remember is that the House can't refuse to seat a duly elected incoming member for things like corruption or criminality, only for failing to meet the Constitutional requirements for the office (age, citizenship, and residency -- which admittedly could be in question here).  This was established by the Supreme Court in the Adam Clayton Powell case.  Unless it can be proven that Santos isn't a US citizen or resident of New York, he's going to be seated

Wait: it was my understanding that a candidate or member of Congress [who is a citizen] didn't even have to live in the state in which they're seeking office. Am I wrong or missing something?

EDIT: OK, I see the Constitution does have the state requirement. I'm sure I knew this and it's just the cobwebs in my brain these days. Guess I mixed that up with district-based residency!

Understandable for us Georgians after the constant harping over Ossoff's district residency in the GA-06 special.

[Adam Griffin]

One thing to remember is that the House can't refuse to seat a duly elected incoming member for things like corruption or criminality, only for failing to meet the Constitutional requirements for the office (age, citizenship, and residency -- which admittedly could be in question here).  This was established by the Supreme Court in the Adam Clayton Powell case.  Unless it can be proven that Santos isn't a US citizen or resident of New York, he's going to be seated

Wait: it was my understanding that a candidate or member of Congress [who is a citizen] didn't even have to live in the state in which they're seeking office. Am I wrong or missing something?

EDIT: OK, I see the Constitution does have the state requirement. I'm sure I knew this and it's just the cobwebs in my brain these days. Guess I mixed that up with district-based residency!

Understandable for us Georgians after the constant harping over Ossoff's district residency in the GA-06 special.

Absolutely, and there are plenty: don't forget MTG (who only moved into the 14th officially after declaring her candidacy, who was herself a nasty little Forsyth/Cobb descendant of carpetbagging parents)!

[Brittain33]

Republicans do not want the media or the U.S. Senate investigating Santos’s dodgy-as-hell finances and implicating God knows who. It’s more important now that he disappear than provide an extra vote for McCarthy.

Check this out. Santos’s campaign looks like a money-laundering operation for illegal donations. Perhaps they never expected him to win and get a spotlight on how shady he was.

https://twitter.com/chriswalsh1754/status/1607938092228296704?s=61&t=qar-s6N...

[wbrocks67]

If Santos resigns, Democrats better go all in in NY-03

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

He's Doomed in 24 just like Garcia, Brobert are , anyways

[Sir Mohamed]

If Santos resigns, Democrats better go all in in NY-03

Perhaps they should convince Suozzi to run again? I'm not a huge fan of the dude, but he's a good fit for the district and I'd still prefer to have him than a GOPer.

[JMT]

If Santos resigns, Democrats better go all in in NY-03

Perhaps they should convince Suozzi to run again? I'm not a huge fan of the dude, but he's a good fit for the district and I'd still prefer to have him than a GOPer.

I agree, I think this is probably our best bet. Even though he burned a lot of bridges by running against Hochul this year, it’s probably best to go with someone who is a proven winner in this district.

[Holmes]

If Santos resigns, Democrats better go all in in NY-03

Perhaps they should convince Suozzi to run again? I'm not a huge fan of the dude, but he's a good fit for the district and I'd still prefer to have him than a GOPer.

I agree, I think this is probably our best bet. Even though he burned a lot of bridges by running against Hochul this year, it’s probably best to go with someone who is a proven winner in this district.

Maybe he burned bridges with the New York establishment by running against Hochul but I don’t think any actual voters really care given how her numbers are in the gutter right now.

[wbrocks67]

Have to agree with Pollster too - at first my thought too was oh wow even Tulsi is skewering this guy? But I would think it's part of the bigger GOP agenda at work; McCarthy and the GOP forces do not want this guy to be a member, clearly, so they're hoping that he resigns.

[President Johnson]

If Santos resigns, Democrats better go all in in NY-03

Perhaps they should convince Suozzi to run again? I'm not a huge fan of the dude, but he's a good fit for the district and I'd still prefer to have him than a GOPer.

I agree, I think this is probably our best bet. Even though he burned a lot of bridges by running against Hochul this year, it’s probably best to go with someone who is a proven winner in this district.

Maybe he burned bridges with the New York establishment by running against Hochul but I don’t think any actual voters really care given how her numbers are in the gutter right now.

Does that really matter? Hochul easily won the primary and he endorsed her right afterwards. Tish James also wasn't hurt by her brief campaign in 2021. I think Hochul and other rank and file Democrats would be smart enough to back Suozzi in a special election. If such occurs, he should consider to jump in. The fewer Republican representatives, the better.

I think if you want to win, you need to be pragmatic here. While Suozzi isn't the most progressive guy and even a little too moderate for my taste, he's not some Manchin/Sinema type and never single handily sunk a Democratic policy.

[🇺🇦 Purple 🦄 Unicorn 🇮🇱]

Is he a citizen of the US? He was born in Brazil and his parents are from Brazil. Has anyone checkd his certificate of birth? I think he should not be allowed to take office until it has been verified that he is a citizen.

[Atlas Force]

https://twitter.com/agraybee/status/1607822122985918464

[🇺🇦 Purple 🦄 Unicorn 🇮🇱]

If Santos resigns, Democrats better go all in in NY-03

I don't think he will, the Republicans need his vote for Speaker and so forth.

[Roll Roons]

If Santos resigns, Democrats better go all in in NY-03

I don't think he will, the Republicans need his vote for Speaker and so forth.

TBF, it's possible that he only resigns after the Speaker vote happens.

[Storr]

Republicans do not want the media or the U.S. Senate investigating Santos’s dodgy-as-hell finances and implicating God knows who. It’s more important now that he disappear than provide an extra vote for McCarthy.

Check this out. Santos’s campaign looks like a money-laundering operation for illegal donations. Perhaps they never expected him to win and get a spotlight on how shady he was.

https://twitter.com/chriswalsh1754/status/1607938092228296704?s=61&t=qar-s6N...

https://twitter.com/chriswalsh1754/status/1607938094962991104?s=20&t=7XqbVaO...

[Figueira]

I like how he donated to the Republican Jewish Coalition PAC despite not actually being Jewish.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

I like how he donated to the Republican Jewish Coalition PAC despite not actually being Jewish.

See display name.

[Oryxslayer]

https://twitter.com/MZanona/status/1608230362530091010?s=20&t=GN66YSkRyKIJCV...


this is fine.gif

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

I'm beginning to suspect there is no George Santos. He's just a figment of our collective imaginations.

[The Mikado]

Honestly, at this point, if he doesn't resign, Dems get to have a nice comedic punching bag for the next two years. Probably fine either way. Incredibly easy vector of attack on the House Majority. Make him the symbol of the House GOP. Spread this story and do "Congressman X votes with George Santos 98% of the time...what does he have to hide?"