Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

There are more Russians standing up to Putin than Republicans.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

When the time comes to make an endorsement, the pain of NYT editors will be palpable as they reluctantly whisper “Biden.”

Let there be snark.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Late Saturday Night Open Thread: George Santos — We Shall, Unfortunately, Look Upon His Like Again

Late Saturday Night Open Thread: George Santos — We Shall, Unfortunately, Look Upon His Like Again

by | 56 Comments

This post is in: , , ,

“He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again.”
― Wm. Shakespeare , Hamlet

 

… Because this, after all, is Your Modern Republican Party: A still very prosperous political entity, probably doomed by the authoritarian cultists currently exemplified by TFG, whose weakened immune status permits opportunistic grifters like George Santos to flourish magnificently, if briefly. Per Deadline:

EXCLUSIVE: The meteoric political rise of George Santos and the web of fabulist tales it was built on are getting a movie treatment. HBO Films has optioned the rights to Mark Chiusano’s new book The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos, which was published on November 28, 2023.

The news comes on the heels of Santos’ Washington D.C. career coming to a dramatic end yesterday when he was expelled from Congress for alleged ethics violations, including donor funds spent on racy subscription website OnlyFans and Botox treatments. He has denied the charges and has vowed to fight back…



George Santos / Madison Cawthorne 2028!…

Late Saturday Night Open Thread: George Santos -- We Shall Certainly Look Upon His Like Again
 
But the Republican ‘leadership’ has concerns!


“If you expel *one* Repub for stealing from his unwitting constituents, what’s gonna happen to all us *other* less flamboyant grifters?… “

Perhaps the tipping point was that Santos stole from *other Republican politicians*, which is just — rude:


… And he’ll probably get some offers, if only from the likes of Regnery Publishing, as a quasi-blackmail payoff to delay unfortunate revelations during the height of the 2024 campaign. As long as he’s willing to have his memoirs sold as quasi-fiction — the sad-trombone coda to If I Did It…

Reader Interactions

56Comments

  1. 1.

    NotMax

    “You won’t have George Delicatesso Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraimson Santos to kick around anymore.”
    //

  2. 2.

    Thor Heyerdahl

    Tonight I made that Greek Lentil and Spinach Soup with Lemon that John posted about recently.

    Thank you. It was wonderful.

    I added an few dried chile de árbol and I prefer it with lime juice

    Non-paywalled recipe here.

  5. 5.

    NotMax

    Couple of pithy quotes spring to mind.

    “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”
    – Søren Kierkegaard
    .
    “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”
    – Albert Einstein
    .

  9. 9.

    TriassicSands

    The Republicans should never have voted to expel Santos. Why? Although Santos might be marginally more of a liar than a few Republicans, It’s really just a matter of a difference (slight) of degree, rather than a difference of “kind.” One Republican in particular not only is more dishonest that Santos, he would crush Santos in a contest. Who would that be you might ask if you’d been on Pluto for the past 8 years (and really much longer) with no way to contact Earth? Why none other than the party deity Donald J. Trump.

    If some Republicans, in a fit of integrity and accountability voted to oust Santos, then to be consistent, they should have followed that vote with another 200+ votes to expel each and every Republican in the House.

    It seems clear to me that some Rs voted to expel Santos in an effort to pretend to themselves (and give the impression to the wider audience) that they care about accountability. Remember when only 10 Rs voted to impeach Trump the second time around? Not so much accountability.

    By my reasoning Santos was probably the “best” Republican. He took the basic values of the party and took them to the logical extreme. He lied about everything. And whom does that remind us of? Lying about everything shows a purity of Republican essence. Santos isn’t the worst Republican; he’s the best. Except, of course, for the incomparable world’s leading expert on absolutely everything “The Donald.”

  11. 11.

    Martin

    I mean, credit to the Tumpers, they didn’t jump on board with this guy. He had no supporters once the revelations came out, so I don’t see a book deal. My money is on reality TV. Maybe NBC can set Trump up with a Celebrity Indictments TV show where all of his co-conspirators and Santos can compete for attorney fees as a prize.

  12. 12.

    opiejeanne

    @TriassicSands:”…Who would that be you might ask if you’d been on Pluto for the past 8 years (and really much longer) with no way to contact Earth? Why none other than the party deity Donald J. Trump.”

    Sounds like the guy who cut my hair recently. claimed he didn’t pay attention to politics but then said for president he’d vote for Santos. After I stopped laughing I said, “He’s not running”. Then he said Rubio, and I told him Rubio isn’t running. Exasperated, he asked me who the nominee for the Republicans would be and seemed genuinely surprised when I said, “Trump, unless he dies before the election.”

    I still haven’t decided if he was kidding me.

  13. 13.

    bjacques

    @TriassicSands: When Death (or Mort) comes for Santos:

    G: Was I a good Republican?
    D (or M): No…
    D (or M): You were the *best* Republican.

    Seriously, I hope he goes full suicide bomber (in the political sense) on his former colleagues. Even if some beneficial billionaire pays his legal bills, he’s probably still looking at jail time, so there’s not a lot of leverage to keep him from embarrassing the GOP next year like a recurring cold sore.

  14. 14.

    mrmoshpotato

    It’s Sunday morning!  Stop trying to mess up our sense of time.

    ETA – throw yourself into the Sun, George Shitass!  I’m watching Svengoolie!

  15. 15.

    Frankensteinbeck

    Robbing other elected Republicans is probably what did it.  There’s no way this was for the lying or being embarrassing, so they must personally hate.  His.  Guts.  He has to be seen as a traitor, not protected by Fuck You, Libtards.

  16. 16.

    m.j.

    George Santos movie is in the works at HBO Films from ‘VEEP’ EP Frank Rich.

    I’m of a mind that thinks casting directors are falling all over themselves to get a shot at this one.

  17. 17.

    TriassicSands

    @opiejeanne:

    Your haircutter is not that unusual. He and others who are much like him (if he wasn’t kidding) are quite common in the American electorate. Some people might find it difficult to believe that an American adult couldn’t name the president. By the time the question is about the person’s House representative the numbers start getting pretty big. The percentage of “conservatives” who knew their rep’s name (46%) was significantly greater than the number of liberals who knew theirs (33%). “Moderates” were closer to libs than to conservatives, but still more than liberals. In all three groups the percentage that knew the party of their rep was more than 50% — 62% (cons), 57% (libs).

    I came across this recently while looking for something else;

    “Prolific ignorance like that is wild to hear about,” said 33-year-old Lower East Side resident Henry Post. “On the other hand, the president today is largely an empty suit without the power or desire to affect meaningful change. So wasting your brain space on things you can’t control carries a weird and, I guess, sort of depressing, wisdom,” Post said.

    Not only is Biden clearly disconnected from the public, but a Post story last week revealed that he’s spent 40% of his time as president on personal trips away from the White House – putting him on track to becoming America’s most idle commander-in-chief.

    The NY Post in the first six months of 2023 had the four largest circulation of any US newspaper behind the WSJ, NYT, and WaPo. The WSJ had more than twice the circulation of the Times.

    In 2020, more people voted in the US presidential election than ever before. And some 80 million didn’t bother to vote.

    Nonvoters’ reasons for not voting include:

    • not being registered to vote (29%) [My take — laziness, stupidity, ignorance]
    • not being interested in politics (23%) [dangerous lack of understanding]
    • not liking the candidates (20%) [big babies]
    • a feeling their vote wouldn’t have made a difference (16%) [of course it makes a difference and not voting also makes a difference — No, little boys and girls, you don’t get to elect the president single handedly]
    • being undecided on whom to vote for (10%) [Not a serious answer]

    Strangely, not on the list is failing to be able to get time off to vote or family obligations making it impossible to vote.

    Anyone who has confidence in the American electorate…

  18. 18.

    Baud

    And now the end is here

    And so I face that final curtain

    My friend I’ll make it clear

    I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain

    I’ve lived a life that’s full

    I traveled each and every highway

    And more, much more

    I did it, I did it my way

    Godspeed, Mr Santos, or whatever your real name is.

  19. 19.

    Tony Jay

    @opiejeanne:

    “I don’t follow politics. It’s got nothing to do with my life. When I have to I just vote for whichever Republican looks most like he could play Chazz Palminteri’s shady nephew in an episode of The Sopranos.

  20. 20.

    Tony Jay

    @m.j.:

    The Screenwriter wants Harvey Guillén. The Director thinks he can land Di Caprio. The Producer is having lunch with Timothy Chalamet. The Producer’s wife is sleeping with Milo Ventimiglia. But Jack Black’s agent  is owed a favour by the main investor so he’s quietly confident.

    Meanwhile Angel Studios are lining up Kevin Sorbo to direct Santos as himself in ‘Martyred For His Faith – The George Santos Story’ 

  23. 23.

    Geminid

    Santos is starting to lash back. I checked out his Twitter account yesterday and he claimed that on Monday he will file Ethics Committee complaints against 3 New York Republicans including Mike Lawler and Nicolle Malliatokis(sp?).. He accused Malliatokis of insider stock trades. I think Santos is working with open-source information here, but this can’t help these freshmsn Republicans facing tough reelection campaigns.

    Santos may actually have real dirt on others including Elise Stefanik. That could account for her and the other leaders’ votes against expulsion. Back in January, when Santos’s story was hitting the fan, I saw an odd an intriguing feature of Santos’s Twitter account: the heading showed a picture of him and another of Stefanik.

    I took that as a blackmail move. During last year’s campsign, Stefanik had a more public relationship with Santos than other Republicans, and she could be entangled in his his shady fundraising schemes.

    I guess we could find out more if and when Santos makes a plea deal with prosecutors. His campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, has already made a guilty plea. She is a veteran operative within the Long Island Republican world, and could implicate the Long Island political boss and Governor candidate, forner Rep. Lee Zeldin.

    In 2020, Santos lost to Rep. Tom Suozzi by 12 points. Republicans nominated him again last year even though they had reason to know his resume was bogus, and likely did know. This supports the theory that they kept him around as a conduit for a lot of funny campaign money.

    Santos was flying under the radar until he won unexpectedy. Then reporters jumped in and so did prosecutors. An analogy would be The Producers, where the scamming promoters of an awful Broadway play must contend with unforseen success.

    In that movie, Zero Mostel and his partner were fleecing gullible Broadway investors. One difference with Santos is that his investors are connected to Russian oligarchs. That factor may limit Santos’s candor with prosecutors. His sponsors may be able to hurt him far worse than any U.S. Attorney could.

  24. 24.

    Nukular Biskits

    @TriassicSands:

    Some people might find it difficult to believe that an American adult couldn’t name the president. By the time the question is about the person’s House representative the numbers start getting pretty big.

    And, from there, it gets even worse. I don’t have the time to find the reliable/publicly-verifiable survey results to support this, but a significant number (and my guess would be a plurality) can’t name their state rep and/or senator.

    When I ran for county supervisor about 12 years ago, it was my experience that about half the folks I talked to when campaigning didn’t know who their county sup was, what a county sup did or even the incumbent’s name.

  27. 27.

    Tony Jay

    @eclare:

    @m.j.:

    It’s no biggie. I ate quite a lot of funny coloured mushrooms in an after-hours soirée at the soup kitchen last night and I saw it all clear as day in a fever dream.

  28. 28.

    Tony Jay

    @Nukular Biskits:

    @Baud:

    He’s also a bit Black-ish, according to his costumer.

    To be honest, though, I vote for a revolving door of actors playing Santos in different scenes, recognisable only by the suit they wear. John Malkovich when he’s doing deals with donors, Bruce Greenwood when he’s giving a heartfelt speech to guys and gals with pick-up trucks, Sissy Spacek when he’s getting booed at during his expulsion from the House. Maybe even get Michael Vick to do a scene where he’s screwing over the dog.

    Really home in on the guy’s ‘whoever you need me to be at any given moment’ energy.

  30. 30.

    Nukular Biskits

    @Tony Jay:

    To be honest, though, I vote for a revolving door of actors playing Santos in different scenes, recognisable only by the suit they wear.

    Now THAT would be both an interesting concept AND something hilarious to see!

  33. 33.

    Princess

    Have to say, the thought that HBO is making a show about George Santos grosses me out. I’m sure he’s thrilled – more attention for him.

  35. 35.

    Geminid

    @Frankensteinbeck: This movie might well be made. It’s a tawdry story but that has never been a bar to a movie treatment. And there is a nice dramatic twist when Santos wins unexpectedy.

    There is also an interesting journalism substory. Mr. Zimmerman  Santos’s Democratic opponent, says he and his staff alerted journalists to Santos’s bogus life history, and that reporters told them it did not matter because Santos would lose. When Santos won, journalists suddenly started hunting a Pulitzer prize.

  36. 36.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Geminid:

    This movie might well be made.

    They all might well be made.  There are usually strong reasons for them to be optioned.  Then they aren’t made.  Frankly, most are more interesting stories.  In terms of things to make a show out of, lying a lot and getting elected anyway is pretty weak sauce.  It’s possible, sure, but I’m warning people that when you hear ‘optioned’ it’s still highly unlikely.

  38. 38.

    Ken

    Rep. George Santos says in a Twitter space tonight that multiple members of Congress are busy cheating on their spouses

    Why is this reported as news? I guess the breaking of the code of silence might be the newsworthy part.

  40. 40.

    Raoul Paste

    When Bill Murray is interviewed for the army in the movie Stripes, he’s asked whether he’s been convicted of a crime..

    “Convicted?  No, never convicted”.
    Just like Santos’ argument,

  41. 41.

    beckya57

    The dragging of Santos on Bluesky is epic.  Hop over and take a look if you haven’t already.  There’s repeated posts of a picture of him shouting, with hilarious captions.  Thanks again to Anne Laurie for giving me a Bluesky invite!

  45. 45.

    Shalimar

    @Tony Jay: In addition to the revolving door of actors playing Santos, all dressed identically, can we also get Santos himself to play all of his victims, dressed differently for each one?  Sort of a meta-take on being able to scam them because he identifies their weaknesses.

  47. 47.

    Tony Jay

    @pluky:

    Come on, the obvious choice is George Clooney in a pair of thick black glasses, but no one else can see the true beauty inside that thickly foundationed exterior.

  49. 49.

    kalakal

    @TriassicSands:

    Some people might find it difficult to believe that an American adult couldn’t name the president

    Ex president no 45 can’t name the president, to be fair I wouldn’t class TFG as an adult

  50. 50.

    Tony Jay

    @Shalimar:

    Every time he scams someone they don a paper Santos mask like in Being John Malkovich. By the end of the movie most of the cast playing Republicans are wearing them. Symbolism.

    @NotMax:

    Simon Pegg plays Santos whenever he’s on the phone to his Mum trying to explain how “No, no, everything is going fine.”

    @kalakal:

    “These are not the ethical standards you’re looking for.”

    and

    “Anonymity is a virtue, every fool knows that!”

  54. 54.

    Tony Jay

    @WaterGirl:

    Talivangelical Christofascists love them some garbage people faking it to make Libs cry. Even better if it lets them grift their own Base.

    And you’re all too kind. Stop that immediately.

  55. 55.

    wjca

    @Nukular Biskits:  I don’t have the time to find the reliable/publicly-verifiable survey results to support this, but a significant number (and my guess would be a plurality) can’t name their state rep and/or senator.

    I’m actually interested in politics, or I likely wouldn’t be here (I didn’t know about Adam’s Ukraine posts before I arrived).  While I can name my Congressman and state Senator, I can’t name my Assemblywoman.  I know 3 things about her: 1) she’s a Democrat,  2) her last name is hyphenated, and 3) she has shown a devotion to honesty rivaling TIFG.  The latter probably accounting for why I haven’t bothered to learn her name.

  56. 56.

    Geminid

    @wjca: The question of differing fields of knowledge came up last month when retired Colonel Eugene Vindman announced his candidacy for the Virginia 7th CD seat. Local State Delegate Joshua Cole tweeted “Who is this guy? I’ve never seen him around the 7th District.”

    Vindman’s supporters said Cole was poorly informed. One of them was Vindman’s sister-in-law, podcaster Rachel Vindman, who told Cole not to attack Vindman’s miltary service- which Cole had not- and finished by saying that she had never heard of him. That really stirred the pot!

Comments are closed.