George Santos must go; CD3 voters deserve better

Fabulist Rep. George Santos is out soliciting money early in the cycle for a reelection campaign, which he announced Monday on Twitter. Judging by his latest underwhelming filings, the GOP donors he soaked before are watching their wallets.

Santos took office in the Nassau-Queens 3rd Congressional District less than four months ago. His entire biography was a tall tale — education, career, housing, family details and even his religion. Any illusion his counterfeit 2022 candidacy would somehow spawn a legitimate incumbency is gone. Nobody communes with him outside the GOP fringe and the most extreme circle of House Republicans. His credibility remains zero. 

Recompense for chronic lies can only begin if the liar comes clean. Santos, known purely as a liar, does not seem to fake humility well. 

Even now he refuses to say just where he lives, claiming "safety" concerns. That's very weak, especially after the NYPD found no report of him being robbed as he claimed of his shoes, watch and briefcase at Fifth Avenue and East 55th Street. 

Some CD3 constituent work that might ordinarily go to Santos’ district office is still reportedly sent to other public officials — notably, Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito in CD4. Santos claims 143 "cases" were "solved" in his first 100 days, including passport and immigration problems. 

Having to stop and weigh whether anything he says is true, makes it hard to imagine he can be trusted to handle a problem.

That's because Santos is vestigial in Washington. He backed H.R. 1, a GOP pushback against fossil-fuel reduction that would have easily cleared the House without his "amen."  Still, Santos earns big blame in attack ads by the League of Conservation Voters because he's the caricature of a phony.

Consider the freshman's offensive little stunt of wearing of an AR-15 lapel pin and supporting a useless bill declaring the weapon “America’s rifle.” Second Amendment rights aren't threatened, so the gesture had only shock value. The AR-15 has been used in numerous mass shootings. 

Infantile blather is the Santos brand. He absurdly claims on social media that Democrats want to ban toilet paper, a dumb rumor that began as an April Fool's joke. He wastes time making fashion assessments of space suits. On Twitter, he even ridiculed Legis. Josh Lafazan's face.  

More seriously, federal and state probes into his sketchy campaign finances and shadowy business dealings proceed alongside a House ethics investigation. Donor beware: Contributions could be used for his legal defense.

In Nassau County, Republicans now know they erred last time by backing Santos. That opens up the field for Republicans as well as Democrats, with several of them having their names floated. 

Obviously voters of both parties want Santos to leave or be thrown out. For CD3, having a scheming performer in Congress creates an urgent situation. Every day he's there, Long Island is denied full representation. Santos still must go.