Like most people, I find the story of George Santos’ lies, acquisition of wealth, and political success to be, well, captivating.
I thought, “If ever a topic existed that Republicans and Democrats could agree on, it is that Santos is unfit for national office.” The GOP leaders of Nassau County (Santos’ district) called for him to resign. Also, Republican politicians from states like Ohio and South Carolina have issued similar demands.
Notably silent, however, has been the Utah delegation.
Now the befuddlement. On Jan. 12 , Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County executive (equivalent to a county mayor in Utah) appeared on the PBS NewsHour. Co-anchor Geoff Bennet interviewed him. Blakeman, a Republican, stated that Santos must resign.
Bennett asked, “Why wasn’t he vetted by you and your colleagues, Long Island Republicans, well before Election Day?”
Blakeman answered, “I think what is a more interesting question is, where was the other party? They’re supposed to do opposition research. They should have vetted George Santos, the same way that each party vets the other side’s candidate. So, I just don’t understand why they weren’t able to uncover all of these untruths.”
Wow! Santos was elected because Democrats failed to do a proper job of opposition research?
I will end with a quote from an opinion piece co-authored by Bret Stephens and David Brooks on Jan. 11. They said, “When people get on a bad path, whether it’s drinking or gambling or political or religious fanaticism, they tend to follow it all the way to the bottom, at which point they either die or have that proverbial moment of clarity.”
I’ve been waiting for Republicans to have a moment of clarity for a while now.
Aaron Breen, Riverton
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