What many people do not want to admit is that honesty is not a requirement for taking office, as has been proven time and time again. Other current members who ran for office on false claims range from Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who claimed to have served in Vietnam, to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who claimed to have Native American heritage. On the Republican side, former Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) was found to have misrepresented his military service, and Georgia Republican senatorial candidate Herschel Walker was accused of misrepresenting law enforcement and educational credentials.
President Joe Biden’s false claims have become the virtual basis of a drinking game in Washington, after he claimed everything from being arrested with Nelson Mandela to graduating at the top of his class. Those lies, however, have been treated by the media as “spinning a yarn.”
Even in such company as this, Santos appears to be the Aesop of American political fables. Nevertheless, he must be seated if he is guilty only of lying about his credentials and background.
Many Santos critics cite the fact that the Constitution expressly mandates in Section 5, Article I, that “Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own Members.” Those decisions on the outcome of elections have been treated as largely final and non-justiciable. However, this case is not a question over the counting or certification of votes but, rather, over the claims used to gain votes.
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