'Lying doesn't matter anymore': Former Republican congressman on how politics changed in the Santos era
The news that Rep. George Santos (R-NY) lied about his entire identity when running for office began with comedy bits and questions of whether he was actually Sasha Baron Cohen. The reality has become less laughable and more depressing over the course of the past several weeks, with analysts asking what matters to voters anymore.
Speaking to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Monday, former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) attacked the contemporary Republican Party as being meaningless when it comes to the truth.
"You know, Denver, I couldn't have been a staffer in the White House if I told these lies," said Wallace, who previously worked on the communications team for former George W. Bush's administration. "You fill out, what is it, an SF-286. I couldn't work at my current company if I told these lies. I worked at a power company, it had a nuclear plant. I had a background check and if I lied I wouldn't have been able to work there. I don't know where you can work, draw a paycheck let alone be paid by taxpayers, other than the Republican Party in Congress. What does that say?"
Riggleman agreed, noting that when he was in office he witnessed a lot of morally questionable things among his party.
"I think what you're seeing with Santos and it's other people, too, if you look at Marjorie Taylor Greene, the lies have been so normalized, the base doesn't care. They just care about who is voting for what. Lying doesn't matter anymore. I've always said the two-party system wouldn't survive social media. I thought the fringes would get their moment. I don't know how we get out of this right now because Santos is voting the way he wants certain people to vote. He voted for McCarthy for Speaker. His lies, his immoralities, his different names, all that stuff doesn't matter to these individuals, because it's about the party over country, every single time."
Charlie Sykes employed what Riggleman called "beautiful sarcasm" when he said, "gosh, how could we see this coming."
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