In addition to the Tonys, the Oscars, and Grammys, I would like to propose a new category of awards: the Cringy.
The Cringy, a statue of an American voter covering their eyes because they can’t bear to look, would be awarded each year to the most cringe-worthy and embarrassing member of the United States House of Representatives.
While we have a crowded field of worthy candidates this year, it seems obvious that four outstanding nominees have risen to the top for consideration for this year’s coveted award. They are:
George Santos of New York
He falsely claimed that he was an employee of Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, a star player on the Baruch College men’s volleyball team, the grandchild of Holocaust survivors, and Jewish. He is also reported to have swindled donors to his charities and stands accused of passing bad checks in Brazil. He listed hundreds of $199.99 campaign expenses, just below the Federal Election Commission’s $200 threshold for reporting.
He recently topped things off by being accused of unconsented sexual contact by a job applicant and positioning himself to be seen on camera during the State of the Union address, earning the ire of Senator Mitt Romney of Utah. He may have set a record for the longest list of misbehaviors in the shortest period of time by any new member of the House of Representatives. He is clearly the front-runner for the Cringy.
Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia
She claimed that mass shootings in Parkland, Sandy Hook, and Las Vegas were staged. Then she asserted that “Zionist supremacists” are secretly masterminding Muslim immigration to Europe. This was followed by reports that she thought that the wildfires in California were caused by Pacific Gas & Electric in conjunction with the Rothschilds using a space laser to clear land for a high-speed rail project.
If this behavior was not bizarre enough, she put the icing on the cake by appearing at the State of the Union address in a white fur-collared outfit and screaming “liar” at the President while Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy unsuccessfully tried to shush her.
If she doesn’t win the Cringy, she might be considered for an award for the member of Congress most likely to have the mind of an early adolescent trapped in the body of an adult.
Matt Gaetz of Florida
While racking up an arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol and accusations of witness intimidation and sex trafficking, his legislative record in the Florida state legislature and the House of Representatives includes votes against a bill to outlaw the distribution of sexually explicit images or videos of individuals without their consent and against a bill to combat human trafficking in commercial vehicles.
While mingling with Holocaust deniers and endorsing white supremacist replacement theory, he also earned hypocrisy points for the Cringy Award by criticizing President Joe Biden for forgiving up to $10,000 of student loan debt for eligible borrowers when he had $476,000 of debt from his PaycheckProtection Program loan forgiven.
Lauren Boebert of Colorado
Boebert has made it clear that she is “tired of this separation-of-church-and-state junk” and that “the church is supposed to control the government.” She seems to have been absent when her high school teacher explained the Bill of Rights during Civics class.
She was one of the few members of the House to vote against a resolution to give the Congressional Gold Medal to police officers who defended the US Capitol.
Only one person can win this year’s Cringy Award. It seems certain, however, that with the track records of this year’s nominees, there will be plenty of candidates to make this award show an annual event.
We seem certain, as voters, to retain our capability for embarrassment at the behavior of members of the House of Representatives.
