Everyone knows that Mitt Romney lies. Everybody just takes it as the kind of lying a little boy does when he wants to be captain of the baseball team, or to be elected most popular.
But there is more to it than that, as this article explores.
Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition (DSM-IV-TR), as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood." Wikipedia
In my long and illustrious career in the financial markets it has been my misfortune to encounter several psychopathic (or perhaps, sociopathic—we will examine the terms later here) liars. In every instance it left me bruised and bleeding and considerably the poorer in my business affairs. And, though I had considerable studies in psychology in college and thought I knew something about personality traits, I was totally taken unawares, and taken advantage of by these individuals. Worse I thought them valued friends and business associates – at least until the knife was in the back.
The astounding thing was, even when the knife was in the back and I had expressed dismay and resentment the sociopaths denied that they had done anything that was hostile to my interest – or even tried to make me believe that I had agreed to their behavior – or were distressed that I took my business away from them, as though it were somehow unfair for me to retaliate for the damage they had done to me.
And here is the astounding part: They earnestly believed that they had done me no harm. With absolute sincerity and believeability they looked me straight in the face and lied with such skill and persuasiveness that my head spun and I actually questioned my own experience and my own observations. Had I really said that? Had I actually agreed to that? Did we have that meeting and did I imply this or that? Could I have been misinterpreted? Could I trust my own memory?
It would not surprise me if they had been able to pass a lie detector test. Because at the moment they were telling the new lie, or reinforcing an old one in their heart of hearts they were convinced of their truthfulness.
Let us look for the moment at the difference between sociopathic and psychopathic lying and behavior. Sociopaths act for their own interest only without regard for the interest or feelings of others. While they are willing to damage others it is not their primary concern. Their behavior is intended to further their own interests and accounts. They are willing to hurt or damage others but this is just a byproduct of their radical selfishness – and perhaps narcissism. Psychopaths, in addition to focusing on their own interests goals and profit are willing, and even sometimes desire, to damage others. Thus, Hitler was a psychopath. Bernie Madoff was a sociopath. So let us say on the continuum of personality disorder people who lie to get their own ends are sociopaths and mass killers are psychopaths.
Psychopathy (saɪˈkɒpəθi[1][2] from the Ancient Greek ψυχή "psyche", -soul, mind and πάθος, "pathos" -suffering, disease, condition[3][4]) is a personality disorder that has been variously described as characterized by shallow emotions (in particular reduced fear), stress tolerance, lacking empathy, coldheartedness, lacking guilt, egocentricity, superficial charm, manipulativeness, irresponsibility, nonplanfulness, impulsivity, and antisocial behaviors such as parasitic lifestyle and criminality. There is no consensus about the symptom criteria and there are ongoing debates regarding issues such as essential features, causes, and the possibility of treatment. Wikipedia
Which brings us to Mitt Romney. Not directly. It is not my opinion that Romney is a psychopath. But he is without doubt a sociopathic liar.
Unlike my business friends who could spin my head around as I wondered if somehow I had misinterpreted reality Romney has it all down on tape.
Aside from the lying Romney has exhibited some of the symptoms of a sociopath. The extreme disregard for the feelings of others is exhibited in spades in his prep school episode of shearing the hair (with a group of bullies) of an effeminate schoolmate. The pattern continues in his entire business career. His fortune is based solidly in sociopathy. He buys a company, finds foreign workers willing to do the production work cheaper than Americans and he throws the original workers in the dustbin – usually without regard to their pensions or benefits and without, evidently a look back or a “sorry about that.” He does this to accumulate an enormous fortune over the broken lives of his victims.
We have no tape of Romney’s business dealings—what he told people and how he told it. But viola! We have him on tape saying: “I believe in a woman’s right to choose” and then “I will repeal Roe vs Wade.” and we have him earnestly representing himself as a “moderate”. But the next time he needs to advance his political interests he just as earnestly claims to have been “a severely conservative governor”. The severely conservative governor of Massachusetts the proceded to pass the most progressive state health plan in the nation. “This is a model for the nation”, he proclaims. The next time his political interests are in danger he denies this and says that it was a plan for Massachusetts only and that each state should solve its own health care problem. Flip. Flop. Flip. Flop. These are not just evolving positions. These are sociopathic lies designed to further his political career.
We might easily accept these lies as they are told with enormous assurance and confidence. But the video tape is there. Mitt is a liar—and not just a liar, but a sociopathic liar.
This and similarly scintillating articles can often be read at pornographicpolitics.com and read at @zdbasso where Mitt is regularly skewered in rhyming couplets.