Lying or rewriting history correlates with extremism: what it tells us about Romney

[andym]

I think there is quite abundant historical evidence that the more extreme the political position, the more likely the politician will outright lie. In history, the most extreme examples are Hitler, Stalin and Mao. In this country, extremists rarely get the chance to have power, but Barry Goldwater's "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," appears to justify lying. Many extreme right and left-leaning pundits rewrite history at the drop of a pin, examples are present through the internet. While exaggeration has always been a mainstay of American politics, outright lying has not.

So, what does this tell us about Romney and Ryan, who continue to outright lie about recent history to make political points-- more so that recent GOP candidates (although Bush clearly misled about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq-- but that was after the election and Reagan continually would make nonsensical statements, such as trees being a major source of pollution)? It tells us that they really are politically extreme, and would not hesitate to lie in "1984" fashion ("We have always been at war with Eurasia.&quot . They appear to have already embedded a "Ministry of Truth" into their campaign.

So, perhaps Romney/Ryan represents the most extreme GOP ticket to run for President since Goldwater.