Rachel Maddow does an excellent job in this segment of laying out the facts about Mitt Romney’s unprecedented use of deliberate dishonesty as a political tool — even after the dishonesty is exposed. There’s nothing new about politicians lying, but I’d argue that there is something new about the way Romney’s doing it; there’s a deep, calculated cynicism evident in the way he incessantly lies long after the lies are debunked. He’s aware that the Fox News-indoctrinated right wing base simply doesn’t care whether he’s telling the truth, as long as it feeds their anti-Obama rage addiction.

In fact, this element of the Republican Party has been so debased that they actually enjoy a smear more when they know it’s a lie, because they fantasize that they’re getting under liberals’ skins. That’s far more important to a wingnut than mere honesty.

It’s disturbing that the mainstream media haven’t turned this deliberate dishonesty into a bigger story. By constantly pushing the limits of acceptability, the Romney campaign seems to have inured the media to his lies.