What is the word I am looking for? Either a medical word or a science word for

[silvershadow]

an invader that kills it's host? Whatever that word would be is what Mitt Romney is...we, the citizens of the United States have subsidized Mitt and his family in ways legal and I suspect not-so-legal, to the point they are surely responsible for this mess. As are all of those who are of his ilk. Need a succinct word that describes this phenomenon.

[Rosco T.]

1. Parasite.

[silvershadow]

9. Yes. Parasite. Thank you. Couldn't think of it.

[Marie Marie]

2. Cancer?

[Avalux]

3. Parasite. Romney has been a parasite on this country for a long time.

He can't be allowed to take over the system and kill it off.

[NYC_SKP]

4. parasitoid?

[Jackpine Radical]

7. Yes, parasitoid.

From Wikipedia:

A parasitoid is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life history attached to or within a single host organism in a relationship that is in essence parasitic; unlike a true parasite, however, it ultimately sterilises or kills, and sometimes consumes, the host. Thus parasitoids are similar to typical parasites except in the more dire prognosis for the host.

[longship]

12. Yes!! That's it.

A parasite lives in harmony with its host, often at some cost, but rarely causing outright death. Our bobies are full of parasitic life forms, from bacteria (which form a majority of our biological mass -- yes, it's true; get used to it) to the teeny mites that live in our pores and consume skin oils.

Biology finds a way. But I don't want a parasitoid anywhere near me.

[lonestarnot]

5. Immunodeficiency disease/thief.

[hlthe2b]

6. lethal virus

[Speck Tater]

8. Republican? nt

[Marie Marie]

10. Vulture Capitalist

aka Willard Romney

[hootinholler]

18. No, Vultures are scavengers feeding off the dead

Mitt is a predator killing living and viable companies to feed.

[left on green only]

11. Are you sending him a get well card? N/T

[silvershadow]

15. Ha ha! No, he can't be fixed. I am actually composing a written piece in my head right now

and I just couldn't grab that word for some reason. No, Mitt is so disconnected from reality it really kind of scares me. He reminds me of Ted Bundy for some reason, and others who slither in our midst. I am not sure why, but every time I hear him speak I can imagine him luring us all to the mother ship, or the box cars, or out to California to drink some kool aid.

[Major Nikon]

13. Pathogen

A pathogen is basically an infection that causes disease which may or may not be fatal.

[JHB]

14. Chest-burster?

(Ok, that's just the drama queen of parisatoids)

[jsr]

16. Deadly bug

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. On a tangent, I found some marvellous synonyms for a human parasite in the dictionary

'lick-dish', 'maunche present' , 'smell-feast', 'scambler', 'lick-trencher', 'lick-spigot', 'cosherer', 'tantony pig'.

[ananda]

19. tape worm

nt