Speaking yesterday in Iowa, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) said that “printing more money” is “almost treasonous”:
If this guy [Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke] prints more money between now and the election, I dunno what y’all would do to him in Iowa but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas. Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treasonous in my opinion.
As Matt Yglesias noted today, accusing the Chairman of the Federal Reserve of treason is not only inappropriate, but also betrays a certain ignorance of history on the part of Governor Perry. Under Reagan, after all, the Fed was happy to increase the monetary base.
Governor Perry has drawn fire for his statement from conservatives, including none other than Karl Rove, who said that Perry’s remark was “not Presidential.” “You don’t accuse the chairman of the federal reserve of being a traitor to his country,” Rove told Fox News. Other former Bush aides have made similar criticisms.
But the Bush camp didn’t seem to mind such language back in 2000, when Perry — then Bush’s Lieutenant Governor — said that supporters of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) were “almost treasonous“:
Lt. Gov. Rick Perry, casting his Republican primary ballot early Monday, plugged George W. Bush’s presidential candidacy and urged Texans to join him in voting for the Texas governor.“Wherever your political philosophy might be, if you’re not for George Bush being the next president of the United States, I consider that to be almost treasonous if you’re a Texan,” Perry said.
It’s instructive to consider how Perry responded in 2000 versus today. Back then, Perry’s aides moderated his language. His spokesman informed the Associated Press that the Lieutenant Governor was simply being “humorous.” No such excuse was offered today. Greg Sargentreports that, given another bite at the apple, the Perry camp “is not disavowing the implied threat in his original remarks.”
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