freespirit
17th August 2011, 06:55 PM
i have bolded the parts in this article i liked, italicized the parts i didn't...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/us/politics/17perry.html?_r=1
DUBUQUE, Iowa — Gov. Rick Perry did not back down on Tuesday, but he did not repeat his suggestion that the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve were potentially “treasonous” and could warrant “ugly” treatment should the Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, ever pay a visit to Texas.
“Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous — or treasonous in my opinion,” Mr. Perry said Monday, taking a voter’s question about the Fed and criticizing the possibility of the central bank’s taking further steps between now and the election to keep interest rates low.
He added, “I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas.”
The comments came at the end of a freewheeling and unscripted day of introducing himself to voters and highlighted Mr. Perry’s penchant for provocative, hard-edged campaigning of the sort that speaks to certain conservatives even as it raises hackles elsewhere. A video of the remarks quickly circulated, prompting a round of recriminations not just from Democrats but from some Republicans — a reminder of the old tensions between Mr. Perry and top advisers to former President George W. Bush.
Karl Rove, a longtime adviser to Mr. Bush went on Fox News to declare, “You don’t accuse the chairman of the Federal Reserve of being a traitor to his country, of being guilty of treason and suggesting that we treat him pretty ugly in Texas.”
Lawrence H. Summers, who was Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration and a top economic adviser to President Obama, said, “This may be the least responsible statement in the modern history of president politics.”
“While there is room for sharp debate over many economic issues,” Mr. Summers said, “the economic thinking is primitive, the mention of treason is outrageous and the intimation of violence is abhorrent.”
The dust-up underscored the challenge facing Mr. Perry as he makes the transition from Texas governor to presidential candidate, where every phrase is parsed and ripe for criticism.
“Look, I’m just passionate about the issue,” Mr. Perry said, as aides hustled him away from a lunch with business leaders in Dubuque. “We stand by what we said.”
Mr. Perry did not directly name Mr. Bernanke, who was first appointed by Mr. Bush and reappointed by Mr. Obama, but he left no doubt that he was aiming his criticism squarely at him. He did not repeat his comments on Tuesday, but he renewed his assertion that the government should “stop printing the money that’s devaluing our dollars.”
The president, on the second day of a Midwestern bus tour, passed on the chance to criticize Mr. Perry, telling Wolf Blitzer of CNN: “I’ll cut him some slack. He’s only been at it for a few days now.”
“I think that everybody who runs for president, it probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn’t like running for governor or running for senator or running for Congress,” Mr. Obama said. “And you’ve got to be a little more careful about what you say.”
While advisers to Mr. Perry sought to brush aside the matter, a new air of discipline surrounded him on Tuesday. As he visited a roofing company in Cedar Rapids and a business luncheon in Dubuque, he kept his criticism confined to Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy.
“Americans are tired of the overspending,” Mr. Perry said. “They are tired of the unpredictability in the business world. Just having a principled individual in the White House, from the standpoint of spending, would be a powerful message.”
In attacking the Fed, Mr. Perry was repeating a sentiment often heard by Tea Party activists and other conservatives worried about a permanent weakening of the American currency. Among them is another Texas Republican running for president, Representative Ron Paul.
At issue is the Fed’s policy of “quantitative easing.” With interest rates — its usual means of steering the economy — already near zero, the Fed has resorted to an extraordinary effort since December 2008 of buying a huge portfolio of Treasury bonds and crediting money to the reserves of banks to encourage more lending at low interest rates.
Vincent Reinhart, an economist and former director of the monetary affairs division of the Federal Reserve Board, said Mr. Perry’s comments highlighted the challenging position for the Fed. Mr. Reinhart said conservatives blame the Fed for facilitating federal deficits, “tapping into the voting public’s anger at deficits and debt.”
“Calling it treasonous,” he said by e-mail, “must be an appeal to the extreme segment of that view.”
Jeff Zeleny reported from Dubuque, and Jackie Calmes from Washington.
---not that i really care (or think it matters) who gets elected in the US, but this Perry fella seems interesting...wasn't he the one that got the law passed allowing ccw on campuses in Texas?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/us/politics/17perry.html?_r=1
DUBUQUE, Iowa — Gov. Rick Perry did not back down on Tuesday, but he did not repeat his suggestion that the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve were potentially “treasonous” and could warrant “ugly” treatment should the Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, ever pay a visit to Texas.
“Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous — or treasonous in my opinion,” Mr. Perry said Monday, taking a voter’s question about the Fed and criticizing the possibility of the central bank’s taking further steps between now and the election to keep interest rates low.
He added, “I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas.”
The comments came at the end of a freewheeling and unscripted day of introducing himself to voters and highlighted Mr. Perry’s penchant for provocative, hard-edged campaigning of the sort that speaks to certain conservatives even as it raises hackles elsewhere. A video of the remarks quickly circulated, prompting a round of recriminations not just from Democrats but from some Republicans — a reminder of the old tensions between Mr. Perry and top advisers to former President George W. Bush.
Karl Rove, a longtime adviser to Mr. Bush went on Fox News to declare, “You don’t accuse the chairman of the Federal Reserve of being a traitor to his country, of being guilty of treason and suggesting that we treat him pretty ugly in Texas.”
Lawrence H. Summers, who was Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration and a top economic adviser to President Obama, said, “This may be the least responsible statement in the modern history of president politics.”
“While there is room for sharp debate over many economic issues,” Mr. Summers said, “the economic thinking is primitive, the mention of treason is outrageous and the intimation of violence is abhorrent.”
The dust-up underscored the challenge facing Mr. Perry as he makes the transition from Texas governor to presidential candidate, where every phrase is parsed and ripe for criticism.
“Look, I’m just passionate about the issue,” Mr. Perry said, as aides hustled him away from a lunch with business leaders in Dubuque. “We stand by what we said.”
Mr. Perry did not directly name Mr. Bernanke, who was first appointed by Mr. Bush and reappointed by Mr. Obama, but he left no doubt that he was aiming his criticism squarely at him. He did not repeat his comments on Tuesday, but he renewed his assertion that the government should “stop printing the money that’s devaluing our dollars.”
The president, on the second day of a Midwestern bus tour, passed on the chance to criticize Mr. Perry, telling Wolf Blitzer of CNN: “I’ll cut him some slack. He’s only been at it for a few days now.”
“I think that everybody who runs for president, it probably takes them a little bit of time before they start realizing that this isn’t like running for governor or running for senator or running for Congress,” Mr. Obama said. “And you’ve got to be a little more careful about what you say.”
While advisers to Mr. Perry sought to brush aside the matter, a new air of discipline surrounded him on Tuesday. As he visited a roofing company in Cedar Rapids and a business luncheon in Dubuque, he kept his criticism confined to Mr. Obama’s handling of the economy.
“Americans are tired of the overspending,” Mr. Perry said. “They are tired of the unpredictability in the business world. Just having a principled individual in the White House, from the standpoint of spending, would be a powerful message.”
In attacking the Fed, Mr. Perry was repeating a sentiment often heard by Tea Party activists and other conservatives worried about a permanent weakening of the American currency. Among them is another Texas Republican running for president, Representative Ron Paul.
At issue is the Fed’s policy of “quantitative easing.” With interest rates — its usual means of steering the economy — already near zero, the Fed has resorted to an extraordinary effort since December 2008 of buying a huge portfolio of Treasury bonds and crediting money to the reserves of banks to encourage more lending at low interest rates.
Vincent Reinhart, an economist and former director of the monetary affairs division of the Federal Reserve Board, said Mr. Perry’s comments highlighted the challenging position for the Fed. Mr. Reinhart said conservatives blame the Fed for facilitating federal deficits, “tapping into the voting public’s anger at deficits and debt.”
“Calling it treasonous,” he said by e-mail, “must be an appeal to the extreme segment of that view.”
Jeff Zeleny reported from Dubuque, and Jackie Calmes from Washington.
---not that i really care (or think it matters) who gets elected in the US, but this Perry fella seems interesting...wasn't he the one that got the law passed allowing ccw on campuses in Texas?