Ronald Reagan’s chief domestic policy adviser took Texas governor Rick Perry to the woodshed Friday for recent controversial statements — in particular about his suggestion that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke would be committing treason by printing money to boost economic growth.
“Rick Perry’s an idiot, and I don’t think anyone would disagree with that,” Bruce Bartlett said on CNN’s American Morning.
Bartlett, who also served in the Treasury Department under George H.W. Bush, hasn’t been shy about criticizing the current Republican party, but he seems to think Perry’s a particularly troublesome player. He also said President Obama deserves a fair share of criticism for the state of the economy — particularly given his inattentiveness to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors.
“He has had open seats on the Fed almost his entire presidency and I think that this sends a signal that he just doesn’t care very much about what the Fed does,” Bartlett said.
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Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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