It’s no secret that Team George W. Bush and Team Rick Perry are not exactly close. And with Perry flailing after he accused Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke of “almost treasonous” behavior, one of Team W’s biggest names is taking the opportunity to twist the knife.
“You don’t accuse the chairman of the federal reserve of being a traitor to his country. Of being guilty of treason,” Karl Rove told Fox News Tuesday. “And, suggesting that we treat him pretty ugly in texas. You know, that is not, again a presidential statement.”
Rove, whose American Crossroads money group is expected to be a central player on the Republican side of the presidential contest, has made a short career of late “telling it like it is” to fiery Republican voices like Perry. Back in 2010, Rove’s attacks on Christine O’Donnell led some of the biggest voices in conservatism to turning on him, eventually resulting in Rove backing down.
Perry, of course, is no O’Donnell. But he is super popular with many of the same voters O’Donnell relied on. And once again, Rove is taking on his party’s right wing by attacking one of its biggest stars.
Perry, meanwhile, has so far decided against apologizing for the headline-dominating comments about Bernanke.
Rove’s not pulling any punches, suggesting that Perry’s comments are a sign of a candidate destined to be gaffe-prone.
“If Rick Perry were to be elected president he’d be saddled with Ben Bernanke who has a term. He’s an independent chairman of the federal reserve board, appointed by president and confirmed by Congress and serves for a term and the president couldn’t even ask him to resign,” Rove said. “So, this is — I hope this is not the first of sort of over the top statements.”
As ThinkProgress reports, Rove also took on Perry over his attempts to distance himself from Bush, whom he served with as Lt. Gov. of Texas before ascending to the big chair when Bush moved to the White House.
Update Here’s the video:
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Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.
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