Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has doubled-down on his criticism of the Federal Reserve, despite the bipartisan backlash he faced after describing Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's monetary policy as "treasonous." (Even the godfather of Fed-bashing, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), said Perry "makes me look like a moderate.") Perry insisted Wednesday that he's merely one of "a number of politicians who have stood up and really questioned the transparency of the Federal Reserve." If you strip away Perry's incendiary language, is his critique of the U.S. central bank on the money?
Perry's "a pretty sharp economic and monetary analyst": Perry's slam on Bernanke was "undoubtedly way too strong," says Larry Kudlow in National Review. But "his analysis of Fed policy is right on target." Bernanke's quantitative easing, or flooding the market with $600 billion in dollars, weakened the greenback, helped inflate gas and food prices, deflated consumer spending, and blunted economic growth. I for one welcome Perry's "much needed defense of stable money."
"Perry's red-hot Bernanke slam"
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Trust the experts, not Perry: For the sake of the economy, let's all "hope Bernanke ignores Perry," says E.J. Dionne in The Washington Post. "Lots of very smart middle-of-the road and even conservative economists think the economy could use another jolt" of monetary stimulus, not a dialing-back. In fact, when it comes to economic "treason," wouldn't it be more treacherous if Bernanke "failed to stimulate the economy for fear that right-wing demagogues might attack him"?
"Rick Perry and the 'treason' card"
Voters see results, not process: Right or wrong, "Perry is clearly within the bash-the-Fed mainstream of the Republican Party," says David Weigel in Slate. But lots of Democrats and Independents have "Fed fatigue," too: Voters may not understand macroeconomics, but they get failure, and unemployment is still above 9 percent. That said, Team Bernanke would probably get better results if the GOP weren't blocking Obama's nominees to the Fed's Board of Governors.