Presidential hopeful, Gov. Rick Perry on Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke (Bernanke was originally appointed by George W. Bush), in an attempt to make Bernanke seem as though he’s been playing partisan politics for the Democrats:
“If this guy 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.”
According to Andrew Sullivan, the phrase “treat him pretty ugly down in Texas” means lynching, emphasis mine:
What Perry is now shown to have said has a plain meaning. He'd support lynching the Fed Chairman. And he believes that Bernanke's attempts to prevent a Second Great Depression are partisan politics, and an attempt to rig the election. He seems to think, in other words, that the man who was the head of George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers and was appointed to Fed Chairman by George W. Bush is somehow a Democratic party operative trying to win the election for Obama. It's a staggering assault on the integrity of a civil servant grappling with some of the most serious economic problems this country has faced in our lifetime.
Yes, as Talk Progress notes, treason is a capital offense. And there is no doubt what a bully means when he says someone should be treated "pretty ugly" in Texas. There you have the mindset of a man who could issue a death warrant for an innocent man and who would bring back the most brutal torture techniques he could get away with.
Tony Fratto, former Deputy Press Secretary to George W. Bush, responds on Twitter:
Gov. Perry's comments about Chmn. Bernanke are inappropriate and unpresidential.
With any luck, Rick Perry may be out when he is just barely in.
Via Sullivan
