I don’t know if Brian Beutler is right about Rick Perry or not. Beutler thinks that Perry’s criticism of Ben Bernacke’s quantitative easing program is an acknowledgement that printing more money than usual will stimulate the economy. I’m not sure the Texas governor is really that sophisticated. You have to examine his motivation for opening his yap. Was it to shoot an arrow across Bernacke’s bow and actually try to deincentivize him from introducing a QE3 program? Or was it to simply engage is some trendy Fed-bashing to mop up some loose Paulistas and create a distinction with Romney?
In the former case, he’s trying to make sure the economy remains as crappy as possible to help his chances in the general. In the latter case, he’s trying to get a jump in the polls to help his fundraising. I’d go with the latter explanation, frankly.
P.S. Despite heavy criticism, Perry isn’t backing down.
