Glenn Reynolds: “They’ve played right into Perry’s hands.”
He’s reacting to this, by Chris Stirewalt:
Did you hear? Rick Perry threatened to execute Ben Bernanke and suggested that the reason the economy was in such bad shape is because President Obama is black.
Wednesday saw a full-blown media hyperventilation—stoked by the president and [the] White House press secretary—over Perry’s comments that it would be “almost treasonous” if the Federal Reserve chairman were to print more money in a bid to boost the wilting economy in advance of the 2012 election.
The Obama campaign and its liberal backers have begun to build the narrative that Perry is a reckless and radical figure, including one cable and radio host who cut a Perry sound bite to make it seem that Perry had said Obama was “a dark cloud” hanging over the American economy instead of what he did say, which was that uncertainty and debt were dark clouds hanging over the economy. This led to a long discussion about Perry’s secret racism and the racist tendencies of the Tea Party movement.
Meanwhile, other reporters have been digging through the trove of piquant Perry statements from his decade governing Texas, including the hot microphone moment when he left the set of a querulous TV interview saying “adios mofo.”
More moderate Republicans and backers of fellow frontrunner Mitt Romney first took offense to Perry’s remarks about Bernanke on Monday, but by Tuesday afternoon, the White House was joining the pile on, with the press secretary warning that Perry should watch his tone.
While Donald Trump was able to force Obama to show a copy of his birth certificate, the concerted attack on Perry shows the sharpest reaction yet to a Republican candidate by the administration and the rest of the campaign.
Thus, Reynolds:
None of this is going to hurt Perry. In fact — do I really have to spell this out to our lame punditry? I guess so — they’ve played right into Perry’s hands. First, he’s building a narrative that consumer inflation, currently accelerating, is the fault of reckless Obama spending and the Bernanke money-printing that supported it. The attacks on him over the Bernanke comments just draw attention to it. Right now inflation, especially in food and other necessaries, is an irritant, but it’s likely to be a much bigger issue by election day.
Second, when former Bush people attack him for dissing Wall Street and the Fed, it’s helping him put distance between himself and Bush. That’s not as important as it used to be, since the Bush era is starting to look like an economic golden age compared to what came later — those $180 billion deficits and sub-5% unemployment rates don’t look so bad now, do they? — but it’s still essential to Perry building the necessary separation. And watch him attack Obama for being too close to Wall Street and the Fed before this is all over.
As for the “Adios, mofo,” line, well, it calls up another Perry resemblance. That’s not going to hurt him either. If you’re living through a seventies rerun, why not look like a seventies clean-up hero? And I can think of worse advice for Obama than A man’s got to know his limitations . . .
Well, yes. Though we shouldn’t get, um, cocky . . . and that lined, tanned quality in Perry’s face—combined with the fact that he looks good in a ten-gallon hat—puts me in mind of another association (beyond that of Ann Althouse’s Clint Eastwood allusion). On at least a superficial level:
But you wanted to see that new slogan on a bumper sticker, right?
And here’s the video:
As a little reminder, let’s look at the map of recent migration in and out of Harris County, Texas, where Houston is located—the black line representing incoming residents:
Any questions?
- Excited
- Angry
- Not as Angry
- Bored
- Indifferent
- Sad
Aw, come on. Your bias is showing.
It will be harder for the leftists to produce convincing lies about
the republican candidates, than it will be for them to invent convincing
truths about the democrat candidates. They will soon be out of media ammo,
while Obamas policies and regulations will deliver convoy after convoy
of newly manufactured armaments, ready for launching on the networks
that utilize both intelligent thought, and free speech.
Heh. She said “Rick Perry”. Heh-heh-heh.
Rick Perry’s a wimp. He might put on a good front, but anyone who carries an LCP .380? That’s a girly-man’s handgun.
Real men carry weapons in calibers that start with a .4. I’d be ashamed to be caught with a little-bitty thing like that. Is it pink, too?
But wasn’t that just while he was jogging? One’s running sidearm has to be as lightweight as possible . . .
Why does Rick Perry remind me of the President in the cheap horror movies that turns out to have been possessed by Satan?
Also, I have questions about his seriousness on immigration.
Adios, Mofo.
I remember the 80s when everyone was leaving Houston and we were told the city was dead and over with. I know it’s more than Perry in the last 35 years – but I’m impressed with that chart.
I like the man’s economic policies, but I cannot be enthusiastic about a candidate for president who supports sodomy laws in this day and age.
Yeah, that’s the only thing that really bugs me, but he seem to want to leave the gay stuff up to the states.
I’ll take my chances on a slightly authoritarian fiscal conservative in preference to a “Compassionate” conservative every time.
I have to think that Congress would be more likely to bow up on him if he gets carried away on social issues than not. And as was clearly in evidence with Bush the Younger, they’ll cheerfully jump on the “Compassionate Conservative” bandwagon and spend us halfway into oblivion.
Be it noted that is not an endorsement of Gov. Perry on my part. All that I’m saying is that he’s not on my list of unacceptable Republican candidates yet, unlike Gingrich, Romney and Huntsman, just to name a few.
Unless he eats a baby on tv between now and the primary I’m voting for him.
He needs to reveal a solid fenced border/immigration policy, or go run in Portugal or Greece instead. They need the fiscal help, and we don’t need
a second open borders Texan.
“Equally important, Rick Perry will finally force Washington to fulfill its constitutional duty to secure our international borders. As Governor, Perry has directed hundreds of millions of dollars, manpower and resources to drastically reduce criminal activity along the border because Washington has refused to act. As President, Perry will take decisive action to defend our sovereign border because there can be no homeland security without border security.”
I’d like to hear specifics, but the immigration expert I’m sleeping with was chomping at the bit for him to get in, and he’s not open borders. I think you know that.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=333669
Ten questions for Governor Perry
All the candidates should be forced to reveal their position on the creation of some bogus EuroCrash style union of the U.S, and any other nations.
There has been tremendous erosion of our sovereignty under the last
three Presidents, and it’s got to stop. Or the new coinage will have a maple leaf on one side, a sombrero on the other, and, well don’t bother with those
former middle class losers in the middle.