August 19, 2011
Federal Reserve critic Ron Paul has hit out at fellow Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry, saying the Texas governor’s views make him “look like a moderate.”
“I have never once said [Ben] Bernanke has committed treason,” Paul said, referring to comments that Perry made about the Fed chairman.Perry said on Tuesday that it would be “almost treacherous or treasonous,” if the Fed under Bernanke increased the money supply before next year’s election.
Paul's response: “He realizes that talking about the Fed is good, too. But I tell you what: He makes me look like a moderate."
The sniping between the two Texans threatens to take center stage in the Republican battle for the White House now that the bickering between two Minnesotan candidates, Rep. Michele Bachmann and former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, is over. Their war of words ended in victory for Bachmann when Pawlenty dropped out of the race on Sunday.
Paul has already complained that the media is focusing too much on Perry and not enough on his campaign even though he finished a close second to Bachmann in Saturday’s Iowa Straw Poll.
“What are they afraid of?” he asked on Fox News today. “We’re certainly in the top tier, we showed we did well in Iowa and we have a good organization, we can raise money.”
Actually, Paul has distinguished himself among Republicans in recent years by calling for elimination of the Federal Reserve. But now, Perry and another GOP presidential candidate, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, are in that camp.
How does Paul view other Republicans jumping on the anti-Fed bandwagon?
“He kind of looks at it as, it’s good to see other candidates finally catching up by at least paying lip service to some of this,” Paul spokesman Gary Howard said. “Unfortunately, we’re looking at people’s records, and they don’t have much of a record in dealing with this issue.”
Tea party and establishment Republicans alike are lighting into the Fed.
“Americans have come to have an unhealthy distrust of all government institutions, including the Federal Reserve, and politicians like Perry and Paul are tapping into it,” Mark McKinnon, a veteran GOP consultant, told The Hill. “I think for Paul it is a policy issue and for Perry it is a political issue.”
Meanwhile, Paul made light of Perry’s comments in a New Hampshire campaign event Wednesday with this quip: "Now they have this other governor, I can't remember his name.
"He realizes that talking about the Fed is good, too. But he makes me sound like a moderate. I have never once said Bernanke has committed treason. But I have suggested very strongly that the Federal Reserve system and all the members have been counterfeiters for a long time."
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