Bruce Bartlett: Rick Perry Is "An Idiot"

(CNN) - Former Treasury official Bruce Bartlett labeled newly-minted Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry "an idiot" Friday.

Bartlett, who served at Treasury under former President George H.W. Bush and as a domestic policy adviser to the late President Ronald Reagan, delivered the choice words to the Texas Gov. in reference to his recent comments about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

"Rick Perry's an idiot, and I don't think anyone would disagree with that," Bartlett said Friday on CNN's "American Morning."

Perry sparked controversy when he said Bernanke would be "treasonous" if he printed more money to stimulate the economy before the 2012 election.

"I mean, printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous, or treasonous, in my opinion," Perry said Monday in Iowa. He stood by his comments Tuesday.

Bartlett said the politics at the Federal Reserve are a serious problem and in part blamed U.S. presidents, who he said have historically not focused their energies on the bank.

"He [Obama] has had open seats on the fed almost his entire presidency and I think that this sends a signal that he just doesn't care very much about what the fed does," Bartlett said.

Despite serving in Republican administrations, Bartlett is no stranger to GOP criticism, particularly of former President George W. Bush.

Bartlett's 2006 book "Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy" accused the administration of departing from conservative economic principles. More recently he attributed the economic recession to the former president and Republican Party.

Team Perry did not immediately respond for a request for comment.

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• rickperry
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• teaparty
• liberty
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• federalreserve
• gold
• fed
• bernanke
• obama
• economy
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• beck
• freedom

[clintcastle]

Rick perry may be an idiot but hes right on this issue the fed is a privately owned entity and has no business printing or having anything to do with our currency.

[RONPAULFREEDUMB]

@clintcastle The federal reserve system is not a privately owned entity. The branches are private non-profits. It has a unique structure that is apparently beyond your comprehension. The Fed does have business printing money since the Fed was created by Congress to regulate the value of the currency and Art I Sec 8 gives Congress the power to do what is necessary and proper to regulate the value of the currency.

[TheSnoopy1750]

Barlett is right - Perry is an idiot.

Perry does not believe in evolution and only got Bs, Cs and Ds in college.

TX has the greatest % of people without high school diplomas. Perry thinks education is not important, as do many republicans.

Perry actually held a big prayer session as he thought God would stop a TX drought - what a moron! All we need is another religious nut job.

If you thought Bush drove this country into the ground, just wait until Perry gets into office.

[6112003]

@RONPAULFREEDUMB ''I don't think anybody would disagree with that''!

[Tsnore]

Yes, we know he is an idiot. Now he is back in Texas where idiots go once they leave the national stage.

[clintcastle]

@RONPAULFREEDUMB You are right i should have clarified.... The Fed is not Private in any sense of the free market interpretation of the word "Private" This unique structure you are talking about is a complete collusion between government and the banks. It is not a government entity the same way that most government bureaucracies are, out in the open for all of us to see. The board of governors and the GOA are a joke. We need to separate the banks and the state NOW.

[BobbyMercy1]

rick perry is silly too

[eqsmooth]

@adkjbify

You are so off. His first gig was w/ Ron Paul. He is a domestic policy economist, far from NEOCON. Neocons are all about manipulating foreign policy and promoting unwelcome intervention abroad. His biggest issue was the National Sales Tax proposed by the Church of Scientology. He just wrote a book which breaks down the failure of Reaganomics. Reagan was a leader of neocons. Get your shit together before popping off.