Rick Perry chews on foot

I have been mostly neutral on Texas Gov. Rick Perry's entry into the White House race and have been actually a little bewildered by the enthrallment the Right holds for him. Then again, I am usually bewildered by the Right generally.

Anyway, Perry has regrettably inexcusably taken a page from the Obama-camp playbook, accusing opponents of felonies when you just don't like their policies. Just two days ago:

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Texas Gov. Rick Perry turned his rhetorical fire on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke here Monday night, saying that the chairman would be committing a “treasonous” act if he tried to boost the economy with a decision to “print more money.”

Okay, Rick, I know you think you're on a roll, but just shut up. Because if you really do believe that here is one vote you have permanently lost before it was ever committed to you.

Bernanke may be doing a lousy job, He may be making stupid decisions, even decisions that do turn out to be harmful to the country in the long term. But I have dressed down the drooling Obamaites for using such rhetoric* and fair is fair.

Treason is the only crime defined by the US Contitution. Article 3 Section 3 says:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.

Note that phrase, "consist only." This and only this is treason, and nothing else.

For a rightwing candidate who (presumably) cherishes the Constitution like the Right always claims it does, Gov. Perry sure did spit on it. He's dug himself a hole in my view and since Monday has just kept digging.

* In 2010 I took Obamaites to task for saying that speaking out against some of the administration's policies and political initiatives was sedition against the government. To be fair, these droolers were much harsher and more strident than Gov. Perry. See here:

Joe Klein's seditious hyperbole

Is Constitutional government now seditious?

Sedition to oppose Obama, again

In response to Gov. Perry, the president advised Perry "to be a little more careful about what you say." Don't recall such admonishments ever being directed at the extremely harsh rhetoric used by Obama's supporters, though.