Would government lawyers be challenging AT&T if Rick Perry were in the White House?

Not much of a question, I know. The Texas governor is all about gettin govmint outta the way of bidness, so I'm sure he doesn't take kindly to the Justice Department looken' to block AT&T's $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA. Never mind that reducing the number of wireless carriers from four to three is certain to raise prices and perhaps reduce services. From the WSJ:

The Justice Department's primary test "is whether a merger causes prices to be higher than they otherwise would be," Joe Simons, co-head of the antitrust group at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, said before the filing. And that doesn't have to mean prices going up, he noted. Even if prices are falling, and continue to fall, the question is whether they would have fallen materially more absent the merger. Accordingly, the Justice Department filing noted, unless this acquisition is blocked, "customers of mobile wireless telecommunications services likely will face higher prices, less product variety and innovation."

Frankly, I'm not even sure Perry types would dispute the prospect of higher prices. Let the marketplace decide, they will no doubt argue, and if consumers end up having to pay more from the merger, well, tough. Free enterprise should be unburdened by Washington - no matter what, how or who. Get used to this nonsense, you'll be hearing a lot of it during the campaign.

BTW, here's what Perry said of the proposed merger:

The future rests in wireless broadband, and the federal government's swift approval of the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile would send a strong signal to employers, consumers and states that our federal government is serious about meeting the communication and technology needs of Texans and all Americans."