Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) - Rick Perry's presidential campaign says it's going up Monday in the first-in-the-nation caucus state with a new TV commercial that touts the Texas governor's anti-Washington credentials and highlights his calls for a part-time Congress.
The campaign tells CNN the 30-second spot will run state wide in Iowa. It comes eight days before the January 3 caucuses, which kick off the primary and caucus calendar.
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The spot also tries to paint some of Perry's rivals for the GOP nomination as Washington insiders.
As the narrator in the ad says, "if Washington's the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it? Among them, they've spent 63 years in Congress, leaving us with debt, earmarks, and bailouts," pictures of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania appear up on the screen.
"Congressmen get $174,000 a year and you get the bill. We need a solution," continues the announcer.
The commercial closes with Perry saying "that's the reason I've called for a part-time Congress. Cut their pay in half, cut their time in Washington in half, cut their staff in half, send them home. Let them get a job like everybody else back home has."
Perry first floated his proposal to make Congress "part-time" last month as part of his plans to reform Washington.
The long serving governor jumped into the race for the GOP presidential nomination in mid-August and soon soared to the top spot in the polls, but after numerous stumbles in debates this autumn, his poll numbers sank. Perry has been touting his anti-Washington credentials as he tries to jump start his campaign.
"Gov. Perry is the only Washington outsider in this race. He has never served in Washington or been an establishment favorite," said Perry campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan.
As of Dec. 18, the Perry campaign had spent $1.3 million to run ads on Iowa TV.
– Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @PSteinhauserCNN
Also see:
Romney's 'Conservative Agenda' ad pitch
It's still Romney on top in NH
Weather will influence Iowa caucuses, Huckabee says
Write-ins prohibited in Virginia primaries
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This is perfect, because as President, Perry will be a part-time thinker!
A "Part Time Congress"? What more do you exoect from a "Part Time Gov." with a "Part Tme Brain"?
Why hasn't anybody asked Old Rick Perry about Enron ?
Jobs ?
we already have the Boehner/Cantor congress that shows up one week to yell NO and then takes two weeks off.
Does he want to cut that in half? Will he cut their salaries? Maybe "Paid by the Hours Actually Worked" should be the new rule.
Perry's toast, but he's good for Iowa's economy. ha ha ha ha ah
im from houston, texas and the idea of a part time congress on the federal level maybe one of the dumbest suggestions i've ever heard...Rick Perry is by far the weakest, dumbest,and the most unprepared person to lead this country(and that goes for the rest of the GOP candidates except Huntsman).
OBAMA 2012
Half-witted idea from full-time fool. Rick, ol' boy, give it up. Your fifteen minutes was up months ago and no one is listening.
Perry sure is an "outsider." Outside reality.
Don't we have a part time Congress now? They should be paid on an hourly basis for the time they actually work which is very little.
GEE didn't Perry take stimulus funds!!!! so anti Washinigton
As much as I dislike Perry, and most of his ideas, I like the sentiment of the part-time congress. They don't deserve to make 3X the national average income, and I've always thought that the hundreds of staffers was a waste. Maybe there are some good ideas here, Perry just needs to give them to someone else.
It was Will Rogers back in the 30's that said "we need to take 'em off salary and put them on commission." It was meant as a joke, but these days it sounds better than some ideas I've heard, Perry's among them. Perry may be the perfect GOP candidate after all: he's a bigger phony than Romney, more dishonest than Newt, dumber than Bachman, more partisan than Santorum, and less in touch with reality than Paul.
People have said that American will never elect an intelligent President. Sure, they say a much of stupid things but Rick Perry isn't a glass half empty he is completely empty and only a puppet of his political advisers.
Why don't we raise the Taxes on all the Rich....pass Anti-earmark, Anti-derivative, Term-Limits on Congress and Senate...etc, pass if you have guts, and care for USA....idiots lobby...ha...
Why let congress fix the problems? Maybe because that is what the constitution requires. Where are the supporters of the constitution when Perry suggests that power be take away from congress and Gingrich says to send cops after the judges?
Yeh, and how about every agency the government supports do the same. That doesn't sound very smart. We can't pick an choose when, where and how we want the government to work for us indiviually (Perry). Some of us like what they do. I'm glad there is some opposition there.
This guy Perry is a world class idiot!! Congress is already part time by all normal standards. Keeping Congress out of Washington is like leaving the hen house open over night. Don't buy into this clowns ideas because clearly he is a couple of bricks shy of a full load.
rick perry is every thing you need to know about the republikkkan party just listen and turn your channel
Here is a very good reason for putting a one term limit on Governors of Texas. I sure hope Ricky is giving at least half of his salary back to the State, since he has been part time for the last year, time for Rick to put his money where his mouth is and pay back Texas for his overpayment of wages.Bachmann needs to pay back a full year to MN
The rich play Santa in this country every single day and yet the Democrats attack them, wish them harm, and want to reach into their pockets for more cash. I thank those who worked hard to achieve greatness and now pay enormous taxes to make this country run and give the leechers a standard of living that far exceeds that of the richest people in most other nations.
Just something to think about, $50 a year for car insurance, $200 a year for your whole family's health coverage, less than 100 people murdered in America each year, sound amazing doesn't it? That is how things would be if everyone in America was a Conservative and acted Republican.
As a non-native Texas resident I fee compelled by embarrassment to apologize for our dim-wit governor. I want the rest of the country to know I did not vote for this idiot. I'm disillusioned with the Dallas Morning News, a once respectable newspaper, because they continue to write editorials as if our idot governor (like "our idiot brother") is a viable candidate. In the wake of his ego-trip to win the GOP nomination, he has done more damage to Texas than any natural disaster.
We already have a part-time House. It's not working out very well.
You libs are really starting to sound like a broken "stupid" record. You all have boarded the anti-intellectual bus.
We already have a part time congress. but if you cut their pay, that means they will have to find even more innovative ways to make money. Dumb idea, Perry, to believe this country is not worthy of a full time legislative body. Too bad the member of congress don't act like the country is worth it.
We all ready have a part time congress, with all the vacations, trips to their district to collect more fund raising money.