BETTENDORF, IOWA — Texas Gov. Rick Perry tried to use the tide of disapproval for Congress into a new wave of support for his struggling bid to win the GOP nomination for president.
Perry accused Congress of being “creatures of Washington,” too entrenched in Capitol culture to understand what it’s like to live under the laws they pass, who have “abused the public’s trust, trading inside information to pad their stock portfolios.”
He perched on a stool Tuesday on the factory floor of Schebler Co., a metal fabrication manufacturer here, and stared out into an audience of 150, telling them that the $174,000-per-year annual salary for rank-and-file members of the U.S. House and Senate outraged him.
The message, part of his plan to “Uproot and Overhaul Washington,” comes simultaneously with Gallup national polling that shows the public’s approval of Congress plummeting to a record-low 13 percent. The poll was conducted Nov. 3-6, with a random sample of 1,012 adults, and reflects the lowest rating since 1974 when Gallup began polling on the issue. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Perry, who has been in elected office for more than 27 years and lags in Iowa caucus polling, presented himself as the best presidential prospect for those looking to change the system.
“Unique to the Republican field, I have never been an establishment figure, have never served in Congress or part of an administration, and have never been a paid lobbyist,” he said. “My career has been that of a Washington outsider.”
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, a 2008 Republican presidential candidate who endorsed Perry in September, sat opposite the Texas governor and commended him on his plan. Brownback said his 17 years in Congress gave him an up close view of problems inside the Beltway.
Brownback asked Perry how he would change the culture of Washington, “that everybody here, I think everybody would agree, is completely broken and has got to be changed.”
However, Perry did not lay out the specifics of how executive authority could be used to “uproot, tear down and rebuild” the judicial, legislative and executive branches. Nor did he take questions from reporters.
Audience members were skeptical about the prospect of Perry’s changes. Shanna Cramer, 32, of Bettendorf, said Perry needs broad public support to reform the system.
“He can fight, fight, fight from the top, but it’s the people at the bottom that matter the most,” said Cramer, who is considering supporting Perry, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain or Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann with her Jan. 3 Republican caucus vote.
Betty Dexter, 76, of Eldridge, agreed. She said seeing Perry present his plan in person could persuade her to vote for him, but she also is considering former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
“It’s a big job, and I’m not sure (Perry) will be able to accomplish it all, because most politicians can’t, but I like his philosophy in wanting to do those things,” she said.
Bonnie Adkins, 57, of Muscatine, a community organizer for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, Obama for America, agreed that Perry’s plan to pare back Congress is a smart idea, but said other parts of his platform are unpalatable.
In his speech, Perry vowed to downsize and re-task the Environmental Protection Agency, so it “no longer torments job creators or gives an official stamp to phony science.”
But Adkins said she could not support a “carte blanche” approach to regulation, because she believes it would be harmful to the environment and public health.
Hannah Hess covers government and politics for IowaPolitics.com, which is owned by the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity.
