Perry Blasts 'Quirky' Iowa and 'Loosey-Goosey' Process: I Look Forward to 'Real Republicans

Just hours after using a picture of himself jogging to announce that he was staying in the GOP presidential race, Rick Perry didn't have the kindest words for the state of Iowa, its caucus process, and even its voters.

“This is a quirky place, a quirky process, to say the least, and we’re going to go into places where they have actual primaries and there are going to be real Republicans voting,” he told reporters. “Not that there aren’t real Republicans here in Iowa, but the fact is, it was a pretty loosey-goosey process, and you had a ton of people who were there that admitted they were Democrats voting in the caucuses last night.”

National Journal captured the comments:

It remains to be seen if those comments will endear him to the electorate. But Perry will be playing to a different crowd coming up. The southern governor is headed to more familiar territory as he takes on South Carolina. There, he will continue to portray himself as an outsider.

“I’m gonna delineate and characterize the differences in the candidates, and there are huge differences,” Perry said. “These guys are all insiders that have spent years and years in Washington, D.C.; they’re the reason that this country is broken, is because the earmarks, the spending habits that’s been built up in Washington, D.C. And they need an outsider, and I think Americans are looking for that alternative and that choice, and I’m it.”