With one week left before the Iowa caucuses, Texas Governor Rick Perry is touting his outsider status in a new ad that highlights his opponents' combined 63 years of congressional experience. As the narrator says, "If Washington's the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it?"

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Prominently featuring fellow GOP contenders Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum; the ad reminds voters that federal legislators are responsible for the earmarks and deficit spending that have led to our unsustainable national debt and that the nation needs a leader who will provide real solutions.

Cue the candidate's part-time Congress idea: "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." The concept works well in Governor Perry's Texas and other states and while it would not be an easy to enact change in Washington, it's another example of Mr. Perry's long and strong belief in smaller government that works for the American people.

The only other major GOP candidate that isn't part of the Washington problem is former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney whose liberal and/or fluctuating positions have made him unable to close the deal with more than 25% of Republicans. But his record has made him a favorite among the so-called party establishment who seem all too willing to settle for yet another moderate when the country needs a true conservative.

As Perry campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan said recently, "Governor Perry is the only Washington outsider in this race. He has never served in Washington or been an establishment favorite." Combine that with his excellent record, strong character and conservative ideas and he just may exceed expectations in Iowa and beyond.