'Too early' to discuss 2016 run possibility, Rick Perry says

DES MOINES - Texas Gov. Rick Perry said it's not too early for anybody to think about running for president in 2016, it's just too early for him.

“Certainly, if I were to be making a plan for 2016, coming to Iowa early and often would be part of it. That's a bit premature,” Perry said talking to a group of reporters in downtown Des Moines following a private luncheon he had with about a dozen business executives.

“I don't think it's too early, it's part of the process,” he said. “They're going to be asking the question, and we're going to be giving our answer. It's too early for me to be making any decisions about 2016; I've still got 14 months of governing in Texas.”

Thursday night at a dinner for the Polk County GOP held in the Embassy Suites in downtown Des Moines, Perry sounded like he was, indeed, in a campaign as he railed against Washington DC and peppered his speech with quotes from Rush Limbaugh and comedian Dennis Miller.

“It's time for Washington to focus on what the Constitution says it can do,” he told a crowd of roughly 450. “Get out of the health care business, get out of the education business.”

The Texas governor also took shots at growing food stamp rolls, the rollout of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and last month's federal government shut down.

“Solutions,” he said, “are found in the states.”

Perry made a big splash in the state in 2011 when he arrived for a visit to the Iowa State Fair just after the end of the Iowa Straw Poll, a contest he did not officially participate in. He was trailed by a swarm of media as he toured the fairgrounds, talked to veterans and rubbed the heads of a couple of boys who approached the governor and his media posse.

“The only thing I regret is taking that really big bite out of that veggie corny dog,” Perry said of his time at the fair, giving a nod to an infamous picture easily found online in a Google image search.

But a few rough debate performances hurt Perry's bid a bit. He finished fifth in the Iowa caucuses and dropped out of the presidential race shortly after.

Perry's term will end in 2015. He announced in July he would not run again for Texas governor.

Perry steered the conversation about his potential presidential ambitions to his tour, which, he said, was about explaining the benefits of what he called “red state economic policies.” Those policies, Perry said, include a flat tax and repatriating offshore corporate profits.

“I'm really intrigued with this concept of having a civil discussion across this country with the citizens of this country, with the governors and legislators for that matter, about this blue state versus red state concept,” Perry said.

The luncheon was hosted by Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political advocacy group headquartered in Virginia but with offices in several states, including Iowa. The Iowa office is involved in municipal elections, sponsored a U.S. Senate debate for the Republican Party and has advocated against last year's fuel tax proposal.

Perry's two-day Iowa jaunt includes a meeting with Gov. Terry Branstad, a dinner reception with the Polk County GOP and tours of Iowa companies.

He called Branstad “a great competitor and a person that I love competing against” for economic development.

Asked if he was hoping to snag some Iowa companies and take them back with him to Texas, Perry said states such as Illinois and California are “better hunting grounds” than Iowa.

The Democratic Party of Iowa criticized both Perry and his message in a prepared statement issued Thursday in which it also criticized Branstad for associating with him.

“Iowans should not be surprised that another Texas Tea Party Republican like Rick Perry is coming to town to stand next to Terry Branstad,” party Executive Director Troy Price said. “Rick Perry has a strong record of giving corporations large tax breaks while hurting middle class Americans. Now, he is coming to town to stand next to the guy that is doing the same thing here in Iowa.”