JIM DEMINT TO LEAVE SENATE TO HEAD HERITAGE FOUNDATION

Human Events ^ | Today | Erick Erickson

[jessduntno]

By: Erick Erickson 12/6/2012 10:32 AM

I got the call before the news went out. Jim DeMint, the standard bearer of the conservative movement in America and conservative king maker, is leaving the United States Senate.

He will succeed Ed Feulner as President of the Heritage Foundation.

While my initial reaction was one of sadness that we are losing the clearest voice in the Senate for conservatives, the upside on Jim DeMint’s departure from the Senate is mind boggling. Mitch McConnell likes it when people compare McConnell to Darth Vader, seemingly clueless that Vader lost the Death Star twice to a rag tag group of rebels in really beat up, hand-me-down spaceships.

If McConnell smiles at hearing the news Jim DeMint is leaving the Senate, he should remember Obi Wan Kenobi telling him . . . errrr . . . Darth Vader, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.” Jim DeMint’s power in the conservative movement just grew exponentially. A man who was going to retire in four years anyway, will now be leading the conservative movement from its base of operations for years to come.

Without Jim DeMint we would most likely not presently have in the United States Senate Pat Toomey, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Marco Rubio, Jeff Flake, Ron Johnson, and Ted Cruz. We would not have a Republican establishment that now worries conservatives might actually primary them.

[grobdriver]

if you paid attention to the tone

I paid attention to his words.
There was nothing in Rush's question that pressed him to say that just to be "civil".

[NormsRevenge]

I ‘LIKE’ Trey Gowdy. Good one!

[Reagan Disciple]

It was Senate-speak, they always view themselves as the civil society in DC.

DeMint was the driver behind the cause but his time coincided with McCain’s run and thus he was pushed back by McConnell in favor of the “maverick”.

This move allows the younger conservatives like Rubio/Lee/Cruz/Paul the chance to push the cause further.

None of these (we hope) will bow to McCain and Graham and McConnell has already shown he can’t control Lee and Paul and Cruz is already coming in with a chip so I think, as much as I don’t like to see him leave, his departure will change the view of the Tea Party guys in the Senate.

....in the House.....they’re screwed for now.

[Reddon]

I paid attention to his words. There was nothing in Rush's question that pressed him to say that just to be "civil".

I did too, and you're right. In a recent Limbaugh Letter, Rush said about Harry Reid:

"This despicable, grotesque little man, this vile troll... a bitter, dried up old vulture without character, scruples or class." This was in a rear cover article in a recent Limbaugh Letter titled "Slimy Harry". Rush ends with "Could Harry Reid be a felon? We don't know. He refuses to release his tax returns."

In my opinion this is a more appropriate tone for Republicans to take towards Harry Reid than Jim DeMint's unnecessary suck-up tone.

[xrmusn]

There was nothing in Rush’s question that pressed him to say that just to be “civil”
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I wholeheartedly agree with YOU.
I was quite ‘taken aback’ when I heard that unsolicited, unwarranted comment.

If Rush or Feuller had been referring to Reid in a disparaging tone or manner, maybe a ‘hey hold on’ would have been appropriate, but IMNSHO it was a completely uncalled for remark - whether it is true or not.

Considering the tone DeMint was using, one would almost have to think it was a true statement and the only plausible ‘explanation’ would be along the lines “Keep your friends close, BUT keep your enemies closer”, but all things considered, DeMint probably meant it - which is not a good thing.

[Reddon]

Considering everything Harry Reid has done over the years to destroy Rush Limbaugh personally and professionally, hard to believe Jim DeMint would say that directly to Rush in front of Rush’s 15 million listeners.

[jessduntno]

“I don’t know much about Jim Demint, except to hear him tell Rush that Harry Reid is friend of his. That does not speak well for his judgment, IMHO.”

Couldn’t it be a case of “keep your friends close...” or is there NO ONE conservative enough to be trusted?

[RitaOK]

It’s not the surprise so much of the departure, but that we are in collapse and naturally one would hope that fact might matter to the few conservative voices we have left in the senate, that “plans to leave” might actually be altered, that assumptions would also change, given that the earth has shifted.

A patriot either stays or retreats by what the circumstances dictate.

Either DeMint is leaving us to increasing risk in the senate where our backs are already against the wall for lack of conservative leadership, based on old assumptions, or because he sees total collapse also, or because he doesn’t see that he must stay. Not making a career out of serving, so that someone else can serve is now, BS. He is needed by the country where he is.

A patriot should not prefer Heritage Foundation, for crying out loud, when we need every hand on deck in the snakepit senate. He was the last voice, and circumstances changed. So should his assumptions about leaving office during a purge of conservatives.

He has abandoned his post.

[Former Proud Canadian]

The US political system might have to undergo a transformation akin to the one Canada went through in the last 25 years. Reading the wiki recitation of events, I am startled by the parallels.

I will try and give the Readers Digest version but I urge you to read the whole article. It will all sound very familiar. In the late 1990's the "Progressive Conservative" party had run out of gas. It was filled with moderates and conservative Canadians were fed up with high unemployment, high debt and deficit, unpopular implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 1991, and failed constitutional reforms. In 1993 a federal election resulted in the Progressive Conservative party falling from a majority to two (2) members. That is akin to the Republicans having 3 or 4 members elected to the House.

Out of these ashes rose the Reform Party. Reform fought election after election and gained members with every one. The name was changed to the Canadian Alliance Party. Eventually the Alliance Party merged with the remnants of the PC's to form the Conservative Party of Canada.

By 2005 the CPC was running on a platform of tax cuts, smaller government, a grassroots-oriented democratic reform, and more decentralization by giving the provinces more taxing powers and decision-making authority in joint federal-provincial programs. It was also seen as a law and order party that wanted to bring back the death penalty and end the gun registry.

Stephen Harper became leader of the new party and this is the result:

Conservative Party Federal Electoral Results from 2005

Year Seats Won Change Pop Vote % Result
2004 99 +99 29.62% Liberal Minority
2006 124 +25 36.34% CPC Minority
2008 143 +19 37.6% CPC Minority
2011 166 +23 39.62% CPC Majority

It took over 20 years and many elections but Canada is now blessed with a real conservative government. The federal budget is scheduled to balance in the next few years. Taxes are lower than in the US. Canadian government bonds have a AAA (stable) rating. The Bank of Canada is so well run that the head, Mark Carney, was recently tagged to head the Bank of England. The banking system is solid, and the biggest economic "problem" is getting our oil to market. Canada would love to flood the US market with an uninterpretable supply of oil but Obama won't allow it.

Two big points.

1. Conservatism works.

2. It might take a while, and you might have to purge the "moderates", but with the right leadership and the right message, people in a democracy will vote conservative.

[montag813]

If Tim Scott is appointed, the white hoods will come out once again in the Senate...for the first time since the attempted high-tech lynching of Clarence Thomas.

[tennmountainman]

Bonehead is not the leader of the Republican Party,
He is the leader of the DC Party. The party that takes your money.

[Reddon]

He has abandoned his post.

I agree. We do have public figures who are true conservatives and can articulate conservatism. Unfortunately none of them seem to be willing to run for President. It is disappointing when our true conservatives bail out and state they feel they can do more good cheering from the sidelines. The RINOs and liberals don't seem to have such beliefs, they have no problem running for positions of power.

[taterjay]

Do conservatives need to be like MacArthur leaving the Phillipines? Possibly, and as you say, dilute the other 3 or 4 swing states. Following the election, and sensing the purge we are now seeing, I said our options are to take care of our home turf, our state.

[PieterCasparzen]

Pardon my forwardness, just trying to get some ideas out...

Did you know that Jim DeMint actually introduced a term limits bill, was an advocate of term limits all along, and kept his term limit pledge as a member of the House ?

He founded the Senate Conservatives Fund to promote OTHER TRUE CONSERVATIVES getting elected to the Senate. He did not have to found that fund, he went on his own and did that. Why ? Because it had much more impact than him limiting his support to simply giving speeches to help them as a Senator.

Now let's see, we have the next 2 years with an obviously Democrat-controlled Senate.

The sum total of his contribution in that capacity - speechmaking and voting no. Contributions to the cause, yes, but it's like heroically shooting your .45 at the advancing tank.

The Governor of SC - at this point - can hand pick a replacement who will have 4 years, until 2016, to get their own PR going and get established as a Senator from SC, when they can run as an incumbent.

Jim can go on and devote TIME, full time, to building the Conservative Cause, at one of the premier conservative thought institutions - which will influence thought leaders and the public by marketing (Jim's profession prior to Congress) conservative ideas.

Judeo-Christian conservative Americans must change others' hears and minds, everywhere they can, as much as they can. In schools, in churches, in businesses, in town councils, state legislatures, etc. That is what global elitists are doing and conservatism will be a distant memory very soon if we stop to cry about the U.S. Senate; the Senate needs to be almost completely swept clean, which will take many landslide elections towards conservatism.

These pics link to some elitists. The link is to the group keyword search for threads. FYI...

Ping

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Congress needs small business morals and common sense - they work.

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[RitaOK]

Yes, I do understand all of your points and I admire your work very, very much.

I’m just saying that De Mint’s stand for term limits looked very graceful, was also in line with constitutional intentions (against career politicians, in favor of representative interest) and while his work on that is laudable, the earth has still shifted, and representative government is now at risk and we need experienced conservative voices in the senate, casting losing votes and giving those speeches without a microphone, or else we have no representative government.

We are being systematically abandoned in the senate and by Boehner in the House. Where has our government gone, Pieter?

[RitaOK]

Precisely. I would have liked to think his inexplicable retreat was about running for president, but now I just heard that DeMint was heard on Rush an hour ago being quite generous to Harry Reid, taking offense at some innocuous remark from Rush, regarding Reid.

WTH is up with that? I give up. Cynacism has overtaken my patience to figure it out. Reid is a tyrant who can not be pacified, so patty cakes is not in order to excuse nor defend.

[xrmusn]

, hard to believe Jim DeMint would say that directly to Rush in front of Rush’s 15 million listeners.
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Yes, kind of makes you wonder...

Probably a supposed ‘subliminal’ message, DON’T start on Reid, but that should be ‘established’ when agreeing to interview - you know, gentleman to gentleman, “Rush, I will give you the ‘scoop’ BUT don’t start on Harry”.

[PieterCasparzen]

We are being systematically abandoned in the senate and by Boehner in the House. Where has our government gone, Pieter?

Thank you very much RitaOK, IMHO...

Judeo-Christian small-government types are seeing the political "center" of the population finally succumbing to the "dumbing down" of America. The efforts of Fabians, socialists, athiests, etc., go back over 100 years, and they slowly took over schools, news media and entertainment in America, with essential help provided by unions and wealthy liberals wackos who often did not build the empire but were piddly inheritors of it. Churches fell into apostasy starting over 150 years ago.

Elected members of Congress have become merely the tools of powerful and wealthy interests. Even things like Occupy Wall Street, which appear to be against capitalism, are really operations of elitists (OWS is Soros).

So our government went to the dogs a while ago, we're just beginning to actually experience the impact of that departure, now that the 2nd new left stooge is occupying the White House and has appointed the first one's wife SECSTATE. The Executive Branch is now riddled with new left (ties to every union/commie/anarchist/criminal/etc. organization under the sun).

We are in a race against time to change the hearts and minds of the electorate, and there is a key reason why: it's the major peaceful way of opposition.

As the collapse worsens, blame can easily by shifted in the left's propaganda (the news media) to free enterprise, and somewhat random vilification of anyone who is not an anarchist can be stoked up. The only way to counter that move is in kind, with vilification of left wing ideology and anarchism, pointing the listener back to all the good years.

Elite soldiers are taught about battlefield reality versus theory, that one is forced to think on one's feet in tight situations and the mind must be freed up to think outside the box, as they say today.

So as government begins to disregard the rule of law itself, citizens must work towards it's reestablishment, while at the same time using "field expediency", and not letting corruption win over them in their efforts to maintain what they know is true, pass it on to their children, and share with as many others as possible.

We do not have to convince the entire country of anything; we only need to move the needle a bit, start the momentum where some people start jumping ship from the center/left and joining us on the right. Then, if we're smart, we do not stop after we win an election. That's why it's so important to see this struggle as a 50-year, 100-year struggle, to the point where communists, etc., are viewed as a joke. Think back only to the 1990s - they were.

Once there is a significant groundswell among the populace, a trend starting where people start talking openly about conservatism in a positive light, politicians (finger always in the wind) pick up on that and - voila - they change their tune. Not the stooges of outside influence (they don't care about their own political career, they're operatives), mind you, but any who are actual politicians. Of course, if they ever sided with left wing causes, they need to lose elections anyway and be replaced by real Americans.

[jpl]

I think you have nailed it right dead on the money.

No society can indefinitely withstand such a prolonged, endless assault of propaganda and aggressive activism aimed to undermine it from within.

We were able to hold out against the tide a good bit longer than most other first world countries did, and it's probably a little remakable that we were able to make it this far under the circumstances.

[RitaOK]

Thank you for your patience and kind tutorial. I believe the same— every word, regardless the physical location of Jim DeMint’s netheregion. :D.

Count me in, and count me a friend. Your time and your written word are beyond price, and both need to be cast broad and deep. Do it.

And thank you, very much, dear friend.

Rita