Posted on 09/13/2010 2:23:58 PM PDT by TitansAFC
While he has only one term under his belt, Sen. Jim DeMint has come to be considered by many to be a kingmaker and a force for the Republican Party nationally and in his home state of South Carolina.
A Greenville native, DeMint, 58, was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1998 to represent South Carolina's 4th Congressional District. He won re-election in 2000 and 2002.
In 2005, DeMint was elected to the U.S. Senate and since then has become one of its most conservative members. His stance on decreasing spending by the federal government has helped him gain footing within the Tea Party movement, and he is an outspoken critic of many policies set forth by President Obama.
He will face Democrat Alvin Greene of Manning, Green Party candidate Tom Clements of Columbia and write-in candidate Mazie Ferguson of Sumter in the Nov. 2 general election.
DeMint was in Sumter on Thursday to speak at the opening of the new headquarters for the Sumter County Republican Party. He spoke with The Item about his opponents, how he's changed during his time in office and why he should be sent back for a second term.
TO START OFF BLUNTLY TALKING ABOUT YOUR OPPONENT: DO YOU TAKE ALVIN GREENE SERIOUSLY?
I'm not going to comment on any of my opponents. I've got two, I think, in the race here. My biggest opponents are the ones in Congress and the White House who, I think, are driving our country to the edge of economic and fiscal disaster. I'm going to run my campaign the same way I would have. We've got to get some positive ideas out there and just get people to realize that, whether it's the House or the Senate, we need some people up there who will fight what's happening.
SO YOU HAVE NO ATTENTION ON EITHER TOM CLEMENTS OR MAZIE FERGUSON? YOU'RE FOCUSED SOLELY ON WHAT'S GOING ON IN WASHINGTON?
That's right.
DO YOU FEEL THAT'S HOW YOU USUALLY RUN A CAMPAIGN? FOCUSED MORE ON YOURSELF THAN ON OPPONENTS?
That's what I've tried to do. It's hard to when there's a whole lot of outside money and campaigning coming in that I don't know if that's going to happen in this race or not, but I think now more than ever, I've got to point out that the enemies of freedom and opportunity in South Carolina are primarily in Congress and the White House right now.
HAS THE MEDIA ATTENTION ALVIN GREENE HAS GOTTEN HAD ANY EFFECT ON YOUR CAMPAIGN?
No, it hasn't. I had not planned to be up on TV or whatever. I'm doing the same thing in August, which is the month we get out of Washington, and I'm just wall to wall going around South Carolina. It's mostly a listening tour. Folks want to vent, particularly businesses. They want to know what we're thinking about how we can keep jobs in this environment, and so it's the best time of the year for me because I get to spend a concentrated period of time talking to real people who live in my state. I come home every weekend, but it's difficult to get around the state when you have to be back in Washington on Monday.
PEOPLE HAVE CALLED YOU A KINGMAKER. HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO PEOPLE WHO QUESTION YOUR COMMITMENT TO SOUTH CAROLINA?
Well, most of my time, again, is here, and the best way for me to help South Carolina is to do everything I can to get other people in the Congress who share our values here in South Carolina. So by me supporting candidates around the country who believe in family values, believe in limited government and balanced budgets and more personally responsibility. Those are South Carolina values. I have found after being in the (state) House for six years and the (U.S.) Senate for six years that the only power I have to change things are going to come from the people. The people in South Carolina, and the people across the country. Again, most every weekend, I'm in South Carolina, so any contention that I'm not here, and I probably am more places in the state than anyone who could ever run against me, but getting some more reinforcements in the House and the Senate are the key to doing anything. If I keep getting outvoted, the people of South Carolina are not represented.
BASED ON THE CURRENT POLITICAL CLIMATE, WOULD YOU SAY IT'S MORE IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON NATIONAL ISSUES OR ISSUES IMPORTANT TO THE STATE?
Well, it's hard to separate them, and I think that would be a mistake to suggest what we're doing in Washington doesn't affect the state. In fact, the biggest problem we have with our economy and jobs in South Carolina is what's happened in Washington. What we've done to the banking system, the money we've spent, the debt, the health care bill, the things we're trying to do like cap and trade, card check, will make it very, very difficult to do business in the state. When we're starting to attract more and more companies to come here. Not just distribution centers, but some headquarters of medium-sized companies, large companies like Boeing, building and manufacturing facilities. What I hear from businesses - and this is real important - when they say that Boeing plant could be anywhere in the world, and when they say next year, in this country, we don't know what our tax rate's going to be, we don't know what the cost of health care's going to be, we don't know if our energy costs are going to go up because of cap and trade, we're not sure if we can get credit because of the financial bill, we don't know if we're going to have to deal with labor unions because of card check. Businesses go down this list and ask why should I invest here and why should I hire people here, that's what's hurting South Carolina. The fact is, South Carolina has created a good business environment, non-union, low cost energy and reasonably low taxes. It's very attractive, and the real key for us is education, but because of our technical college system, companies can move here and know they can get a workforce ramped up pretty quickly. So anyone who suggests that we can focus on South Carolina and forget what we're doing in Washington doesn't understand what's hurting South Carolina right now.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR FELLOW SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR, LINDSEY GRAHAM?
Good. We're good friends, we're good partners. Sometimes on issues, we do the good cop, bad cop routine, and there are a few things we've voted differently on, but for the most part, we vote the same. I know there's a lot of folks who have problems with particular votes here and there, but Lindsey's been a good partner with me, and we work real well together.
IS IT A BIG DEAL THAT YOU TWO DIFFER ON SOME MAJOR ISSUES?
I wouldn't say we differ a lot on major issues. Sometimes, our strategies differ. I know Lindsey will try to reach out and pull Democrats our way. I think he's seen that we end up getting pulled their way, but when it comes down to the final vote, on most bills, we end up voting the same.
ONE ISSUE WHERE YOU TWO DIFFERED WAS THE NOMINATION OF ELENA KAGAN TO THE SUPREME COURT. WHY WERE YOU SUCH AN OUTSPOKEN OPPONENT OF HER?
Well, a lot of reasons. First of all, if you look at technical qualifications, she's never been a judge, and in fact she's never even practiced law in any kind of serious way. She's an academic, and when I met with her and talked about the Constitution and the concept of limited government, that seemed to be a foreign idea to her. That's the biggest problem we have in Washington now, not just with justices, but with congressmen and senators who don't see any line between what the government should do and what the private sector should do. When I asked her was there anything the Constitution does that limits what we can do here in Congress, she couldn't come up with anything. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said in the hearing, if Congress passed a law that required Americans to eat their fruits and vegetables every day, would that be constitutional? She said it would be a stupid law, but she could not say it was unconstitutional. That's a real problem today. If we keep having this "yes we can" idea that whatever comes up, the federal government can address it, we're going to bankrupt ourselves. We're close to that now.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR ROLE IN THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT?
I'm just one of millions who shares the idea that the government's out of control. I feel like they are a support for what I've been doing. I try to give a voice to them and what I feel like is, the Tea Party is the tip of an iceberg. There are millions of Americans who never go out to a rally - soccer moms, business people - who feel the exact same way, and that's what's part ... there's an American awakening that's going on. I just talked to business people who would never think of going to a Tea Party rally or putting on a hat or anything, but the feel the exact same way. So, tea parties are kind of giving voice to Americans who otherwise are not engaged in politics. A lot of these are not partisan, they don't care about Republican or Democrat. They're certainly not bigots. I mean, I've been in these crowds ... they are freedom-loving Americans, and there's grandmas and grandpas and parents with kids in strollers, and they're just good Americans who are concerned about their country, and to what degree I can give a voice to them in Washington and across the country, I'm proud to do it.
WHY SHOULD YOU BE RE-ELECTED?
I think now more than ever it's to have someone who understands that what makes America great is not the government, but it's the principles of freedom that are employed in the private sector. The ideas of personal responsibility, free markets, Judeo-Christian values. What I've demonstrated in both the House and the Senate is a bias towards leveraging those institutions that have worked in the past, that have made us great instead of trying to come up with a government program for every problem in America. I think more than ever, Americans realize that what the federal government's trying to do, even if there are good intentions involved, are failing miserably just like a Cash for Clunkers program. All good intentions, but we cannot implement from the top down. Freedom is a country where millions of people are making their own decisions from thousands of different suppliers and many different choices. It's not a centrally controlled government, which is now the mentality. I'm calling on South Carolinians to send me back to speak for what they believe right now, which is, let's appeal to those principles that made America great.
IF RE-ELECTED, WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO DIFFERENTLY, AND HOW DID YOUR FIRST TERM IN OFFICE AFFECT THAT CHANGE?
What I plan to do differently is continue to work to make sure the colleagues I have in the Senate represent American values, South Carolina values and just traditional conservative ideas. I've found in the last year that I can go out and help elect Republicans who actually believe what they say, and there is a good chance that we will have 10 new people who will work with me, and that will give me the opportunity to get more done, so I can be more aggressive in advancing a positive agenda rather than just trying to stop a negative agenda.
LAST QUESTION: DO YOU HAVE ANY PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRATIONS?
No.
-- Nick McCormac
Want to ensure a Conservative Senate for the long-term; shoots down Presidential run question with a firm, unequivocal "no;" lavishes praises upon Lindsey Graham, talks about getting positive things done in the Senate for his next term, praises Tea Party, Judeo-Christian values.
Don’t tell Pissant. He’ll have to find another conservative to pretend to be for.
he’s the only guy I know of that can sell Reaganism/conservatism
Bummer...I was hoping he would run.
Too bad, although having him dominate the Senate for the next decade or so may be even more valuable.
I also generally look to the Governors for a candidate anyway, as it is a better fit for the executive leader.
And I can see this guy getting firmly behind Sarah when she runs for Prez.
-—”Too bad, although having him dominate the Senate for the next decade or so may be even more valuable.”-—
DeMint running the Senate would be a dream come true! Seems like he’s had that idea for a little while, too!
Good for Jim!
I also agree that pissant is now looking for another candidate to pretend he's for.
Someone will have to run that is a true conservative. Palin herself has dodged the question. Let’s wait and see what happens.
I know at least two gals that can...
Good man. We badly need real conservatives in the House and Senate. He’s doing a great job, and the best thing he can do is gain seniority and more leadership opportunities.
To many politicians are in a hurry to get to the top. But one way to do that, and to serve your country well, is to stick with what you do best.
I will support whatever he decides to do.He is a good man and as far as his opinion of that fag graham that is classic senate speak.Trust me he knows what a piece of crap he is and can change the senate in spite of mcnutts and his sock puppet.
It’s an old interview. He has since changed his tune. He’s definitely contemplating it. As the poster of this thread knows.
He’s just a desperate Palin zombie who sees too many folks wanting DeMint to run, and is panicking.
You cultists keep pretending that the only reason people oppose Palin is because of the RINOs she endorses. That ain’t it, nancy.
And you're right, her endorsements aren't the only reason you don't support her, we all know you can't support her because you believe a woman shouldn't be in politics nor should they vote. You've said so in your own posts and we remember.
Plus we all know you go around pretending to support someone else other than your object of worship. You're a joke, you've gone totally out of your mind....and it shows........
The only thing demonstrable is your desperate need to chat with me. Kinda sad, really. I’ll let you chat to yourself from now on. Don’t have time for your feminist claptrap. Hasta luigi
Sorry, but you're the one who's pitching a pissy er, I mean hissy fit. Your faux pick DeMint has his sights set on Majority Leader where he would be most effective, and I think he'll endorse Mitt again, who's already thrown a fund raiser for him...lol.
If you only had a clue.
Very interesting interview.
Please note, that pissant called it old, although it’s 3 weeks OLD.
LOL.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.