U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) resigning from Senate to head Heritage Foundation
U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) announced a few days ago that he's leaving the Senate to head up the Heritage Foundation. DeMint is considered a champion amongst fiscal conservatives. DeMint played a role in the election of various Tea Party-backed candidates in the last two years such as Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), and Ted Cruz (R-TX). DeMint's Senate Conservatives backed several Senatorial candidates in 2010 and 2012. Some of them won as I mentioned ealier along with Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ). Two other Senate candidates that DeMint endorsed were Todd Akin who ran against Claire McCaskill in Missouri and Richard Mourdock who defeated incumbent Richard Lugar in the Indiana primary. Both of those candidate lost due to the rape comments they made this past fall. Both candidates defeated themselves as far as I'm concerned.
Republican political consultant Craig Shirley said that DeMint will be freer to "roar as a lion" by joining the Heritage Foundation than if he remains in the Senate. Also, leading the Heritage Foundation will help bolster DeMint's finances. He reported a net worth of $65,000 on his 2010 financial disclosures forms, the fourth lowest of U.S. Senators according to the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington. Edwin J. Feulner, who will step down as president in April, was paid more than $1 million in 2010, according to the group's tax documents.
Jim DeMint was considered a strong voice for conservative principles in the Senate, esp. when it came to fiscal issues. Prior to running for the U.S. Senate, he served three terms in the House of Representatives. The Club for Growth, a small-government group based in Washington, gave him a rating of 100%. Jim DeMint was right on target with everything he said in regards to the political issues of the day. He even voted right. The only problem was when it came to the fight to try to stop Obamacare from being passed in the Senate in 2010, for example, he never led in an effort to start a filibuster. That kind of leadership was something we were missing from DeMint. Not only DeMint, but other Republican Senators as well. We need Senators that will stand up against Obama's agenda and that has to be done through the means of a filibuster in the Senate. We need our elected officials to be willing to stick their neck out in Congress. Sadly, there's no one that's willing to do that. Other than the fact DeMint didn't stick his neck out to stop Obama's agenda, he did well in regards to his voting record.
I'm certain there's much speculation on why DeMint is leaving the Senate. I'm sure finances play a part. I personally believe the reason he left the Senate is because he realizes it's a jungle in the Senate and since the GOP didn't gain control of the Senate this past election, he knew that it would be a mess. I think he would serve much better at the Heritage Foundation than remaining in Congress. He knows it's a losing battle in Congress and I think it was best that he move on. The price was more than he probably was willing to pay by remaining in the Senate.
To read the full story, click on the link from Bloomberg.
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