Jim DeMint, age 61, was a US Congressmen from South Carolina’s 4th District and US Senator from the same state. His career was tragically cut short when he decided, out of self-interest and unknown personal reasons, to resign and become head of the right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation, cutting his term short by 2 years. His leaving the Senate is a clear sign that the Tea Party is on the wane.
At the height of his power, less than 2 years ago, he was the de facto head of the Tea Party in the US Senate. Many considered him a king-maker and rising challenger to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. However, after the devastating loses for Tea Party candidates in the 2012 US Senatorial elections, a majority of his endorsements in primaries and elections led to him receiving a substantial chunk of the blame for the Republican party losing seats in the Senate. While many Americans don’t know who DeMint is and he could have gone on in the Senate to be reelected, his power was substantially checked by party big wigs who were upset at DeMint’s continued endorsement of radical conservative candidates like Aiken, even after citing legitimate rape can’t get a rape-victim pregnant. This not only led to big loses of easy seats for Republicans, it led to an overall loss of 2 seats for Republicans, which would have been virtually unthinkable only 6 months prior. Many pundits had predicted the Democrats to lose the Senate.
Other tussling behind the scenes may have occurred. It appears that the Heritage Foundation is in the midst of a movement further toward the right, while the Republican party bosses are trying to move away from the fringes of the political spectrum. It is possible that the opportunity to be a behind the scenes power-broker may have been too irresistible for DeMint. It’s also very possible that the so-called meager salary that Senators make, under $200,000, was not suitable to his liking. Being the head of a think-tank that almost exclusively devotes its time thinking up ways to keep the rich in power of this country will come with a great deal of perks.
However, it is out of the limelight and far removed from decision making. A lobbyist is not a politician, and it is a line that is far too perilous to cross back from, especially for a lackluster former marketing research guy from Greenville, South Carolina.
He leaves Washington at a time of great crisis, mostly brought on by his own shadow leadership. His policies have been divisive distractions during a time when things needed to get done. He has played a huge part in coaxing his party to the extreme right, making them utterly unproductive and incapable of compromise. His leaving of Washington for more shadowy pastures is a big blow to the Tea Party, as they lost a political ring leader with a level of seniority. Though he will still be present, threatening the stability of Democracy with his fanatical beliefs, like that expanding the American Disability Act to the world was somehow allowing the UN to take over the world. While DeMint knew he would be resigning, he still decided to cast one last vote that crushed the rights of veterans and the disabled, with Bob Dole, fresh from the hospital to lend sway against DeMint’s side, sitting in a wheel chair on the Senate floor.
If you want proof that government can be ugly and in competent, DeMint’s your man. He will not be missed.