The Shiny New Republican Leader
by digby
So I guess not only are there at least four Senate Democrats planning to jump to the Republicans, but the GOP caucus has decided to move Mitch McConnell out of the majority Leader spot. How else to explain this conversation between John King and Jim DeMint, who sounds as if he’s running the show in both Houses?
King: A question first on what comes ahead. Many have said that now that the Republicans have the house and more conservatives in the Senate, when will we know if you’re serious about keeping your promises about spending and the debt. If there is a vote in the congress on raising the debt ceiling, so that the government can continue to print money and spend money should the Republicans say no?
DeMint: I think Republicans will say no. Unless the raising of the debt ceiling is accompanies by some dramatic spending cuts, something that will direct us to a balanced budget in the future, Republicans will not support an increase in the debt limit.
What I hope we see from Republicans right out of the box when we get back is a moratorium on earmarks. Americans have connected the dots and we’re all up there trying to bring home the bacon and Republicans in the House and the Senate must both take a pledge to not have earmarks and have a moratorium I think it will show Americans int he beginning that we’re serious.
There are a number of other things we need to do to demonstrate that we’re serious and one of those is to defund Obamacare and as soon as we can hopefully have a vote on balancing the budget.
King: With a Democratic majority in the Senate do you have a prayer of defunding Obamacare?You have a big majority in the House now but you have democrats still controlling the Senate narrowly and the president still has a veto pen, how can you defund it?
DeMint: Well we don’t have to defund it. We just don’t have to pass the funding for it. The majority in the House can control appropriation bills and we can just not include in those appropriation bills the funding for Obamacare. The president may fight us on that and it could be a very intense showdown, but Republicans are in a position now to make sure no funding goes forward for Obamacare.
I guess if he gets his way, they’ll leave in the provisions for pre-existing conditions and just allow the insurance companies to charge whatever they want. That should be interesting. And the medicaid expansions just don’t happen.
Nobody knows if this will happen of course, but whenever anyone brought up the idea that Republicans were going to lean hard on the funding before any of the benefits took effect, they were smugly told by Very Serious People that it would be impossible because there is no way the American people would ever let Obamacare be repealed once it was passed. It looks like we’re going to see who was right.
King: Do you think that will happen? There are trust issues both ways with your own Republican party. I want to read something that you wrote int the Wall Street Journal today.
“Tea party Republicans were elected to go to Washington to save the country, not to be co-opted by the club. So put on your boxing gloves the fight begins today.”
Senator DeMint, it sounds like you don’t trust your own leadership to keep its campaign promises.
DeMint: Well there’s a Washington establishment that’s much bigger than any of us in the congress. It includes the media, the lobby community. It’s a system that pushes us to spend more. Every time we say no we have people complaining. That’s why after several years in the congress most people start voting for more spending more borrowing and more debt. We’ve got to change those ways. I think every one who campaign and won as Republicans this time understands that we have got to do what we promised. And that means less spending, less borrowing, less debt. So I think you’re going to see a new Republican Party that will re-earn the trust of the American people.
I’m guessing that if DeMint has sufficiently scared the Republicans and has the backing of the hate radio and Fox gasbags, he can shut down the government. And I would imagine they’ve thought a bit about how to do that without upsetting the folks like they did last time.
King asked him about the candidates he backed that lost and challenged him on the O’Donnell, Buck and Angle and said Republicans are saying he cost them the majority.
DeMint: I haven’t heard that from any of my colleagues …
King: Trust me they’re staffs are emailing around grumbling about this.
DeMint: Well they’re all unnamed. I didn’t get involved in the primary in Nevada. The people of Nevada picked Sharron Angle to be their nominee. Just like every republican who was nominated, I worked as hard as I could to get them elected.
I’m glad some of my colleagues think I have the power to come in a few days before the primary of Christine O’Donnell and make a difference in that race but she won by six points and she was going to win whether I came in or not. I worked for Republicans all over the country. Anyone who says that Tea Party was detrimental is so completely out of touch that they represent the problem in Washington. Republicans won victories from the local level, state level the federal level, historic victories, and it was because of the activism led by Tea Parties all over the country. Of course we didn’t win the all but we won a lot more than any party has won in many decades.
King: Question for Jim DeMint, how does he go forward from this campaign? What did you learn in this campaign that you’ll apply in 2012. And I ask this specifically in the context many of your Republicans Senators are concerned that you’ll support challenges to Olympia Snow a moderate Republican from Maine. I was told by somebody today who is close to you to look for a challenge to Bob Corker Republicans Senator from Tennessee. And Orrin hatch, his colleague veteran bob Bennett of course lost to a Tea Party candidate from Utah and he already seems a bit nervous he’ll face a challenge.
Would you support Republican challengers to any of those Republican Senators in 2012?
DeMint: well I have no intentions at this point of supporting primary challengers to any of my colleagues. I think you may see primary challengers if my colleagues don’t do what we promised as Republicans and that’s to support constitutional limited government. I didn’t recruit any primary challengers this time. But the people, I believe, will help us make those decisions.
I’ve heard that rumor that I’m going to put incumbents up in primaries but folks are just trying to do that to marginalize what the Tea Party has done for the Republican party.
What we need to realize is that if the Republicans embrace the energy and ideals of the Tea Party across the country that we will have a big tent that will help us turn the country away from economic disaster. We’ve got 40% of the people who call themselves Tea Party members who are Democrats and Independents. They are saying they want less spending and less debt. That’s what Republicans are all about. So there’s no reason for there to be any disunity in the Republican party. I think you’re going to see a Republican Party that’s bold and more unified than we’ve seen in years. I look forward to working with our leadership team, I have no plan to challenge any of our incumbents.
But the Senate conservatives fund will continue to help identify conservative challengers out across the country and give Americans a chance to help those challengers in the future.
This guy is a piece of work. The entire interview was a series of subtle and not-so-subtle threats that make Newtie’s crude braggadocio look amateurish by comparison. I confess he freaks me out a little bit — the way Michael Corleone freaks me out.He’s very, very cool and collected.
He’s definitely making a strong play for power and it sounds like he’s not confining himself to the Senate. He’s pulling strings in the House too. And I don’t know if the Big Money Boyz just think they control him or if they actually do.
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