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Sen. Jim DeMint
In a rather unusual move, ultraconservative South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint (R) is going to resign at the beginning of next year. From the Wall Street Journal:
South Carolina U.S. Senator Jim DeMint will replace Ed Feulner as president of the Heritage Foundation. Mr. DeMint will leave his post as South Carolina’s junior senator in early January to take control of the Washington think tank, which has an annual budget of about $80 million.
Sen. DeMint’s departure means that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, a Republican, will name a successor, who will have to run in a special election in 2014. In that year, both Mr. DeMint’s replacement and Sen. Lindsey Graham will be running for reelection in South Carolina.
Since South Carolina’s Republican Governor gets to name DeMint’s temporary replacement, this move is not going to change the composition of the Senate. Given the heavily Republican nature of the state, it is also unlikely that even with an open seat that Democrats will have a shot of picking up a Senate seat in South Carolina in 2014.
This move, though, still has very important political implications, particularly for South Carolina’s other senator, Lindsey Graham. There is currently some speculation that Graham could be vulnerable to a primary challenge. Having two Senate races take place in 2014 could save Graham from facing a top-tier opponent in the primary. It is possible that some ambitious conservatives in the state would decide instead to run in the special election, seeing it as the more promising option.
Graham may now feel safer agreeing to possible compromises with Democrats on a whole range of issues, such as immigration.
22 Comments
lol Stephen Colbert is ready to serve!
Let’s fund really crazy teabaggers in the primary! It worked brilliantly for Claire McCaskill in Missouri.
THANK GOD !
Though I’m sure his replacement will not be any better. American voters suck rocks big time.
South Carolina voters suck even bigger rocks. Aren’t they trying to secede again anyway?
More from the “honorable” Sen Jim DeMint
I guess SMWFW* are OK
*Single Men Who Fck Women
still
It’s not that the world would be better off if DeMint served out his term, but I find it remarkable how blithely these right-wingers rubbish the trust their voters have placed in them by quitting as soon as they’ve played out their public office for whatever it can give them. They can’t even wait until the next election to get their next scam going.
Glass houses and stone alert-
Jesse Jackson, jr.
Jane Harmon
Just 2 dems off the top if my head.
Gota admire their “drive”.
Betcha he gets a nice raise in salary. Excluding the graft and bribes, senators really don’t make a lot of money.
Chances are there will be a Tea Party Challenge to this seat because the state is so Red. In a split race we do have a chance to take this seat so we should make an effort. Given that gov Niki is not popular even with other GOPers whoever her pick is will likely suffer but as Governor she won’t be able to resist picking someone loyal to her.
Obama is more popular in her state than she is so even if Gov niki picks a Tea Bagger and only one candidate runs GOP we still have a shot.
Provided Obama campaigns for our candidate. In order to win big Obama must risk backing someone who might lose he can’t be a leader if he plays it safe all the time.
Think what it means if we win this seat. Gov Niki loses clout and will likely be off the GOP VP list. We get another Senate Seat. The Talking heads will say Obama has Clout. If a Tea bagger splits the GOP vote the Tea Baggers will get the Blame!
If we lose so what status quo maintained and Obama was leaving office in 4 years anyway. Also the GOP will have to spend millions on the race to counter Obama.
So even if we lose we win the less cash the GOP has the better the election is for our other races. Also the state is near the WH Obama can campaign there often quite easily.
Obama needs to fill a football stadium with supporters to show he does have clout and then even if our candidate loses even the talking heads will have a hard time denying Obama has Clout.
If Obama says he will campaign in this race then will the GOP be able to stop a Tea Bagger Primary Challenge or will they risk a potential 3 way election or at the very least a rough primary fight ? If the GOP stops the Tea baggers
then we run with the meme that the GOP was scared of the Tea baggers taking away another safe GOP seat.
By the way how many safe GOP Senate and House seats did the Tea Baggers and/or anti Women GOPers cost them this election do we have a final count yet?
I carry no brief for Jackson as a politician, but he resigned because of serious personal issues, not impatience to cash in on the next thing. As you know.
As for Harman: fine, I’ll group her with the right-wingers, even if she counts as a standard-issue militarist “liberal”. Same corrupt crowd. But I still say it’s more characteristically Republican than Democrat.
the Jim Demmint R-Dementia,that wanted to LOWER the minimum wage …mebbe 18 cents an hour is acceptable
Wingnut Welfare Gravy-Train: All Aboard!
Shouldn’t DeMint have to wait for a year sfter quitting the Senate?
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/lobby00/former.php
They don’t lobby at the Heritage Foundation; they just think all day long.
Now that DeMint is resigning, I am keeping my eyes on Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition three speakers — DeMint, Portman and Rubio.
Me thinks they are gearing up.
Heritage job pays plenty, no doubt. We won’t miss him. Not even for the entertainment value. Sick dude.
THE LAW
Currently, a member of Congress must wait one year after leaving office before lobbying former colleagues directly.
Heritage Foundation
Premier RIGHT WING LOBBY IN WASHINGTON
FBI
Put a tail on this man for a year. His emails his phone calls his lunches, his mail. And that of his organization.
Of course, all the conservative organization are praising DeMint and the Heritage, with it’s $80 million annual budget.
Unfortunately, DeMint is moving out due to his self-serving recognition that “He’s at the bottom of his game!” or so, says I. To wit, DeMint recognizes that the GOP and en masse (their politicaal operatives) have antagonized America’s “racial and ethnics” and it will take at least 20 years to repair the damage.
And here in the Sonoran Desert, the GOP has put together an Iconic Band of Political Duelists to “massage” the anti-immigrant standard as well as to repair the damage that Arizona acquired when Grijalva’s “Boycott Arizona” caught fire. And as to their minimalist agenda, and with regard to immigration, they refuse to advocate for rescinding SB 1070. Consequently, Arizona will continue to maintain it’s status for the “middle finger” by the erstwhile Native Americans and Chicanos, given the GOP’s undisguised bigotry and racism.
In closing, Jim DeMint’s “reputation” is safe from Native Americans and Chicanos, given that he–DeMint was quite supportive of Arizona’s political behavior at the State Legislature and at Governor’s Office. As such, DeMint could not bring himself to speak out and in any public forum of consequence against the GOP’s bigotry and racism.
Jaango
Salary increase to over a million.
Was gonna say, he’s now an intellect.