Jim DeMint, failure
He's packing up his Senate office while Obama plans his second inaugural and Harry Reid enjoys a bigger majority
Topics: Jim DeMint, Heritage Foundation, U.S. Senate, Editor's Pick, Editor's Picks, Politics News
In the Bizarro World of Beltway media, up can be down and down up, especially when it comes to what’s good for Republicans and Democrats. Most political developments, even positive ones, are spun as particularly challenging for Democrats; disasters can wind up being depicted as opportunities or even glory when they befall Republicans.
Such is the coverage of Sen. Jim DeMint’s departure from the U.S. Senate to take over the Heritage Foundation. So many words have been spent on this news. I hadn’t planned on weighing in, but after watching all the ways it’s being spun as some kind of victory for DeMint and the Tea Party, I had to say: Enough!
Bloomberg News pronounced: “Jim DeMint’s Heritage Foundation gig gives Tea Party new power over GOP.” BuzzFeed made a list of “The six members who should fear Jim DeMint.” (I’d like to see a BuzzFeed mashup of the six cats who should fear JimDeMint or the six puppies even Jim DeMint would raise taxes for, but I don’t work there.) Even Salon’s own Steve Kornacki, who’s smarter than I am, suggested this morning that “his influence on the party is as strong as ever.” (Of course you could take that two ways: DeMint’s influence may be just as minimal as ever, and there’s room to read Kornacki that way.)
But somebody has to say it: DeMint isn’t leaving the Senate in glory; he’s leaving with his most fervent goals unfulfilled. He dedicated himself to making Barack Obama a one-term president – remember, healthcare reform was going to be his “Waterloo?” – and ending Democratic dominance in the Senate with his Senate Conservatives Fund. Instead, Obama is getting ready for his second Inauguration Day while DeMint packs up his Capitol office. The Senate, meanwhile, is more Democratic than before the election, and Harry Reid can thank DeMint for the fact that he held on as Senate Majority Leader – and even that he held on to his own seat. Of the 15 far-right Senate candidates DeMint backed in 2010 and 2012, eight lost, and five of them lost to Democrats who’d been given up for dead, including Reid. So I hope DeMint doesn’t let the door hit him in the behind when he carries his boxes out of the Senate.
Joan Walsh is Salon's editor at large and the author of "What's the Matter With White People: Finding Our Way in the Next America." More Joan Walsh.





Rick Perry Levels Targets With An AR-15 In His NRA Intro Video
FBI Soliciting Benghazi Tips With New Arabic-Language Video
Joe Biden Loves John McCain
Biden Promises Better Protection For American Embassies
Comments
22 Comments