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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / C.R.E.A.M., DeMint

C.R.E.A.M., DeMint

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I guess you already knew that Senators can retire and immediately earn close to seven figures of wingnut welfare money a year. I’m sure that has no effect on the integrity of our legislative system:

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), one of the most prominent conservative voices on Capitol Hill, will leave the Senate to run the Heritage Foundation, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Reader Interactions

154Comments

  1. 1.

    Matthew Reid Krell

    What are the odds at Vegas on Nikki Haley using this opportunity to get out of Columbia, where she’s not terribly well-liked anyway, and propelling herself onto a larger stage?

  2. 2.

    Napoleon

    Note his sucessor will have to run in a special election at the same time Graham is running for reelection.

  3. 3.

    JCT

    Looks like throwing fits over Twitter didn’t garner him enough attention. Can’t wait to see who that imbecile Haley picks as his replacement.

  4. 4.

    Corner Stone

    Hard to believe the ego-centric SOB could give up being called “Senator DeMint”.
    He’ll still be a well paid puppetmaster.

  5. 5.

    PsiFighter37

    Quitting government to join wingnut welfare…first Palin, then the Pepper(De)Mint. It’s like a weird fucked-up psychotropic version of going Galt.

  7. 7.

    Soonergrunt

    What are the odds that Haley appoints herself to the seat? If not, are there any Juicers from South Carolina who have any ideas as to who she would appoint?

  9. 9.

    NonyNony

    Wow. I did not see that one coming. DeMint is a Tea Party Hero and he’s leaving for a Wingnut Welfare job? The Senate doesn’t pay well enough I guess.

    And TWO Senate seats up in SC at the same time in 2014 now. I wonder what that means for Graham’s chances. Better or worse?

  10. 10.

    amk

    So the teabaggers now can go fuck themselves now that their own jimmy boy got his 7 figure reward? The nutters will never learn, will they?

  11. 11.

    David in NY

    Tax the sucker!

    And while we’re at it, why does Heritage deserve to be a “charitable” foundation for tax purposes?

  13. 13.

    Corner Stone

    I’m still waiting to see him quoted as saying something like, “Washington has just become too polarized and partisan.”

  14. 14.

    hep kitty

    It’s high time the Heritage Foundation was redneckified.

    Don’t let the back door hit ya’, Chinless! (Ugly ole thin-lipped school-marm bastidge)

  19. 19.

    danimal

    I guess obstruction 24/7 gets old even for the leaders of the (non)movement. DeMint’s seeing the future, and the future is a GOP Senate minority for a long, long time. Better to cash out now than count on 2014.

  22. 22.

    General Stuck

    I’m sure that has no effect integrity of our legislative system:

    Monee is Mothers Milk to conservatism.

    Now Demint can supervise firsthand, Luntz and his neutered gnomes, busy building a better wingnut in the Heritage Foundation basement. It is a higher calling than washing sheets at the C Street whorehouse for Jesus.

  23. 23.

    Brachiator

    @Matthew Reid Krell:

    What are the odds at Vegas on Nikki Haley using this opportunity to get out of Columbia, where she’s not terribly well-liked anyway, and propelling herself onto a larger stage?

    Slim and none. Unless someone appoints her to some office position, self-propusion is unlikely to get her anywhere.

    @DougJ:

    Great post title.

    BTW: Congress took a long weekend, beginning Wednesday because, you know, that Fiscal Cliff thing is soooo serious.

    Still, people should keep up calling and writing. It probably would not hurt to send the White House some messages of support, urging the president to stay firm on raising the taxes of the 2% and for pushing for agreement on the middle class tax cuts.

  25. 25.

    marcopolo

    Grifters gotta grift…and I hope this is a sign that filibuster reform will definitely be happening.

  26. 26.

    Zifnab25

    @Woodrowfan: They’ll change their name to the “Jesus Foundation”, just to make it official.

    That said, I think DeMint wore out his welcome with the endless parade of primary-victory general-election-failure candidates. He’d planned to build a caucus of hard-right theocrats and run the Senate with an iron fist under Romney. Now its just him, Inhofe, Mike Lee, Coburn, and Paul jacking off in the coat room together. The coup failed, and DeMint is exiting stage-left.

    That this decision came down within a week of Dick Army leaving FreedomWorks surprises me not at all. I don’t think we’re going to see much of the Tea Party in the next election cycle (which is, honestly, a damn shame).

  27. 27.

    Napoleon

    @SatanicPanic:

    Good question, who knows. It is easier to pick someone off who has not run for re-election before (let alone elected the first time).

    The question is do any wingnuts in SC go after the Demint seat and weekend whoever is picked to fill it or does the Gov pick a wingnut to begin with and Graham is the one with the primary with all the wingnuts in it.

  28. 28.

    joeyess

    Well, one Wingnut outfit just got one helluva lot less effective. I think this puts the Follow Spot of Crazy directly on what was once a Villager Approved “Think Tank”.

    Good move. One that this liberal applauds gleefully.

  29. 29.

    BGinCHI

    I’m almost sorry for the people who work at Heritage. What fun it must be to work for that dick.

    It’s interesting to note that the right wing of the GOP feels that the Senate is a launching pad for the top post at a think tank.

    It used to be President of the United States.

  30. 30.

    J

    Mind you, it’s not people like DeMint making mountains of money as sycophants of and propagandists for the obscenely wealthy who are parasites, but teachers, firemen and social workers and other public servants who work for the gubmint.

  34. 34.

    ? Martin

    Lindsay must be relieved. They were going to primary him, but their best prospect will more likely get tied up in this race.

  35. 35.

    Ash Can

    What’s awesome is that he wants the Heritage Foundation to do a better job of communicating conservative ideas, and believes that conservative policies failed to get people elected last month because they weren’t communicated well. Go for it, Jim. Knock yourself out. And when conservative policies proceed to repulse even more people, double down on the ommunicatIon. Regardless of how bad the sack of concrete mixed with feces he’ll undoubtedly be replaced with turns out to be, this could be an excellent turn of events In the longer term.

  37. 37.

    MattF

    That was unexpected, right? Makes me think, perhaps, the Senate isn’t so comfy for a winger anymore. We’ll see. In any event, it’s possible that Haley will appoint herself Senator, which would be a double-popcorn special.

  39. 39.

    ? Martin

    Also, I guess we can’t count on Heritage to guide the GOP back to relevance with the electorate. If the GOP was serious about reforming their image, they wouldn’t put DeMint anywhere near a leadership position.

  40. 40.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    DeMinted will purge the Heritage files of their 90’s involvement with what is now the linchpin of the Affordable Care Act and then return to the planet he came from.

  43. 43.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    @? Martin:

    Also, I guess we can’t count on Heritage to guide the GOP back to relevance with the electorate

    hahahaha

    Like that was ever gonna happen. Heritage is just Birchers with calculators, and teeth.

  44. 44.

    Soonergrunt

    How long till the inevitable meth-addict male prostitute shows up? As fast as this happened, it stinks of sex scandal cover up.

  45. 45.

    Roger Moore

    @NonyNony:

    DeMint is a Tea Party Hero and he’s leaving for a Wingnut Welfare job? The Senate doesn’t pay well enough I guess.

    DeMint is an herbal tea bagger, so he doesn’t fit in with all the black tea baggers (not to be confused with the virtually non-existent black teabaggers).

    Oh, and the title is another great one.

  47. 47.

    Tonal Crow

    Don’t link to Murdoch sites. Go Galt on them, and divest if you hold any of their securities. Hit them where it hurts.

  48. 48.

    jl

    Maybe DeMint stomach is not up to the coming fireworks and gut wrenching climax to fiscal madness stalemate?

    TPM is reporting that WH won’t negotiate on debt limit, at all, zero, nada, nothing. Eff it. Obama has done won his last election and he has legacy to create, dude. A lot of signs of Obama, 2nd edition in the air.

    TPM Editor’s Blog
    Goodbye To All That
    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/12/goodbye_to_all_that.php

    “…House Republicans [realizing they are defeated on Bush tax cuts] are saying they’ll regroup around the debt limit and force the president’s hands when they have all the power, probably late next month or in early February. This assumes a replay of 2011. But the President says he won’t negotiate under any circumstances. “

  49. 49.

    Roger Moore

    @BGinCHI:
    And Ashley Judd is seriously considering running against Mitch “Yertle the Turtle” McConnell, which would be considerably more ridiculous if she didn’t have a Masters from the Kennedy School.

  50. 50.

    Lee

    Funny story about the Heritage Foundation.

    One of my best friends interned there the summer of 1988 during that historic heat wave.

    She is now very much the liberal working and living in San Francisco.

    I did get to attend a couple of their functions when I went to visit. She did talk about how Sen Phil Gramm (both of us from Texas) was always there in the afternoons drinking at their bar.

  51. 51.

    BGinCHI

    @Roger Moore: I don’t think that’s ridiculous at all. She’s sharp as hell. She’s also married to a Brazilian F1 driver.

    I hope she runs and beats him. I can’t see many other Dems doing it down there (though I like Conway).

    Maybe more left celebs can get busy doing this kind of work.

  52. 52.

    Amir Khalid

    @Roger Moore:
    I’ve seen stories on this. I know about Ashley Judd’s masters in public admin and her political activism, but how credible as a candidate is she?

  54. 54.

    Corner Stone

    @flukebucket: I normally don’t subject myself to that kind of pain without first getting a safe word, but I decided to give ‘er a go. Best line of the whole thing, IMO:

    “Like a monk preserving knowledge in the dark ages in a monestary, Ed Feulner turned the Heritage Foundation into a monastery of conservatism making sure the timeless principles of Burke and Kirk and Hayek and Reagan found the intellectual footing to advance philosophy into policy and policy into politics.”

  55. 55.

    burnspbesq

    @the Conster:

    Speaking of Waterloo, remember when Jim DeMint said that not passing the ACA would be Obama’s Waterloo? Ha ha ha. How’d that work out?

    DeMint was half right. The ACA was Obama’s Waterloo, but Obama was Wellington, not Bonaparte.

  56. 56.

    Napoleon

    @Amir Khalid:

    She is an actress so by definition she lacks credibility, but she does come off as bright and articulate so she could easily appear credible.

  58. 58.

    ? Martin

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    Like that was ever gonna happen. Heritage is just Birchers with calculators, and teeth.

    Well, yeah, I never expected that either. But how many groups does the GOP have to call on to guide them out of this that at least have calculators?

    I’m getting a ‘fuck the GOP, we’re backing the Tea Party’ vibe off of this decision.

    And we’re going to have a colossal government shutdown next year. It’s going to be epic, and damaging, and going to piss everyone off.

  59. 59.

    beth

    Wow, we’ve got so much to choose from. Joe “you lie” Wilson, Andre “don’t feed the poor animals, they’ll just multiply” Bauer, Tim “hey look, he’s Republican and he’s black!” Scott. Can’t wait to see which wingnut Haley chooses. Also too, Strom Thurmond’s son might be in play.

  60. 60.

    Enhanced Mooching Techniques

    @flukebucket: Erik the Red

    Mitch McConnell likes it when people compare McConnell to Darth Vader, seemingly clueless that Vader lost the Death Star twice to a rag tag group of rebels in really beat up, hand-me-down spaceships.

    If McConnell smiles at hearing the news Jim DeMint is leaving the Senate, he should remember Obi Wan Kenobi telling him . . . errrr . . . Darth Vader, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.” Jim DeMint’s power in the conservative movement just grew exponentially. A man who was going to retire in four years anyway, will now be leading the conservative movement from its base of operations for years to come.

    The irony here is Erik sees him and tea bagger buddies as the rebels, cause you know Admiral “it’s a trap” Ackbar had a side gig on a popular Empire wide news show when he wasn’t leading the rebel fleet into ambushes.

  61. 61.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @Amir Khalid:

    I know about Ashley Judd’s masters in public admin and her political activism, but how credible as a candidate is she?

    Whenever I’ve heard her speak on policy issues in public, it’s been like nails on a blackboard. But perhaps that’s just me.

    DeMented thinks he has more power as an unelected wingnut welfare whoremonger than as a senator, and he’s probably right.

  62. 62.

    aimai

    Can I just say how weird I find the entire meme that Obama, or the Republicans for that matter, should “stay in town” and fight about the negotiations or else they arent’ really working? Its such a weird idea of what negotiations are. To have a negotiation you have to have two parties negotiating in good faith, with some common goal–some common ground–and some common good in mind and both parties have to be willing to sacrifice something. Obama has already sacrificed as much as he can. The Republicans haven’t even begun to come to the table in good faith and they have, in all previous negotiations, exhibited complete bad faith and inability to uphold their own end of any bargain. Basically: Obama has no counterparties on the right because Boehner can’t make any deal for his obstreperous coalition of assholes. Do people imagine that coming to the table and staring at each other like cats, trying to make the other side look away, is how major negotiations over major spending and taxing legislation ought to be done? Or maybe that we should lock them in a room and refuse them food, water, and bathroom breaks until the guys with the weakest bladder give up?

    aimai

  63. 63.

    danielx

    Why lower oneself to being a lobbyist when wingnut welfare pays better? Just guessing, but I’ll make a small bet that the Senate functions a little more efficiently, if it’s not blasphemy to put ‘Senate’ and ‘efficiency’ in the same sentence.

  64. 64.

    Amir Khalid

    @Napoleon:
    But her mother and sister would come out of retirement so you could see the Judds performng at Ashley’s campaign events.

  66. 66.

    SatanicPanic

    @flukebucket: I like how he throws in a brag right at the beginning that someone called him personally before it was on the news.

    I had to stop reading when he got to: Mitch McConnell= Darth Vader, Jim DeMint= Obi Wan Kenobi.

  67. 67.

    NonyNony

    @jl:

    This assumes a replay of 2011. But the President says he won’t negotiate under any circumstances.

    I’m hoping that this means that Obama is willing to just tell them “here are our justifications for why we’re ignoring your stupid debt limit, we’ll see you in Court if you think this violates the Constitution”. Cause he can’t be bluffing if he takes on the nutters int he House.

    Of course, since Obama doesn’t actually seem to bluff on a weak hand, I’m thinking that with the very public way he’s laid this out he might finally be willing to do just that and see if they blink.

  68. 68.

    Kip the Wonder Rat

    @BGinCHI: He might just win. To this day I still meet conservatives/Republicans/morans who truly think Colbert is one of them. Given that they never let new information get in the way of their initial “understanding” of a situation, they’d probably vote for Colbert.

    Let’s say about half of the 27%ers are just that fucking stupid. Would that 13% plus the percentage of non-crazy voters be enough to get him elected in SC?

  69. 69.

    BGinCHI

    @Amir Khalid: Re-posting from my moderated comment (FYWP).

    I don’t think Judd running is ridiculous at all. She’s sharp as hell. She’s also married to a Formula 1 driver.

    I hope she runs and beats him. I can’t see many other Dems doing it down there (though I like Conway).

    Maybe more left celebs can get busy doing this kind of work.

  70. 70.

    Roger Moore

    @Amir Khalid:
    I don’t live in Kentucky, so I don’t know the local political landscape, but she’s probably as credible as anyone who has never run for office before could be. She’s a native Kentuckian, is from a very prominent and (AFAIK) well liked family, and went to the University of Kentucky. She has a history of political activism and took time out from her career to get a Masters in Public Administration from a top-notch school, so this isn’t something she’s doing on a whim to get her name in the papers.

    If she has a serious problem it’s with the political landscape, not her personal background. The only reason she’s a plausible candidate to get the Democratic nomination is because everybody else in the state is too afraid to run against McConnell. Kentucky is solidly red, and McConnell is not just an incumbent with all the advantages that gives him, but the Senate Minority Leader, which means he can count on national support if he gets in trouble. That’s a steep uphill battle.

  72. 72.

    Warren Terra

    This excellent news. Heritage pretends to be a serious policy think institution, which will be harder to pretend to with DeMint in charge, and DeMint is a sufficiently toxic force in the Senate that it’s not like his replacement could be worse. Another wing nut legislative hero is proved to be a work-shy grifter, and – most importantly – with two Senate seats up for election in the heart of Wingnuttia next time, there’s at least twice the odds of throwing the national spotlight on a clown who will further damage the Republicans’ national brand.

  73. 73.

    dww44

    @aimai: There is a school of thought that the House going home for a few days may actually make for some constructive negotiations. Do some of that work out of the limelight, perhaps. It will certainly be nice if “fiscal cliff”, isn’t on my TV on every channel other than the Food Network for a few days. Tamp down on all that posturing.

  75. 75.

    Full Metal Wingnut

    I signed up for a heritage foundation newsletter back in college to get a free pocket constitution (one of my professors recommended it) I think they finally gave up on bombarding me with junk mail when they realized I wasn’t biting.

  78. 78.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    This is great! DeMint out of the Senate, and Heritage with a giant millstone around its neck.

  79. 79.

    danielx

    Also, too:

    In an interview preceding the succession announcement, Sen. DeMint said he is taking the Heritage job because he sees it as a vehicle to popularize conservative ideas in a way that connects with a broader public. “This is an urgent time,” the senator said, “because we saw in the last election we were not able to communicate conservative ideas that win elections.”

    They communicated their ideas clearly, and a majority of the electorate thought their ideas suck.

    Just thinking here, but suppose they come up with some ideas that aren’t really bad, sucky, unpopular ideas? “Let’s stop all the blacks, browns and poors from voting so we can finish looting the country” just isn’t getting it done…

  80. 80.

    Brachiator

    @aimai:

    Or maybe that we should lock them in a room and refuse them food, water, and bathroom breaks until the guys with the weakest bladder give up?

    Isn’t how they choose popes?

    Yeah, you’re right. This is pretend negotiation. There has been more posturing from the right than a pose-off at a Mr Universe competition.

    Fortunately, the polling indicates that even die-hard Republican voters are tiring of this nonsense.

    @Roger Moore:

    I don’t live in Kentucky, so I don’t know the local political landscape, but she’s probably as credible as anyone who has never run for office before could be. She’s a native Kentuckian, is from a very prominent and (AFAIK) well liked family, and went to the University of Kentucky

    And her husband is a race car driver. This has got to be good for some NASCAR level bonus points in Kentucky.

  81. 81.

    GregB

    DeMint was a wingnut power broker, now he’s going to be replaced by some hand-picked shitheel from the Nikki Hailey rolodex.

    That’s a big win for Team Good.

    The mindless cannibalism is consuming the GOP. A few more wingnut votes like the one against the treaty for the disabled ought to do wonders for their already shambolic reputation.

  83. 83.

    Kip the Wonder Rat

    @BGinCHI:

    She’s also married to a Formula 1 driver.

    Au contraire, Pierre. She’s married to an open-wheel racer from a lesser (way lesser) series. F1 racers retire to CART/Indy/USAC, not the other way around.

    Now, that’s not to say that he’s any less of a hubbie to her, etc. And he is foreign on two levels (Italian genes, raised in Scotland – better hair and better accent).

    But no, this does NOT buy NASCAR cred. Those boys HATE HATE HATE open wheel racers.

  84. 84.

    piratedan

    from Erik’s commentary:

    A man who was going to retire in four years anyway, will now be leading the conservative movement from its base of operations for years to come.

    what he doesn’t mention is that it is from a remote island in the Pacific, complete with dormant volcano and teeming with henchmen…..

  86. 86.

    Ted & Hellen

    And I’m sure THIS TYPICAL BULLSHIT has no effect on the integrity of our legislative or executive branches either.

    Jesus.

    The election is over, guys. I thought the period of obsessing ONLY on the right wing was now over and we were going to push from the left, hold Obama and the Dems accountable and all that now? No?

    Instead, DougJ’s same ol, same ol…

  93. 93.

    Schlemizel

    @Brachiator:

    Its always fun when douche & bag show up here to tell us everything we do wrong. Yet we keep doing it wronger and wronger. Maybe those two should try a different blog

  94. 94.

    WereBear

    @Amir Khalid: Amir! You ask this of a nation who elected Ronald Reagan as President? Sonny Bono as a Congressman? The Terminator as Governor of California?

    Being a celebrity is a tremendous advantage. We could probably elect Harrison Ford for President, just for being Harrison Ford.

  95. 95.

    flukebucket

    @EriktheRed:

    Ah, ah, ah! I’M Erik the Red, dammit! You mean Erick the Red.

    I am both embarrassed and ashamed. Please accept my apologies for the sloppiness of my oversight. It won’t happen again.

  96. 96.

    Schlemizel

    @WereBear:

    Don’t for get that “Gopher” from “Love Boat” was elected to Congress also – in IOWA!

    The only common theme with those clowns is the big fat R after their names. I’m pretty sure if they were Dems there would be an endless parade of people telling us how the candidate is an out of touch Hollyweird pinko (and probably gay on top of it) with hints of Jews controlling every move in the background.

    In fairness Al Franken was elected Senator as a D from MN. But he had moved out of entertainment and into politics a few years before running & his opponent was a total shitheel – but the whole gay/out of touch lib/jew thing was played here

  97. 97.

    NonyNony

    @WereBear:

    We could probably elect Harrison Ford just for being Harrison Ford.

    Yes. Yes we would.

    Though in fairness, all of the examples you cite came to us through California elections. The examples of celebrities attaining high office outside of California is a bit slimmer.

  98. 98.

    The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge

    @Zifnab25:

    I don’t think we’re going to see much of the Tea Party in the next election cycle (which is, honestly, a damn shame).

    As long as there are primaries and/or caucuses, the teahadis aren’t going anywhere. Until they go back to the party bosses picking the candidate in a smoke-filed room like the one where they picked Sideshow Bob to run against Mayor Quimby, the GOP is screwed.

  99. 99.

    Corner Stone

    @WereBear:

    Being a celebrity is a tremendous advantage. We could probably elect Harrison Ford for President, just for being Harrison Ford.

    I’m honestly not sure why Dennis Haysbert is not running for at least a Senate seat somewhere.

  100. 100.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Soonergrunt:

    Haven’t read the entire thread, so maybe someone else has suggested this. It would not surprise me if Haley appointed David Wilkins, former Speaker of the Sc House, former Ambassador to Canada, attorney, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Clemson. Very well connected, very conservative (but not, AFAIK, quite a wingnut), and a long-time mentor of Haley. His law firm has a DC office, so he knows the Hill pretty well.

  101. 101.

    Brachiator

    @Schlemizel:

    In fairness Al Franken was elected Senator as a D from MN. But he had moved out of entertainment and into politics a few years before running & his opponent was a total shitheel – but the whole gay/out of touch lib/jew thing was played here

    And Reagan also moved out of entertainment and into politics before running for governor. Also, coming from California, George Murphy had been an actor and song-and-dance man before ultimately winning a Senate seat.

    There is nothing that should particularly disqualify a “celebrity” from entering politics.

    @WereBear:

    Being a celebrity is a tremendous advantage.

    Of course, the “celebrities” who formerly got an automatic publicity boost were generals and other military types.

    Nothing much new here. And the celebrity still has to sustain that initial publicity bump.

  102. 102.

    Mino

    Hummm. Maybe an indication that Harry has the votes? These Republicans can’t be expected to really work to obstruct, now can they? Wonder how many others will cash out when it’s no fun any more.

  104. 104.

    Splitting Image

    @NonyNony:

    Though in fairness, all of the examples you cite came to us through California elections. The examples of celebrities attaining high office outside of California is a bit slimmer.

    Well, Kentucky sent Jim Bunning to the Senate, Minnesota made Jesse Ventura governor, and Heath Shuler was elected in North Carolina.

    Different types of celebrities maybe, but they are definitely there.

  105. 105.

    kc

    Let’s all hope DeMint will do for the Heritage Foundation what he’s done for my state of South Carolina.

  106. 106.

    mdblanche

    Gee that’s rich:

    In truth, Heritage’s Action Network has become among the most screechy in the all-or-nothing brand of politics, challenging all but extreme right-wingers and calling virtually all possible compromises a “cave.” While the Foundation is separate from the political arm, the appearance to the public is one of untempered extremism.

    I’m convinced Jen Rubin must be a hundred monkeys with a hundred typewriters. A human being couldn’t be that lacking in self-awareness, could she?

  107. 107.

    kc

    @Matthew Reid Krell:

    Nikki Haley would wilt under national scrutiny. The tax records – including Social Security numbers, addresses, and bank account numbers of EVERYONE WHO FILED A TAX RETURN IN SOUTH CAROLINA were stolen recently, and she sat on the news for weeks while trying to figure out how to spin it, then announced on a Friday afternoon, then gave conflicting info on how it happened and who was affected, etc, etc.

    Lucky for her, or thanks to her timing, Sandy and other national news kept it out of national headlines, so far.

  110. 110.

    Suffern ACE

    @NonyNony:

    Though in fairness, all of the examples you cite came to us through California elections. The examples of celebrities attaining high office out side of California is a bit slimmer.

    Fred Grady in Iowa
    Ben Jones in Georgia
    Fred Thompson in Tennessee

    There’s got to be one from somewhere else. Does Jim Bunning count? Or Steve Largent? Or Heath Shuler?

  111. 111.

    kc

    @Soonergrunt:

    People locally seem to think Tim Scott (black Republican Congressman from Charleston) has the edge.

    If I had to make a small wager, I’d bet she’ll pick someone else, though, because Tim Scott would then get a lot more attention than Haley, and yes, I do think she’s that shallow.

  112. 112.

    Anonymous At Work

    This is DeMint jumping on a grenade (and being paid well) for Lindsey Graham to protect him from primary challenges in 2016. This will force a large number of nutbags out of the woodwork to run in 2014 special election (if not sooner) rather than wait until Graham’s up in 2016.
    Also, this is evidence that Republicans are despairing about re-taking the Senate anytime soon.

  115. 115.

    Corner Stone

    @Anonymous At Work: Given DeMint’s apparent financial impecunity, I can see the wingnut welfare aspect pretty clearly. But, IMO, he probably hates Lindsay with a burning passion. So I am conflicted on this explanation.

  116. 116.

    Citizen Alan

    @Brachiator:

    And her husband is a race car driver. This has got to be good for some NASCAR level bonus points in Kentucky.

    Okay, that makes a little sense. I’m agnostic on whether Ashley Judd is a credible political candidate in Kentucky, but I’ve been completely baffled by the repeated assertions that “and she’s married to a Brazilian Formula-1 racer” was going to help her (as opposed to further weaken her standing among people who hate swarthy foreigners).

  118. 118.

    Corner Stone

    @kc:

    But does he hate Lindsey as much as he loves money?

    He’s a “conservative” leader. There’s nothing he’s more passionate about than money.

  119. 119.

    The Moar You Know

    How long till the inevitable meth-addict male prostitute shows up? As fast as this happened, it stinks of sex scandal cover up.

    @Soonergrunt: Some kind of scandal, anyway. That was my first thought hearing about his resignation this AM as well. A guy in a position like DeMint doesn’t just up and leave with no warning like that.

  120. 120.

    pseudonymous in nc

    @TooManyJens:

    In what way?

    You know the talent that Bill Clinton has, where he can explain complicated stuff in folksy ways without dumbing down the actual content or sounding condescending?

    Ashley Judd (again, to me) has the opposite of that. When I’ve heard her talk about her humanitarian work, it projects an air of kindergarten teacher. I wish it were not so.

  121. 121.

    Forum Transmitted Disease

    The election is over, guys. I thought the period of obsessing ONLY on the right wing was now over and we were going to push from the left, hold Obama and the Dems accountable and all that now? No?

    @Ted & Hellen: No. Don’t know what “we” you’re referring to here, pedo, you have no friends here and everyone fucking hates you.

  122. 122.

    grandpa john

    @Amir Khalid: With country music legends mama Naomi and sister Wynona campaigning with her I would image that she could would draw respectable audiences.

  124. 124.

    beth

    @PsiFighter37:

    I think it’s still a little too soon for his redemption plus didn’t he just sign on with Fox? However, I wouldn’t count his ex-wife Jenny out. There’s a woman who loved the spotlight, had a successful career in business and while she personally had nothing but disdain for her former husband, always said she agreed with his political policies. She’d be a good pick for a party looking for some women reps.

  125. 125.

    Schlemizel

    @Brachiator:

    REALLY? I am unaware of St. Ronald doing anything other than 20 Mule Team up till he ran for Gov.

    Entertainment shouldn’t disqualify a person from political office but I would be deeply suspicious of an entertainer running. The job does not prepare you for anything useful and can quiet easily remove you from the real world to a bubble existence. A few years into office can move pols into a bubble so I’d hate to have them start there. Additionally most entertainers are not the highest intellectuals in any group (there are exceptions but in general) and there are plenty of stupid people already in office.

    But none of that touches my original point which was IOIYAR. The gay/Jew/out of touch crap never came up for the Rs from the entertainment field

  126. 126.

    Yutsano

    @Suffern ACE: You could add JC Watts from Oklahoma to that list as well. Though Largent ran back home instead of in Washington because, well, we’re all dirty hippies up here.

  128. 128.

    Pinkamena Panic

    @Forum Transmitted Disease: Don’t give the little troglodyte any respect with an actual response. It’s all trollery, all the time with Timmeh. When the wingnutty hate speech stops shocking, he goes for the firebagger bullshit just so he can have someone to fight with.

    Hey Timmeh! How long until Cole bans your stupid childlike ass AGAIN?

  130. 130.

    David in NY

    @Brachiator:

    “Hollywood’s often tried to mix
    show business with politics
    from Helen Gahagan
    to Ronald Reagan(?) … ”

    Tom Lehrer’s “George Murphy” (“He’ll give the people a song aaaaand dance!”)

  132. 132.

    grandpa john

    @Brachiator: Yes, but remember she also has family ( mother and sister) with not only celebrity status but super-star status in country music which in Kentucky should play very well with the average folk in the rural areas. And since the family is close,,I would imagine that they would campaign for her.

  133. 133.

    grandpa john

    @kc: Here in SC there is always a clown show going on somewhere. Some are just more visible and tackier than others.

  135. 135.

    BarbCat

    @hep kitty: About 6 months ago Heritage, like a misguided missile, sent me a 20 page (10, inexplicably double-sided) rant against ObamaCare and the dire, dire need to defeat Obamanation. Didn’t they initiate some kind of dialogue about national heatlhcare? If so, when did they go full wingnut? DuMbmint heading them up is surely their Waterloo.

  137. 137.

    Another Halocene Human

    @Full Metal Wingnut: Seriously? ACLU sends those to me unsolicited at least twice a year. I take ’em to work like Chick tracts.

    The problem is, apes do read philosophy. They just don’t understand it.

  138. 138.

    Brachiator

    @Schlemizel:

    REALLY? I am unaware of St. Ronald doing anything other than 20 Mule Team up till he ran for Gov.

    Very short: among other stuff, Reagan did the speaking tour thing, lifted water for other pols, raised more than $1 million for Goldwater in 64, etc.

    Entertainment shouldn’t disqualify a person from political office but I would be deeply suspicious of an entertainer running. The job does not prepare you for anything useful and can quiet easily remove you from the real world to a bubble existence.

    Just flat out disagree. There ain’t nothing typical about the “job” of being an entertainer, and many so-called celebrities have lived very full lives, and have also been involved in politics for decades. What you and I might know of them is often limited or skewed by our own biases.

    Shit, I thought that Franken would make a great politician just on the basis of his book skewering Limbaugh and the acuity with which he exposed Rush’s stupidity.

    Shorter: celebrities can be just as informed, or as dumb, as anybody else. And the bottom line is that democracy depends on citizens from all spheres participating, not on the efforts of a permanent political class.

    As for not being intellectuals, hell, if that was the qualifier, there wouldn’t be more than two Republicans in the entire Congress.

    BTW, I hate it when people talk shit like “Oh, so and so should just STFU and entertain us. They shouldn’t be allowed to talk politics, etc” Yeah, I understand how some people feel that people with a microphone “abuse” their position. But then you have people losing their shit over Bob Costas saying innocuous and common sense stuff about guns.

    And as I noted before, in the past, lots of people voted celebrity military types into high office with no clue as to whether the colonel or general knew anything or would be a good fit for elective office.

    Comes down to the individual and what they bring. Period.

  140. 140.

    Ted & Hellen

    @Forum Transmitted Disease:

    No. Don’t know what “we” you’re referring to here, pedo, you have no friends here and everyone fucking hates you.

    hahaha Thank you for perfectly encapsulating in your comment the sad BJ hive mindset. It always gives me pleasure to see it so clearly displayed. If I have no friends here and everyone fucking hates me then, clearly, my life is over.

    All the little boys say hello to you, btw.

  142. 142.

    celticdragonchick

    @Zifnab25:

    Yep.

    Senate collegiality only goes so far when you endorse and give funds to primary challengers running against your “friends” within your own party.

    Also, he was possibly the worst abuser of putting anonymous holds on every single bill, including ones his own party wanted to see considered.

  143. 143.

    JoyfulA

    @beth: Could we hope for Darla Moore? Haley owes her one, after throwing her off the USC board to make space for a campaign bundler.

  144. 144.

    ruemara

    @Schlemizel: As of yet, have we heard a cogent discussion of why her leaving to become a lobbyist is some how a betrayal of progressive principles and undermines, er, something to do with healthcare? I don’t mind having the discussion, but like a bad house, the framing from the outset is faulty.

  145. 145.

    LAC

    @Ted & Hellen: Oh, no…the memo I got was to give fucktard fuckfaces like you the back of my hand. Or was it fuckface fucktards like you? I dunno… But it was basically to laugh at your loser asses. Anyone else?

  146. 146.

    Laertes

    I love the lead from the Erickson piece:

    I got the call before the news went out. Jim DeMint, the standard bearer…

    Gotta make sure people know he’s important.

  147. 147.

    redshirt

    OMG. I know this thread is dead, Zed, but I just got to read it and, man. This is some serious Obamagasm love goin’ on here. FSM BE PRAISED!

    A chance! Even a chance Judd would run against the Turtle has me atwitter. I think she has a chance to win, because of her family, as others have mentioned. That will wipe out a sizable percentage of Turtle support right there, something that reaches beyond the R v. D battles.

    And then, to even contemplate a Stephen Colbert run in SC is fucking HEAVENLY! OMG! Would he run in character? Would he jump back and forth between serious and in character? As mentioned, some of these wingnuts are so jaw scraping stupid they think he’s conservative. It’s worth 3-7% I think. If the youth vote could be roused along with African American support (Get Jay Z down in there man!) he’s got a chance. Doesn’t he? Oh, let me dream!

  148. 148.

    redshirt

    And that’s not even mentioning DeMint! WTF? This makes no sense! Dude was King of the Wingnuts. No one forces him out. The money can’t be that good, not that much better – I mean, there’s perks of being an active Senator no money can buy. Shit, people usually try buying Senate seats.

    So, yeah, scandal of some kind. But then, why would the Heritage Foundation appoint him as top dog if there was some terrible scandal? Hmm.

    FSM! I think we’ve somehow gone past PEAK WINGNUT!

  150. 150.

    Humble Lurker

    @Ted & Hellen: Given it seems to be your life’s mission to reeducate us poor dumb fucks, it wouldn’t surprise me if your life was, indeed over. If it ever started.

    And it doesn’t sound like your boys are saying hello. Sounds more like “Please help me get away from this bastard” because of, you know, the whole pedophile defender thing. Don’t think it would make a lot of children feel safe around you.

  153. 153.

    Ted & Hellen

    @Humble Lurker:

    Given it seems to be your life’s mission to reeducate us poor dumb fucks, it wouldn’t surprise me if your life was, indeed over. If it ever started.
    And it doesn’t sound like your boys are saying hello. Sounds more like “Please help me get away from this bastard” because of, you know, the whole pedophile defender thing. Don’t think it would make a lot of children feel safe around you.

    Do you even hear yourself when you type?

    I think you need to get a life beyond the Intertrons cause you’re taking this one way too seriously.

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