Posted on 07/11/2011 10:24:28 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) will hold a presidential candidate forum in South Carolina on Labor Day, Sept. 5.
But it’s not for everyone. Mr. DeMint, a kingmaker in conservative politics, will extend invitations for “The Palmetto Freedom Forum” to all presidential candidates who average 5% support in a Real Clear Politics’ average of polls. If the forum were held today, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.), Herman Cain, Rep. Ron Paul (R., Texas) and former Speaker Newt Gingrich would make the cut, but former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (4.5%), former Sen. Rick Santorum (3.3%)and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (2%) would not.
The forum in the Palmetto State, which holds the first primary in the South, won’t be a debate. Rather, candidates in turn will be questioned by Mr. DeMint, Iowa Rep. Steve King and Robert P. George, founder of the American Principles Project.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
I like it! Go with it, Jim!
Sounds a little arrogant, DeMint seems to be running a stealth candidacy of some kind, but not for president.
DeMint has always been Romney's right hand man inside conservatism.
There's three planned for Sept. 12 (CNN in FL), 14 (MSNBC @ Reagan Library) & 22 (FoxNews in FL).
I heard something about Perry saying he could do two on that day, now that you mention the log jam.
I would pay to see that!
I agree with you. This is a good move.
DeMint is a RomneyBOT so this is a non-starter.
DeMint isn’t hostile to Romney but he most certainly is not Romney’s ‘right hand man’. He did endorse him in 2008 as did Herman Cain and many ‘conservatives’ but I’d go to the mat for Jim. He is a bit too fond of Romney which flies in the face of reason but there is absolutely no question of DeMint’s committment to conservatism. He just has the same weakness that many conservatives have they don’t always know how to differentiate between personal relationships and policy relationships. I’ve seen this happen with talk show hosts and media personalities when a big name candidate suddenly gives them attention and access. It drives me crazy because I have far left friends who I personally like but I’d never confuse a personal relationship with a political one. There are plenty of conservatives I don’t like but who I’d have their back in a heartbeat on policy.
I’ll never understand the Romney effect on some conservatives. My only conclusion is they just are blinded by something I don’t see. I look at policies first and actions. Romney doesn’t have a good job creation record, he had to be stopped by Democrats to keep from levying draconian fees on businesses, his judical appointments were largely liberal and some were outright activist judges one of which released a violent murderer who went on to kill a newlywed couple, he also continued to fund liberal puff causes to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars when the state was in a deep fiscal mess and he left the state with a Health Care mandate that is bankrupting the state and was used as a model for Obamacare.
Tell me what redeeming value this man has politically to conservatives? There is absolutely no reason to trust him in his record. He’s not a fighter, he doesn’t talk straight, his business experience is from the top not from building something from the ground up. He started out rich and got richer arguably more from cutting jobs rather than creating them. He does have a beautiful family and I’m sure personally he is great but that doesn’t make him our candidate. Our candidate needs to be someone who will not behave as if he is ashamed to be seen with our kind, who is not uncomfortable talking about smaller govt and founding principles, who understands that the role of govt including state govt is not to proscribe the health care that we will have or not have.
I did a bit of checking:
DeMint is on record now saying the following:
“he “would never consider” endorsing the ex-governor in 2012 unless he repudiated the Massachusetts health care law.”
I still don’t like the fact that he is comfortable with Romney. Romney would hurt our cause horribly.
DeMint sought out then Governor, Mitt Romney in 2006.
DeMint was one of the early promoters of Mitt Romney to run in 2007, he was senior advisor to his exploratory committee.
JANUARY 2007,NOT, JANUARY 2008--- Senator DeMint wrote, "We must elect a President in 2008 who is up to the task, and I need you to encourage Mitt to run. ...
Tuesday, Jan 09, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Boston, MA – Governor Mitt Romney announced today that Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) will serve as a senior adviser to the Romney for President Exploratory Committee.
OCTOBER, 2007
Boston, MA – Today, Governor Mitt Romney named Governor Matt Blunt (R-MO), Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) as National Co-Chairs of the Romney for President campaign. As National Co-Chairs, they will serve as key advisers to Governor Romney and his national campaign.
Senator Jim DeMint said, “Governor Mitt Romney is the standard-bearer the Republican Party needs in 2008. His message of conservative change will bring our Party and Washington back to our most basic conservative values of fiscal discipline, smaller government and lower taxes. Governor Romney has the record and experience to bring true change to Washington.”
June, 2011
“Washington (CNN) - With the Republican base largely unified in its contempt for President Obama’s health care law, Sen. Jim DeMint, an icon of the tea party movement, has been forced to explain his early support for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s health care plan, which was a model for reform on the federal level.
The South Carolinian cited the “innovative” Massachusetts health care plan when he endorsed Romney’s 2008 presidential bid, saying the plan leveraged “good conservative ideas” like bringing private insurance companies into the process.”
JULY 6, 2011 National Review
“DeMint Calls Romney a ‘Good Candidate’
Sen. Jim DeMint, whose push for more conservative senate candidates in the 2010 cycle lead to several primary challenges, is open to endorsing Mitt Romney.
“I endorsed Romney last time, and I think he’s a good candidate,” DeMint tells National Review Online today in an office visit. “I’m not going to hold any one or two things against a candidate that they’ve done. I’ve had some bum votes in my life.”
Instead of a perfect voting record, DeMint is looking for “the ability to inspire and show some courage and I think, take on our own party in some cases.” He calls Romney a “certainly viable” candidate.”
Yes he was and he was wrong. If he would endorse Romney now I’d lose a lot of respect for him. Many conservatives touted Romney. I think a lot of them assumed because he was a Mormon that he was secretly one of them. DeMint will not endorse Romney this go around. If he does he will have blown everything he has worked to build the past couple years.
You keep ignoring the depth of their relationship by repeatedly saying he ‘endorsed” Romney and playing it down as though it came late, instead of in 2006 when Romney was a failed, liberal, sitting Governor.
DeMint did a heck of a lot more than that, he sought out Romney, he devoted himself to Romney, he helped create Romney, he served him slavishly on his exploratory committee and as his campaign chairman, he is still open to endorsing and supporting Mitt Romney again, and he is making that public, very early, in fact, just about the same time as he was laying a little negative on Michelle Bachmann.
The simple fact is that Jim DeMint has been very consistent the past few years. Anyone can be wrong but to be wrong and not correct that path is what I care about. If I believe Romney was a real conservative convert I could support him but there just isn’t any evidence of that. As for DeMint we have a clear record not from 2006 but from 2010. We didn’t have many good choices in 2008. I supported John McCain over Romney when if came down to that choice when there wasn’t any other. DeMint made a huge contribution to electing real conservatives to the Senate. He was wrong on Romney. If he still is I will give him heck on that. I am not going to claim he is “Romney’s guy” now till I see evidence like I did with Cain who refused to address Romney’s record with his “case closed” statement.
I for one regardless will never support Mitt Romney even in the general election. He is not conservative by any remote definition and those who deceive themselves into thinking he is are being played for fools.
You continue to soft pedal it and massage the facts.
As post 12 shows, DeMint and Romney are still a team, that is why Romney was headlineing fund raising for Demint in 2009, it not only helped raise money for Demint, but it also helped Romney maintain a high profile with the conservative star in South Carolina for the primaries.
“WashingtonPost.com Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) will appear as the special guest at a fundraiser next week to benefit South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint’s 2010 re-election”
Every thing that Demint does seems to resemble a kind of below the radar, 2012 campaign, yet we know that it is not a Presidential campaign, I think that campaign is to be Mitt Romney’s veep.
As you have seen, Demint latched his star to Mitt Romney way back in 2006, and has never moved from him, were you aware that the staunch conservative also was Campaign Chairman for Lindsey Graham? Again, that is a little more than an endorsement.
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