Sen. Jim DeMint tells Newsmax that Americans who backed Barack Obama are suffering from “a little buyer’s remorse” now that they see his administration’s agenda taking the U.S. toward socialism.
The South Carolina Republican — the only U.S. senator to get a perfect score this year from the Conservative Political Action Conference — also said that universal healthcare is the “last thing we need.”
[Editor's Note: Watch Sen. Jim DeMint discuss Obama’s ‘Liberal Lite’ agenda: - Go Here Now]
Newsmax.TV’s Ashley Martella noted that Sen. DeMint was an avid supporter of last week’s anti-tax “tea party” rallies and asked if the effort launched a widespread movement against runaway government spending.
“I hope it did and I think it did,” DeMint responded.
“Being there, I sensed a different type of movement that I’ve never been a part of. This was not partisan. It was not Obama-bashing. It was simply an American movement talking about the importance of freedom and limited government and the Constitutional rule of law and concern that we’re spending and borrowing so much money that it is going to diminish our future.
“These were reasonable Americans with families trying to make a very important point, and there were thousands of them. The police estimated in Greenville, South Carolina there were 10,000 people, and they stood there for three hours just to get across the point that they’re sick and tired of the direction of the federal government.”
Martella asked for DeMint’s response to President Obama’s senior adviser David Axelrod, who called the tea party movement “unhealthy.”
“I can’t really imagine that,” DeMint said.
“After Obama led this emotional swoon across the country during his election, where thousands came out for hope and change, which I think many believe — they have a little buyer’s remorse. The swoon is over and more and more people are taking to their feet and they’re speaking out.
“They don’t want to see America go in the direction of socialized Europe. More and more Americans are concerned that this new administration is intent on socializing a larger and larger area of our economy. And I’m concerned that the Obama administration and anyone in it would say that speaking out, taking advantage of our freedom of speech, is a bad thing.”
Martella asked if the U.S. can afford to fund universal healthcare.
“We can’t afford the government to run anything else in our lives because it doesn’t do it well and it makes it much more expensive,” DeMint said.
“We need every American to have a health insurance policy that they can afford and keep and own, something that is not government. We have within the amount of money we are already spending as a nation the ability to get everyone insured, if we’ll just develop the policies at the federal level that make it easier for people to buy insurance policies and make insurance policies more competitive.
“But the people in control have made it harder and harder for individuals to have their own insurance, and now they’re saying there are uninsured people so we need government healthcare. We don’t need government healthcare — that’s the last thing we need.”
Pointing out that Obama’s $3.5 trillion budget passed Congress without a single Republican vote, Martella asked if the GOP will be able to make their case to voters and increase their ranks in the 2010 election.
“I hope so, and I feel that Republicans are starting to get the message of the last two elections — that the American people don’t want a lukewarm agenda. They don’t want a liberal light agenda,” the senator said.
“They want people who are standing up for principles of limited government, personal responsibility, individual freedom, free market economy — the things that are basic to America, the things that have made us successful.
“There’s a growing number of Americans looking for elected officials and candidates that are going to stand up for that, and I would obviously like to see the Republican Party return to that whole focus, that vision for our country.”
Martella asked DeMint about the Obama administration’s efforts to impose a “cap and trade” plan to reduce carbon emissions.
DeMint said: “I think it’s going to be difficult for the president to get through his cap and trade as long as we can help Americans understand this means a big tax on electricity and an additional tax on fuel — an increase in the cost of living in our country.”
[Editor's Note: Watch Sen. Jim DeMint discuss Obama’s ‘Liberal Lite’ agenda: - Go Here Now]
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