DeMint Defends Tea Party Political Picks

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., took some heat from establishment Republicans for backing tea party-linked candidates in recent primaries. But he stands unbowed, Politico reports.

“This is no longer voting for the least-worst on the ballot,” he said in a speech at the Family Research Council’s Values Voters Summit in Washington, D.C. “We’ve got some candidates we can be proud of.”

DeMint also stressed the link between economic and social issues, which some in the GOP have sought to cut. “The fact is you cannot be a real fiscal conservative if you do not understand the value of having a culture that’s based on values,” he said. “There is a correlation between values and freedom and prosperity, and we cannot let those in power tell us that there isn’t.”