Big news in the political world today, and just when you thought the elections were officially over and you could go a few weeks only caring about Christmas.
But no, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint said he’s resigning today, only a mere two years into his current term and four before he would have to run for re-election.
For those that don’t know, DeMint is one of the biggest bigots, I mean, “conservatives” in the senate, and sometimes makes Mitch McConnell look like Gore Vidal. The National Journal says he’s one of the most conservative members of the Senate, and Salon.com says he’s arguably the most conservative member of the senate. In other words, you can’t get much more conservative.
DeMint, of course, is probably most notable for being one of the rare Republican senators to actually claim that he’s part of the Tea Party, and is widely considered to be one of their leaders in the senate. So is his resignation further proof that The Tea Party is washed-up for good? Liberals certainly seem to think so (this was joyous news on most of the liberal websites today).
But I’m not so sure. I think this may be the final nail in “The Tea Party’s” coffin, but that is basically meaningless when you consider that it took the Koch Brothers no time at all to fund the movement and get it going. Obama was in office a mere two years before 2010, when the Tea Party came out of nowhere to monopolize media attention and dominate the House of Representatives. In other words: even if The Tea Party is dead (and it now may very well be) don’t be surprised if you see The Patriot Party of The Justice League or some other corporate sponsored astro-turf movement sprout up out of nowhere in time for 2014’s elections.