It has been roughly eight months since Jim DeMint left the United States Senate. His reason for leaving the world’s greatest deliberative body was simple; he believes he can make more of a difference from the outside than he could as a senator.
As Heritage Foundation president, he now leads the country’s preeminent conservative policy shop. Their 2010 budget was $80 million and they boast a roster of over 700,000 supporters nationwide.
And recently they have ramped up their grassroots advocacy efforts through The Heritage Foundation’s sister organization, Heritage Action for America.
In an exclusive interview with Yellowhammer News on Friday afternoon, DeMint called it a “one-two punch.”
“The Heritage Foundation produces the policy information, and Heritage Action gets the grassroots engaged,” DeMint said.
Heritage ramped up the advocacy machine earlier this year and pressured Congress to make significant changes to the so-called Farm Bill, a pork-laden piece of legislation that both Parties in Congress pass year after year with little effort to reform.
After putting intense pressure on members of the GOP-controlled House, Heritage won what Fox News called “at least a partial victory” by “getting the House to split funding for food stamps from the rest of the bill.”
And now they are throwing their weight into a fight over the future of the president’s healthcare law.
When Congress returns in two weeks from its summer recess, they will vote on a bill to temporarily fund the federal government. DeMint and the Heritage Action army are spending every waking hour pushing to make sure the bill contains zero dollars for ObamaCare.
They announced last week that they are launching a $550,000 ad campaign targeting 100 Republican-controlled Congressional districts — including four in Alabama — with the goal of convincing Republicans to join the effort to “defund” ObamaCare.
They are also taking their message directly to the people through a nine-stop “Defund ObamaCare Town Hall Tour” that has featured some of the biggest names in the conservative movement, not the least of which is DeMint.
“I’m traveling the country talking about the dangers and consequences of this bill,” DeMint told Yellowhammer before the tour’s stop in Birmingham. “ObamaCare is not just another bill, it’s one-sixth of our nation’s economy. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid let it slip out a couple of weeks ago that this is just a precursor to a single payer system. We think it’s important enough to risk everything to stop it.”
"It's a vote to fund the govt., but not ObamaCare. If the president wants to shut down the govt., then that's on him." – @JimDeMint
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) August 23, 2013
Sounds simple enough in theory. Republicans pass a bill to fund the government that does not include funding for ObamaCare, then dare the president to shut the government down over their refusal to fund the least popular piece of domestic legislation in a generation.
But some Republicans say that’s a recipe for political disaster.
I pointed out to Sen. DeMint that even some Republicans with unquestionable conservative credentials have balked at the idea of risking a government shutdown to defund the law. They say there’s not realistic path to victory with the “defund” strategy.
DeMint disagrees.
“The only leverage Republicans have is to not fund it,” he quipped. “They need to pass a funding bill that funds the government, but doesn’t fund ObamaCare. They should go around the country and tell people ‘we funded the government, now it’s up to President Obama. He’s exempt congress from that law, he gave a year delay to big business, now it’s time for average Americans to get some relief.”
DeMint didn’t hold back from calling out Republican leadership for what he characterized as a lack of leadership.
“I think it’s shameful that Republicans’ whole assumption is, ‘we don’t believe enough in what we say, but we know [Obama] does. We know he’ll hold the line and shut the government down over his bill.’ It’s a matter of courage of conviction. We need more inspiring leadership. If we had Republicans in leadership who would stand up and say, ‘If there’s ever been something worth fighting for, this is it. Let’s go out and win one for the Gipper,’ Republicans would respond and be united. But instead, every time the president even mentions shutting the government down, Republican leadership runs for the hills.””
Heritage Action CEO Mike Needham, who was sitting in on our interview with DeMint, wholeheartedly agrees.
“We have a leadership problem in the allegedly conservative Party in this country,” Needham said emphatically. “McConnell and Boehner have been playing the political game for decades. They’re not committed to the conservative cause the way some of these younger guys are.”
And that, DeMint said, is what he is hearing from conservatives all over the country since the launch of their latest tour.
“These are the most energetic, electric crowds I’ve ever seen. These folks are serious.”
"The idea that the Feds. can run our healthcare is absurd. These are the same people who passed 'cash for clunkers.'" – @JimDeMint
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) August 23, 2013
One of the Heritage faithful who attended the Birmingham tour stop was Melody Warbington, one of the state’s most involved Tea Party activists. Warbington told Yellowhammer over the weekend that the 500 grassroots conservatives who attended the event reacted strongly to finding out that no members of Alabama’s congressional delegation have signed on to the defund ObamaCare movement.
“I think most of us left with a renewed sense of hope that ‘We the People’ have the will to remind those in DC & Montgomery that they work for us,” she said. “If our reps are going to go around the state claiming to support conservative principles, it’s time they started voting like it.”
Heritage Action CEO Mike Needham said they chose to come to Birmingham because of the potential they see in Alabama’s delegation.
“Alabama is one of the most important stops on this trip. There’s so much potential for Alabama’s delegation to lead in Washington, D.C. We especially wanted to be here to motivate people here to call their member of Congress and go to their town halls during the August recess. Alabama should be leading this fight.”
DeMint closed by saying he hopes conservatives don’t lose their sense of urgency about getting rid of ObamaCare.
“We need to act now,” he said. “This could be the last chance to stop it.”
Follow Cliff on Twitter @Cliff_Sims
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