DeMint: Obama will "get his wish" to raise taxes

(CBS News) Senator Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said President Obama is likely to win the tax debate over the "fiscal cliff," which means taxes will go up next year. 

"He's going to get his wish," DeMint said Thursday on "CBS This Morning." "We're going to be raising taxes."

President Obama insists that any deal to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff" include an increase of tax rates for households making more than $250,000. "He'll probably get his tax increases one way or another," DeMint said.

DeMint went on to argue that tax increases are going to be bad for the economy but admitted that Republican efforts to avoid them might be ineffective. 

"It's hard to work with someone who is intentionally trying to take us over this cliff," he said. "The president's proposal is not a plan, it's not a solution," he added, calling it "a political trophy."

DeMint is a vocal leader of the tea party movement and announced his retirement from the Senate four years before his term is up. At the end of the year, he is set to become the president of the conservative think tank, Heritage Foundation. He said on "CBS This Morning" that he is leaving because the Republican Party has not done enough to "convince" Americans that a smaller government is ideal.

"This government doesn't need more money. This country needs less government," he said.