DeMint: We'll Ban Earmarks Right Away

With their sweeping electoral victory in hand, Republicans are committed to ending earmarks - the local-project riders to legislation - and focusing on the big national issues, a top Senate Republican said Wednesday.

"We can't have 500 congressmen and senators who think it's their job to bring home the bacon - and that's what's going to change," South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint told CBS' "The Early Show. "One of the first thing we'll do in the House and Senate is ban earmarks as Republicans - that'll get our eyes back on fixing our tax code, fixing social security and Medicare, getting America back to work."

DeMint called earmarks "that parochial interest I think gets that the focus of interest off national interests onto paving local parking lots." He said in an editorial Tuesday that the dozens of GOP congressional newcomers "can't be bribed if they're not for sale."

The conservative, Tea Party favorite DeMint was among the least surprising victors, easily dispatching his erratic challenger Alvin Green.

Full Senate Results
Full House Results
Full Governor Results

"I'm excited about what's going to happen. It's going to be, particularly in the House, it's going to be even more exciting than 1994," he said.

DeMint praised Sarah Palin as a boon to both the GOP and the country. He said that he shared her position on the possibility of running for president - he would only do so if "no one else is willing to do it."

The lesson of Tuesday's results, DeMint said, is that "America's moving back towards a Constitutional limited government and the party that carries that mantle … will be in power for a long time."

Still, DeMint said, "This is really not so much about the Republican Party as it is the American people, who realized during this election cycle that they had a lot more power than they knew they had."

"I hope that's the legacy that comes out of this election and the Tea Party movement is that the power resides in the hands of the American people," he said, "and not in the elected officials in Washington."

More on the elections:

What's Next for the Tea Party?
GOP House Exactly What Obama Wanted to Avoid
PICTURES: The New Leaders of the House
Why Key Midwest Swing States Flipped to the GOP
Rhetoric About Balancing the Budget Must now Become Reality
Did the Tea Party Cost Republicans the Senate
Pictures: Election Winners and Losers
GOP House Win "Slap in the Face" for White House
John Boehner Breaks Down in Victory Speech
Arianna Huffington Wants Obama to Get Real
Google, YouTube Election Day Trends

[010sonny]

I?m with you on stabilizing of our economy. Do not care who does it just do it. Though from Nixon to Busch republicans have not done it once. Reagan being the first president to have national debt cross over the $ trillion threshold with just under $ 2 trillion as his contribution and every republican contributing additional trillions along the way. Boehner?s pledge as he advertised it indicates $ 4 trillion increase to debt and that is not taking into account any new wars. Perhaps Iran or North Korea and returning medical cost back to monopolized insurances or continued suppression of educational systems. S.S. and Medicare suppression and a continuing of funneling of wealth to military industries to be reevaluated in the negative financings that these would produce. Republicans stabilizing our economy is similar to my expecting my hen house to increase in production after I have put a FOX in there for security.

[jd2408]

It should start with this years budget. Do it now and show us all you really mean it. What a great start that would be. Many of us will be watching and hoping the Republicans get this debt under control. Stop the waste and cut spending. No more its only a billion or only a million. It all adds up to trillions.

[blahagfsg]

yeah and i'm Cyndi Lauper!

[010sonny]

Corporations are in comption with each other. They compete for value of production from labors of the consumer. Less cost of labor greater profits and an edge on their competitors. Suppression of laborer produces unemployment for greater profit margins. Unemployment results in less consumers. Less consumers leads to recessions. Now that Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts has opened the door to unlimited donations to our politics, corporations from around the world can compete for your job. This leads corporations comption for cheap and less laborers for value of production. Unstable and disproportionate world labor and production value will produce further reduction in our local theaters of labor and unemployment. Increase in corporations anarchical systems with a lack of planned value and production distribution. Recessions and depressions to follow. Anarchy of owners of corporations to seek the demise of competitors. Cycling of warring scenarios to continue. This is what republicans consider as a change for the benefit of us ?

[010sonny]

Republicans have obtained the power they sought. Now they ?pledge? to carry on their quest once again. One example; Extend tax cuts to all at a cost of $700 billion of Unaproppaited funds. Similar to their previous methods of Unaproppaited funds acquisitions of the recent pass. Failure of that is and will continue to haunt us for decades to come.
Reminds me of what our previous Secretary Of The U.S. Treasury proclaimed on this matter. Busch administration agreed with his evaluation.
11/6/10Paulson admits deregulation has failed us all

By MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- You know things are very very bad on Wall Street when a guy like Henry Paulson -- Treasury secretary, solid Republican, and former Goldman Sachs CEO -- joins the crowd calling for more regulation over the financial markets.
Paulson spared no one in his criticism Thursday of the excesses of deregulation that has now created the worst global financial crisis in a generation, threatening the health of the U.S. economy, the savings of millions of Americans, and the survival of some of the biggest financial institutions in the world. See full story.
Wall Street and Washington both failed big time, he said. Wall Street invented new ways to make money by selling securities so complicated that no one could really follow which shell the pea was under. Fortunes were made on the paper Wall Street sold.
At the same time, Washington's watchdogs were dozing, tranquilized by the false assurance that Wall Street would police its own.
It's been obvious for years now that Wall Street could not be trusted, and finally official Washington agrees. The markets need a tougher cop to make sure that money-center banks, investment banks, credit-rating agencies, hedge funds, mortgage brokers and the rest don't let their own greed and arrogance ruin it for the rest of us.
"Regulation needs to catch up with innovation," Paulson said, and he was backed up by the rest of President Bush's working group on financial markets, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Securities and Exchange Commissioner Chris Cox. Not a commie among them.
The housing bubble wasn't a flaw; it was a predictable outcome of a system that rewarded smart people small fortunes for conjuring up ways to persuade people to borrow more than they could ever hope to pay back. All the profits were taken off the table quickly, but the staggering costs are only now being paid by homeowners, shareholders, builders and the rest of society.
Paulson's proposals won't necessarily prevent a recurrence, but they are a humble recognition that the centerpiece of two decades of Republican economic policy have failed.
-- Rex Nutting, Washington bureau chief
Republicans have not strayed from their previous agendas other than to increase the probabilities of failure. Since Nixon?s time to the present republicans have exemplified Imperialism agendas to the present with colonization strategies. Wars and recessions follows in their wake and now with Roberts Court ruling we are observing the next step they seek, into the realm of fascism. Now That Roberts has open the gates to corporations unlimited donations. Was it not Mussolini that defined fascism as the incorporation of corporations with the state? Now China, Japan, Iran, Russia are opening their wallets !! Discloser not required nor wanted by republicans. For sale, bid, bid. Now these urchins ask that you listen to their pied piper loony tuney tunes. Rubio now can tap into Arabia for additional $ ?lobby? monies.
One more small matter, that republicans will continue to pursue failed policies of their?s. Note ?pledge? of Boehner?s republic will add $4 trillion to national debt. Here we go again?

[010sonny]

Demints famous words, ? that a republican can not be bribed if he is not for sale.? Which means, republican have already been purchased and are not for sale. I wonder who purchased them? Rove?s buddies in China? Military industrialists elitist? Roberts Supreme command is that it is none of our business. Mussolini could not have said it better..

[010sonny]

Republicans have obtained the power they sought. Now they ?pledge? to carry on their quest once again. One example; Extend tax cuts to all at a cost of $700 billion of Unaproppaited funds. Similar to their previous methods of Unaproppaited funds acquisitions of the recent pass. Failure of that is and will continue to haunt us for decades to come.
Reminds me of what our previous Secretary Of The U.S. Treasury proclaimed on this matter. Busch administration agreed with his evaluation.
11/6/10Paulson admits deregulation has failed us all

By MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- You know things are very very bad on Wall Street when a guy like Henry Paulson -- Treasury secretary, solid Republican, and former Goldman Sachs CEO -- joins the crowd calling for more regulation over the financial markets.
Paulson spared no one in his criticism Thursday of the excesses of deregulation that has now created the worst global financial crisis in a generation, threatening the health of the U.S. economy, the savings of millions of Americans, and the survival of some of the biggest financial institutions in the world. See full story.
Wall Street and Washington both failed big time, he said. Wall Street invented new ways to make money by selling securities so complicated that no one could really follow which shell the pea was under. Fortunes were made on the paper Wall Street sold.
At the same time, Washington's watchdogs were dozing, tranquilized by the false assurance that Wall Street would police its own.
It's been obvious for years now that Wall Street could not be trusted, and finally official Washington agrees. The markets need a tougher cop to make sure that money-center banks, investment banks, credit-rating agencies, hedge funds, mortgage brokers and the rest don't let their own greed and arrogance ruin it for the rest of us.
"Regulation needs to catch up with innovation," Paulson said, and he was backed up by the rest of President Bush's working group on financial markets, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Securities and Exchange Commissioner Chris Cox. Not a commie among them.
The housing bubble wasn't a flaw; it was a predictable outcome of a system that rewarded smart people small fortunes for conjuring up ways to persuade people to borrow more than they could ever hope to pay back. All the profits were taken off the table quickly, but the staggering costs are only now being paid by homeowners, shareholders, builders and the rest of society.
Paulson's proposals won't necessarily prevent a recurrence, but they are a humble recognition that the centerpiece of two decades of Republican economic policy have failed.
-- Rex Nutting, Washington bureau chief
Republicans have not strayed from their previous agendas other than to increase the probabilities of failure. Since Nixon?s time to the present republicans have exemplified Imperialism agendas to the present with colonization strategies. Wars and recessions follows in their wake and now with Roberts Court ruling we are observing the next step they seek, into the realm of fascism. Now That Roberts has open the gates to corporations unlimited donations. Was it not Mussolini that defined fascism as the incorporation of corporations with the state? Now China, Japan, Iran, Russia are opening their wallets !! Discloser not required nor wanted by republicans. For sale, bid, bid. Now these urchins ask that you listen to their pied piper loony tuney tunes. Rubio now can tap into Arabia for additional $ ?lobby? monies.
One more small matter, that republicans will continue to pursue failed policies of their?s. Note ?pledge? of Boehner?s republic will add $4 trillion to national debt. Here we go again?

[steamed2]

Earmarks? That's Demint's focus, huh? Do you really think it matters if you are a Democrat or a Republican? Reading the blogs here clearly demonstrates most of you even accepted the misleading rhetoric spoon-fed to you regarding the financial melt-down. As retired financial crimes investigator, I can assure you a substantial ?paper trail? reveals exactly who is responsible for everything that happened, how could it not? Remember, all you have to do is follow the money, stupid. Ever hear of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999? Or the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000? How about the 2004 repeal of the Net Capital Rule? Anyone? Anyone? If you understood these bills and a few others like them, you would likely want to lynch every member of Congress of BOTH parties, all bought and paid for by ?big money?. And you think you have the slightest clue who is running things in this country? Go ahead, scream mindlessly at your Democratic or Republican opposite, exactly as billions of dollars in carefully contrived programming intends that you to do. If there really is a ?conspiracy? facing them, it is the loosely-knit cabal of multinational corporations and their Washington-based lobbyists, who could care less what political party you belong to, or which party?s Congressman they bribe. In 1960 there were less than a dozen ?lobbyists? in Washington D.C.! Today, there are over 3,500 registered lobbyists representing virtually every giant company in the world. This mid-season election alone generated donations topping 2 billion dollars in special interest money. TWO BILLION DOLLARS! How much of a ?conspiracy? do you need?

[earlysaid]

Well written and explained comment. I do believe the Democrats have a better agenda that is more for the middle class and is for the good of the country. The republicans just want power back and just want to get back nice and cosy with their corporate lobbyists of greed and corruption. President Obama and the Democrats are all that stands in the way of another financial crisis and another great depression with rabid republican policies that will be spending and spending and spending. That is what republicans have done every time. Then there is always the warmongering and the attack on Iran that neocons so want to do. America is sinking with tea party stupidity and republican greed and vulgar wickedness.

[bamio]

Dems LOVE earmarks. Murtha was the Dems hero. Then he choked on a PORKbone and died...

[KellyRollins]

What about Pelosi's earmark her district received of $30 million for the research of swamp frogs!!! They're becoming extinct, she proclaimed!---- "Man I want to vomit thinking of that woman and the Dems wreckless spending!"

[ODDOWL]

JIM CROW DeMint is funded and controlled by the KOch Brothers and the Corporate Bosses. He's a lackey on a chain. JIM CROW DeMint is un-American because he accepts campaign money from a foreign country.... The Confederate State of South Carolina.