DeMint: Tea Party "Most Positive Thing" for U.S. "In a While"

On "Washington Unplugged" Thursday, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) said the tea party movement is the "most positive thing to happen to this country in a while."

"I think the tea party movement is much more than a political party and it certainly shouldn't join any political party," he told moderator John Dickerson from the Conservative Political Action Committee conference in Washington.

As a signer of the "Mount Vernon Statement," DeMint said that the U.S. Constitution has been under attack for years and argued that President Obama adds fuel to the fire with his stimulus and health care plans.

"The federal government is just not capable of doing the things that President Obama has promised," he said adding when pushed that "the policy's that [Obama] has put forward are clearly out of the bounds of my understanding of the constitution."

On pork barrel spending and earmarks in Congressional legislation, DeMint said that "we need to cut the pork. It leads us to vote for a lot of bills that should not be voted for."

"That's for both parties," he added.

Watch the show above, which includes the full interview with DeMint and one with the Daily Beast's John Avlon on his new book "Wingnuts: How the Lunatic Fringe is Hijacking America."

More Coverage from CPAC:

Dick Cheney Urged to Run for President at CPAC
Marco Rubio: We Should Obstruct Democrats' Agenda
Mitt Romney: Obama's Agenda Is "Reckless"

"Washington Unplugged" appears live on CBSNews.com each weekday at 12:30 p.m. ET. Click here to check out previous episodes.