See yaa,.......

[J.R.E.]

       Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/conservative-sen-jim-demint-resigning-from-senate-to-head-conservative-think-tank/2012/12/06/3f815f26-3fbe-11e2-a2d9-822f58ac9fd5_story.html



Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), a leading conservative voice in the Senate, will resign his seat in January to become the next president of the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, a sudden move with far-reaching implications.

“It’s been an honor to serve the people of South Carolina in the United States Senate for the past eight years, but now it’s time for me to pass the torch to someone else and take on a new role in the fight for America’s future,” DeMint said in a statement Thursday morning.


Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), a favorite among tea party activists, said Thursday he was resigning to take the helm of the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation.


“I’m leaving the Senate now, but I’m not leaving the fight,” he continued. “I’ve decided to join The Heritage Foundation at a time when the conservative movement needs strong leadership in the battle of ideas. No organization is better equipped to lead this fight and I believe my experience in public office as well as in the private sector as a business owner will help Heritage become even more effective in the years to come.”

DeMint’s departure comes during a critical moment for the conservative movement and leaves uncertainty among its ranks in the Senate. After the tea party movement left a deep impact on the 2010 midterm elections, its influence faded in 2012. Meanwhile, the debate over the “fiscal cliff” is raging in Congress, with Democrats pressing Republicans to join them in supporting tax increases for the wealthy, a proposal conservatives have decried.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news of DeMint’s resignation. DeMint will succeed Ed Feulner, who has been president of the foundation since 1977. Feulner will depart in April.

“This is a crucial moment for America and for the conservative movement — and we are seizing it,” said Thomas A. Saunders, chairman of the Heritage Foundation’s board. “Ed Feulner has made Heritage not just a permanent institution on Capitol Hill, but the flagship organization of the entire conservative movement.”

DeMint elaborated on his decision in an interview with conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh on Thursday afternoon, underscoring a desire to use his new platform to improve the way conservatives communicate their ideas, an area where he thinks they have fallen short.

“I think the problem is, as conservatives, we have not taken enough control of our message and our ideas and communicated them directly to the American people,” he told Limbaugh. “That’s what we want to do at Heritage.”

First elected in 2004 and easily reelected in 2010, DeMint has led the conservative charge in the upper chamber, a role he has embraced and one which has often put him at odds with Republican leadership.

Seen heading to his office near the Senate chamber Thursday morning, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) did not respond to questions about DeMint, keeping to his tradition of ignoring reporter questions while walking the halls.

But McConnell later released a statement thanking DeMint, “for his uncompromising service to South Carolina and our country in the United States Senate. Jim helped provide a powerful voice for conservative ideals in a town where those principles are too often hidden beneath business as usual.”