Racist Immigration Disaster As Jim DeMint Botches His Heritage Debut

[DonViejo]

by Jamelle Bouie May 12, 2013 4:45 AM EDT

The playbook that worked so well for the conservative senator and think tank in 2007 backfired this year, writes Jamelle Bouie.

The Heritage Foundation was supposed to be where Jim DeMint expanded his influence. Drawing on the lessons of his term-and-change in the United States Senate representing South Carolina – DeMint stunned Washington by resigning on January 1 to take the helm of the influential, nonprofit think tank – he would use the new post to shape the national debate on a whole host of issues, and bring his brand of right-wing conservatism to bear on the Republican Party.

If moving from the Senate to a think tank seems like a step down, consider the frustrations of working in a legislature. You need to build compromise with other lawmakers, defer to party leaders, make disclosures on what you raise and what you spend, and satisfy constituent problems. It takes a lot to do this for six years, much less twelve. And given the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizen’s United—which shifted money and power from elected officials to independent groups—it’s no surprise that DeMint decided to step up from the Senate to Heritage.

But less than a week after the disastrous rollout of the Heritage case against immigration reform – effectively his big debut in his new role – it seems that DeMint may have made a big miscalculation.

Of the issues where DeMint could flex his muscles as president of Heritage, immigration wasn’t a bad choice. After all, it was only six years ago that Heritage Foundation—and DeMint, in the Senate—led the fight against George W. Bush’s proposal for reform, which—like the current “Gang of Eight” bill—contained provisions for border security, a guest worker program, and a path to citizenship. At the time, Heritage attacked the Bush proposal as “amnesty” and issued reports warning that it would draw 100 million new immigrants and vastly expand the welfare rolls. When the bill failed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, DeMint declared, “the American people won today.”

full article
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/12/racist-immigration-disaster-as-jim-demint-botches-his-heritage-debut.html