DeMint couldn't even get grasshopper James Inhofe (96% vs DeMint's self-defined 100% purity) to support him on as bill to end legislative earmarks for a year.
Judging from a Senate vote today, he's where he wanted to end up:
The Senate voted 68-29 against an amendment by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., to impose a one-year moratorium on earmarks. Twenty-four fellow Republicans voted for DeMint's measure, while 15 GOP senators voted against it.
The vote came six days after House Democratic leaders banned earmarks to defense contractors and other private companies, limiting them to state or local governments and nonprofit groups.
DeMint and fellow conservative Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., engaged in a brief but fierce debate on the Senate floor before the vote.
Inhofe, otherwise a close ally of DeMint, said prohibiting lawmakers from directing money to their states would give more power to President Barack Obama and the executive agency heads he appoints.
"All you end up doing if you're successful is giving all this to Obama," Inhofe said.
DeMint retorted that Congress can use its oversight power to restrain executive spending.
"Folks, we have every power here by the way we appropriate to disallow the use of funds for certain things," DeMint said.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/16/1532837/senate-one-year-hiatus-on-earmarks.html#ixzz0iPAEnjNk
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