DeMint: 'I'm Not with Boehner'

After announcing he would leave the Senate next month to become president of the Heritage Foundation, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) reiterated that he did not agree with House Speaker John Boehner’s proposal to avert the fiscal cliff, which included $800 billion in tax revenue and no serious structural reforms to entitlements. 

“I’m not with Boehner,” DeMint said on CNN’s “The Situation Room.” “This government doesn’t need any more money, this country needs less government.”

Frustrated with establishment Republicans in Congress, DeMint said he was thrilled to head the Heritage Foundation because he could “convince Americans that our ideas and our policies will make their lives better” from outside the halls of Congress.

Earlier in the week, Heritage Action, the sister organization of DeMint’s new employer, rebuked Boehner’s counteroffer. 

DeMint also said Boehner’s plan would “destroy American jobs and allow politicians in Washington to spend even more, while not reducing our $16 trillion debt by a single penny.”

“If neither party leadership is going to put forward a serious plan to balance the budget and pay down the debt, we should end this charade,” DeMint said. 

The Senator also noted that Obama has not put a “serious plan on the table” even though he has known about the looming fiscal cliff for a year.

While DeMint has always been a fierce critic of establishment Republicans from within Congress, he will be even freer to disagree with his party — like he did on CNN on Thursday.