DeMint to GOP: Don't Drop Social Issues

In a speech to the Values Voter Summit, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint argued that standing for God meant standing for smaller government.

The challenge facing the Values Voter Summit is how it can keep social issues relevant when Republican candidates in many races are emphasizing economic and fiscal issues. South Carolina’s Senator Jim DeMint hit on a note that will probably be repeated by other speakers at the conference, and which Mike Huckabee touched on earlier in his remarks. When candidates talk about abortion, marriage, and “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, they aren’t only talking about social issues, “We’re talking about fiscal issues” argued DeMint.

DeMint’s speech opened with a subtle reference to Christine O’Donnell’s win in Delaware. “Some of our establishment friends aren’t happy with you or me.” While this upset win was important, it was not the meat of his speech. The meat of his speech dealt with how to reconcile the new interest in fiscal conservatism with the social conservatism that defines DeMint’s sort of Republican.

The framing device for his speech was a campaign event DeMint was recently at, where a young Republican came up to him and argued that if the GOP really wanted to win young voters, they needed to “drop” social issues. DeMint wondered, are “values” really chasing voters away?

The DeMint logic is that the fiscal situation is a mess because of a lack of values. DeMint touched on the often invoked meme in Republican circles that children born to unwed mothers become a significant cost to society due to the support they need, and argued that broken families were the result of costly welfare policies.

DeMint also framed the choice facing voters as between a government that crowds out religion, or a government that is small enough to let religion assert itself: “When you have a big government, you are going to have a little God.” Conversely, a "big God" can be present when you have a small government. DeMint wanted to make clear that standing for God and against gay marriage is part and parcel of lower taxes.

DeMint concluded by talking about the Tea Party movement, and the election of conservative candidates he supported in primaries. “You’ve lectured me about a big tent” he stated and referencing the 9/12 rallies said: “1,000,000 people brought that big tent to Washington.”

However, the candidate he spoke about with the most praise was not O’Donnell, it was Joe Miller in Alaska. The defeat of an appropriator known for pork projects was more significant then O’Donnell’s recent upset. Evidence again that even at the Values Voter Summit, fiscal issues are fresh on everyone's minds.

DeMint did not mention whether or not any of the candidates he lauded (Rand Paul, Sharron Angle, Joe Miller, or Christine O’Donnell) would actually win, but based on what he said, winning was besides the point: “This is no longer voting for the least worst option on the ballot.” These candidates would be “standing up for Americans who for years have felt ignored.” The applause he received showed the auditorium felt the same way.

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