Jim DeMint on John McCain: “He Betrayed Republican Principles”

John McCain met with Barack Hussein Obama today and announced that he will work closely with the in-coming administration. As Rush Limbaugh put it: "That scares the hell out of me!"

One Senator who will not be working to facilitate big government, socialist solutions to every problem facing the nation is South Carolina's valiant, conservative US Senator, Jim DeMint. In speaking to GOP officials gathered in Myrtle Beach on Friday, Senator DeMint made clear that it was the McCain campaign's failure to offer principled, conservative alternatives to those advanced by the socialists that led to his defeat.

Peter Hamby:

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (CNN) — South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint on Friday became one of the first high-profile Republicans to publicly criticize John McCain following his electoral defeat, blaming the Arizona senator for betraying conservative principles in his quest for the White House.

The conservative senator, speaking to a group of GOP officials gathered in Myrtle Beach at a conference on the future of the Republican Party, described how the party had strayed from its own "brand," which, according to DeMint, should represent freedom, religious-based values and limited government.

"We have to be honest, and there's a lot of blame to go around, but I have to mention George Bush, and I have to mention Ted Stevens, and I'm afraid I even have to mention John McCain," he said.

DeMint offered a long list of complaints about McCain's record in the Senate and on the campaign trail.

"McCain, who is proponent of campaign finance reform that weakened party organizations and basically put George Soros in the driver's seat," DeMint said. "His proposal for amnesty for illegals. His support of global warming, cap-and-trade programs that will put another burden on our economy. And of course, his embrace of the bailout right before the election was probably the nail in our coffin this last election. And he has been an opponent of drilling in ANWR, at a time when energy is so important. It really didn't fit the label, but he was our package."