DeMint views ticket as hope for reform

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint said the GOP ticket offers much more hope to advance one of his favorite causes — eliminating congressional earmarks — than the others.

And that's the case, he said, even though recent reports have noted that when Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin served as a mayor, she hired a lobbying firm to help divert almost $27 million in federal earmarks to her small town.

"When I was a congressman, I asked for earmarks, too. I'm a recovering earmarker," DeMint said, adding that Palin began to see the problems with earmarks as governor and eventually fought against one of the most infamous of them all, the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere" on the Alaskan coast.

"She turned down that Bridge to Nowhere and told the federal government to keep their earmarks," he said.

DeMint, whose home is in the most socially conservative corner of South Carolina, said news that Palin's unmarried teenage daughter is pregnant is obviously unfortunate but not a reason to oppose her.

"It's something a number of American families have had to deal with. I think in the Bible Belt, they're much more likely to show grace and understanding of a situation like that while knowing that it's one of our country's most serious problems — unwed births," he said. "It sounds like the Palin family is going to deal with that in a positive way. ... Certainly you're not going to see evangelicals condemning fellow sinners."

DeMint said he has raised four children, and he can sympathize with Palin, who is raising five. "You always have different problems facing you that are caused by children and parents, but to hold the family together and work through the problems is really what makes a difference, not that you have problems."

Reach Robert Behre at rbehre@postandcourier.com or 937-5771.