TPMDC

DeMint Calls For ‘Big Showdown’ On Debt Ceiling (VIDEO)

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) tells Human Events the next big fight in Congress will be over spending, and called for a ‘big showdown’ over raising the country’s debt ceiling.

“We need to have a showdown at this point that we are not going to increase our debt ceiling anymore,” he said. “We are going to cut things necessary to stay within the current levels, which is over $14 trillion. This needs to be a big showdown.”

On Meet The Press yesterday, South Carolina’s other Senator, Lindsey Graham, said he would not vote to raise the debt ceiling “until I see a plan in place that will deal with our long-term debt obligations, starting with Social Security.” He demanded cuts in discretionary spending to bring it back down to 2008 levels.

DeMint, who Human Events recently named their “Conservative of the Year,” also called for a balanced budget amendment to “force us to make the hard decisions.”

Watch:

Eric Lach

Eric Lach is a reporter for TPM. From 2010 to 2011, he was a news writer in charge of the website’s front page. He has previously written for The Daily, NewYorker.com, GlobalPost and other publications. He can be reached at ericl(at)talkingpointsmemo.com

Top Stories From TPM

Ohio Republicans Push Law To Penalize Colleges For Helping Students Vote

Oklahoma GOP Sen. Tom Coburn Will Seek To Offset Tornado Aid

Wow, This is Pretty Epic

Secret Service Looking Into Radio Host’s Graphic Violent Comments About Obama, Hillary Clinton

Florida Man Shoots Himself While Bowling

VA GOP's Attorney General Nominee Wanted Women To Report Miscarriages To Police Or Face Jail Time

Disqus Conversations

Click here to read the Disqus Commenting FAQ.

Editor & Publisher

Josh Marshall

Managing Editor

David Kurtz

Associate Editor

Nick Martin

Assistant Editor

Igor Bobic

Reporters

Brian Beutler

Sahil Kapur

Eric Lach

Hunter Walker

Frontpage Editor

Zoë Schlanger

News Writers

Tom Kludt

Video Editor

Michael Lester

General Manager & General Counsel

Millet Israeli

VP, Ad Sales

Bruce Ellerstein

Associate Publisher

Kyle Leighton

Assistant To The Publisher

Joe Ragazzo

Designer/Developer

Matthew Wozniak

Design Associate

Christopher O’Driscoll