DeMint: Americans becoming more informed

FLORENCE — U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint said Americans are becoming more informed — a scary thought to some in Washington, D.C.

“It’s been exciting for me to get out of Washington and go around the state to town hall meetings and be informed and engaged about what’s going on,” he said Thursday during a town hall meeting at Francis Marion University. “Frankly, I think a number of people in Washington think the American people are either stupid or they’re asleep.

“What’s been happening across America is that people are proving they aren’t stupid and they aren’t asleep. And that is a fearful thing for people in Washington who think they can vote one way up there and then come home and talk a different game back here.”

DeMint said he is glad there’s been a national debate on health care because there are many things that need to be done to make the current system work better.

“We need to make sure every American has access to an affordable health insurance policy,” he said. “But the way to go toward that is not a government takeover. No matter how you describe what the president is trying to do, it is a government takeover of health care. Creating a government tax-subsidized plan is going to run private insurers out of business.”

DeMint said health care has been his top priority. He worked in the field before he was elected to Congress.

“But unfortunately, the president and the Democrats have for years blocked things that would have made health insurance more available and affordable,” he said. “They’ve been against interstate competition, they’ve been against fair tax treatment to people who don’t get their health insurance at work, they’ve been against health savings accounts, they’ve been against small business plans that allow small employers to come together.

“Now they think we have to have a government takeover. We don’t need to replace what’s working, we need to fix what’s broken. So the Obama plan is a step in the wrong direction and I’ve said so publicly and I’m going to continue to fight against it in hopes that we stop what they’re doing and get people to sit down talk about some real solutions.”

DeMint said the Cash for Clunkers program is a good example of the federal government trying to manage an economic activity.

“It should give you a little idea on how much more complex something like health care would be run under the government plan,” he said. “This was a relatively simple thing to do. They said they needed a billion dollars for a six-month promotion. Within a week they were out of money. They wanted two billion more and they had to have it immediately.”

DeMint said the car dealers are starting to understand how doctors have felt for years in regard to “how do you get paid for what you do?”

“A lot of them have gone way out on a limb and given away hundreds of thousands of dollars and now they wondering if they will ever get paid,” he said. “This is a good example of what Reagan said, ‘Once you get in bed with the federal government, you should expect more than a good night’s sleep.’”

DeMint also said he was “real disappointed” in Gov. Mark Sanford, but he stopped short of saying he should resign.

“I continue to hope that the governor will do the right thing for our state and I’ll just have to wait and see,” he said. “I’m not going to publicly say one way or another what he should do. I’m just hoping he will do what’s best for our state.”