DeMint: Obama "world’s best salesman of socialism"

Talk of an impending socialist takeover of the U.S., and taking to the streets to stop it, is a frequent occurrence at CPAC.

Published February 27, 2009 4:50PM (EST)

Appearing at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., told attendees that they face a tough battle over the next few years, as they're facing off against President Obama, "the world's best salesman of socialism."

Of course, in a fight this tough, you have to consider drastic measures. So, DeMint said, it's possible that conservatives will have to "take to the streets to stop America’s slide into socialism."

As CNN notes, DeMint isn't the only prominent politician who's been talking about socialism at CPAC. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee did the same thing on Thursday, saying that "the Union of American Socialist Republics is being born" and that "Lenin and Stalin would love" the government's ongoing bailouts of the banking industry. (Don't forget notorious Marxist Alan Greenspan.)

It's true that DeMint and Huckabee are preaching to the choir here, and that-- even for the GOP -- CPAC is very, very conservative. But still: This is a gathering of people who will have a big hand in setting the Republican Party's message. And it seems like just screaming "socialism!" at every turn probably isn't the best way back to power.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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Jim Demint R-s.c. Mike Huckabee