DeMint: Leaders should endorse conservative treatise or 'be replaced'

A prominent conservative senator said that Washington political leaders should "be replaced" if they do not back a document of conservative principles signed Wednesday.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) deemed it necessary that politicians endorse the Mount Vernon Statement, a document outlining a vision of "constitutional conservatism" backed by a number of right-wing activists.

"If our leaders cannot agree to the Mount Vernon Statement, they are part of the problem and should be replaced," DeMint tweeted.

The South Carolina senator has clashed multiple times with Republican leaders on how best to win in the 2010 midterm elections. 

DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund has backed several primary candidates who are running to the right of establishment Republican candidates, some of whom have been given the tacit backing of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).

He has also called out party leaders because he says they have not done enough to help conservative candidates. In December DeMint, who is a favorite of Tea Party activists, said party leaders have strayed too far to the left.

Democrats are already dubbing it a "litmus test" for conservative leaders. Democratic National Committee spokesperson Brandi Hoffine tweeted "a litmus test by any other name is still a litmus test."

The attack references the conservative litmus test proposed at the Republican National Committee meetings for GOP candidates. The idea was in essence shot down at their winter meeting this month after being panned by Democrats and many Republicans.

The offices of Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio) have not responded to requests for comment.

House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.), who is popular among conservative activists, issued a statement commending the document.

The Mount Vernon Statement was signed by a number of high-profile conservative activists, such as Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist and Media Research Center President Brent Bozelll. More than 80 leaders attended the signing at President George Washington's old estate.

Former Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese has also signed on to the document, which is being billed as a philosophical treatise for conservatives. 

"A Constitutional conservatism based on first principles provides the framework for a consistent and meaningful policy agenda," it reads.

Cross-posted to the Twitter Room

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