December 14, 2009
Letter From Washington
Pushing Republicans to the Right
By ALBERT R. HUNT

The broadcasting entertainers Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, while influential with conservatives, Republican strategists explain, aren’t officeholders or political decision makers. Jim DeMint is.

The Republican senator from South Carolina is a force moving the party to the right on big issues. He is actively endorsing conservative insurgents over established party candidates from Florida to California. He’s a favorite of the grass-roots “tea partyâ€