LA Times: Hugely Popular GOP Senator 'Living on the Fringe'

Do they churn out stories telling us the deeply unpopular Barack Obama is living on the fringe? How about Nancy Pelosi, she of the approval rating closing in on single digits? Does she represent the fringe?

No, you'll never see stories telling us unpopular Democrats are on the fringe. But a popular GOP senator? Why, of course. I'm surprised I don't see the name Meghan McCain on the byline.

He has been criticized for backing candidates who may be too extreme to win, jeopardizing Republican chances for a Senate majority. And his ascent as a national conservative leader appears to be having an inverse effect on his power in Washington. Insiders consider it all but assured that DeMint will remain relegated to the fringe of his party after November.

Still, DeMint makes no adjustments to his crusade. In a political climate where an edgy electorate has little tolerance for Washington incumbency, his outsider style sells.

At a recent "tea party"-sponsored forum in his home state, DeMint did not even have to show up to receive a raucous welcome. Speaking via video, he delivered a trademark D.C.-doesn't-get-it message. Some of his Republican colleagues, he added, "won't be coming back to Washington next January."

The crowd erupted in cheers.

It is no surprise that DeMint is popular in his home state. South Carolina is home to Rep. Joe Wilson, who shouted "You lie!" at President Obama during a joint session of Congress.

The state's longer-serving senator, Lindsey Graham, has been censured by local GOP groups for not being conservative enough. Some expect South Carolina's standing will rise with DeMint's.

He's virtually unopposed in his re-election against the "fringe" Democrat Alvin Greene, is hugely popular in conservative circles and will wield even greater power come January. But in the bizarro world of the Los Angeles Times, he'ss be relegated to the fringe.

Good grief.