Jim DeMint was ‘just trying to be nice’ when he defended Romney on health care

We told you this morning about Jim DeMint's surprise defense of Mitt Romney's health care plan. Well, now it looks like the South Carolina senator--one of the most influential lawmakers advancing the tea party's electoral agenda--is doing a little backpedaling.

An unnamed source "close" to DeMint tells The Hill's Michael O'Brien, who authored the original story, that the tea party leader "would never consider" endorsing Romney in 2012 unless he repudiates the Massachusetts health care law.

That seems like a wild departure from what DeMint first said. He originally told The Hill he believes Democrats in Massachusetts were to blame for the bill, not Romney, and added he had actually supported the former governor in '08 because of his health care stance.

"It's obvious Jim was just trying to be nice to the guy he backed over McCain, as many conservatives did in 2008," the source now tells The Hill. "But he would never consider backing Romney again unless he admits that his Massachusetts healthcare plan was a colossal mistake."

The sudden change of heart perhaps isn't surprising. DeMint was, or at least had been, one of the few Republicans to defend Romney on the health care. But as a conservative leader looking to expand his own influence over the 2012 campaign, DeMint would have been at odds with many of his tea party supporters, who have vocally opposed "Romneycare" because of its similarities with President Obama's health care law.

(Photo of DeMint: Win McNamee/Getty Images)