Americans for Prosperity Foundation recognized Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina this month with the third annual Washington Award, given to an individual “who has contributed in a powerful and unique way to defending our economic freedoms,” said Foundation Chairman David Koch.

“Sometimes there’s more to being a political leader than simply saying no to a bad idea or even presenting your proactive solutions. There are times when a true leader has to be willing to take an action, on principle, that angers all of his colleagues. Jim DeMint is always prepared to do just that,” Koch said, praising DeMint for his stands against government overreach.

DeMint received the award “For your consistently principled leadership in the Senate, for your sterling free-market voting record, for your willingness to be an oftentimes lonely voice in the wilderness and for your demonstrated commitment to defending the American dream,” Koch said.

Accepting the award, DeMint said it was activists like those with AFP Foundation that keep him going.

“I don’t mind who’s against me up here,” he said. “As long as when I leave this Washington Beltway and go out across the country and people keep doing what they’re doing and they say, ‘DeMint, keep fighting, we got your back’ and they grab my arm and they say ‘What can I do? What can I do?’”

He said Americans have the common sense to know when Washington is going in the wrong direction: “When they try to convince us that government works, we know that government’s the problem. We know government can’t run our auto companies, our health care system, our education system. We know what works.”

DeMint encouraged the crowd of more than 1,500 to stay active. “What you’re doing really is our only hope, but it’s the only hope we need. Because when Americans stand up, things change.”

DeMint accepted the award at Americans for Prosperity Foundation’s Defending the American Dream Summit, which took place October 2-3 in Arlington, Va. Video of the presentation and his acceptance speech can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeTteTtqq3U.