Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) wasted no time in taking his own party to task for its Election Day defeats, warning that the GOP better embrace a more conservative image or “change of command at the highest levels or our current leaders” will be necessary.

In a statement released by DeMint’s office Tuesday night, the conservative flamethrower argues that the defeats suffered by the Republican Party on Tuesday night are a direct result of what he terms the “Democrat-lite strategy of higher spending and bigger government.”

“This election reflects a failure of Republicans to keep their conservative promises … [Democrats] ran against President Bush and congressional Republicans whose image was tarnished by scandals and broken promises,” he argued.

DeMint, chairman of the Senate Steering Committee, blamed the Republicans’ use of earmarks and their support for the $700 billion financial bailout this fall for much of their electoral problems and called for a return to “traditional values.”

DeMint has become increasingly at odds with his leadership over the past year. But his latest call for a dramatic change in the GOP’s positions or in its leadership is by far his most hostile public statement.