So let’s get this straight.There’s vacancy on the Senate Finance Committee. Tom Coburn is the only significant fiscal conservative on the committee.Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) had the seniority to get the job, but:

“Oh gosh, I’ve got all the stuff I can stand,” Burr told The Hill when asked last week whether he was interested in the spot.Burr’s spokeswoman said last month: “Senator Burr has no interest in changing his committee assignments.”

In fact, Burr has been pretty consistent that he had no interest in moving to Finance.So FreedomWorks made this a major push — as big as Rep. Flake for Appropriations in the House — directing thousands of calls to Senator McConnell’s office.Mark Levin pushed it and had a call blitz to Senator McConnell.The message was clear, the Tea Party and GOP grassroots wanted a senator on Finance to deal with taxes, healthcare, and entitlement reform. Senator DeMint has taken the lead on Obamacare repeal, the GOP health care alternative, pushing for Paul Ryan-style medicare voucher reform, and working on flat tax reform. Instead of tipping his hat to tea party, Senator McConnell pressured and convinced Senator Richard Burr to change his mind.Today, McConnell named Burr to Finance giving a highly valuable position to a guy whose Senate career is marked by being pro-amnesty, pro-TARP, and an author of S-CHIP.