Free Republic

Utah Sen. Bob Bennett’s defeat Saturday underscored what many Republicans already know to be true: Their 2008 “yes” vote for the Troubled Asset Relief Program is no asset to their campaigns. The Wall Street bailout has turned into a millstone for many Republicans who voted for the $700 billion fund. The vote is proving to be a crushing burden in GOP primaries for those carrying it. Nowhere was it clearer than in Utah, where, as Bennett pleaded Saturday for the chance to serve a fourth term, a smattering of delegates at the Utah Republican convention serenaded him with the chant...

For all the phony talk coming out of the White House this past year about transparency and accountability, there actually is an institution outside of the executive branch which does a pretty darn good job at this most of the time: the Inspector General system. In fact, IG’s may do too good of a job by producing lengthy and meticulously detailed reports, difficult even for politically-attuned readers to digest, and which usually do not contain the types of partisan zingers that attract a lot of media attention. Yesterday the Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) released their...