Bailouts Defeat Bennett–Who Wants to Be Next?

Sen. Bob Bennett suffered a stunning defeat in his quest for re-election Saturday. And as the Senate considers the Obama/Dodd financial ‘reform’ bill, other Senators should be asking themselves if they want to be next.

Bennett, representing the most conservative state in the country, was defeated for a number of reasons but none more obvious that his steadfast support for the Wall Street Bailout. When it came to his vote for the first Bush bailout, Bennett didn’t give an inch defending it all the way to his concession speech.

As political prognosticators read the tea leaves, a CNN interview with a local Tea Party activist perhaps provides the most insightful commentary. It could not be clearer, grass roots conservatives see support of bailouts as anathema to free market principles; period. Politicians have now been formally warned — support for bailouts of corporations and big banks is political suicide.

The real question is — is anyone listening. The Senate is considering a bailout bill that makes the TARP vote that defeated Sen. Bennett look like chump change. Sen. Corker, Collins and Grassley pay close attention here. The Obama/Dodd bill is a bailout bill that favors big banks and Wall Street over Main Street. It’s no different than supporting TARP — just more expensive and now contains a laundry list of intrusive Big Brother provisions like a national database that tracks citizens’ deposits and withdrawals.

And the bill is getting worse by the minute. Sen. Kay Hagan is preparing an amendment that will create another national database to track and approve or disapprove individual installment loans. Yes, you heard that right. Under the Hagan amendment, individual citizens would need the approval of the Federal government before taking out an installment loan.

Hagan’s amendment would limit consumers to no more than six and as few as one loan per year during a 12-month period for “covered” loans which include even some retail company credit plans. So for example, if a consumer uses Home Depot’s installment plan to buy a washing machine, he better pray the dishwasher doesn’t break because under Hagan’s amendment our consumer may not be able to buy a dishwasher (or anything else) for 275 days.

Of course, Hagan’s amendment exempts big banks and “traditional lenders” from these provisions.

Federalism has been so decimated that U.S. Senators apparently have no second thoughts enacting such an amendment. But Bennett’s ouster should give every member of the US Senate pause. Bennett may have represented a conservative state but support for bailouts has been clearly opposed by the majority of the electorate from across the political spectrum. Voting for the Financial Reform bill is like voting for TARP all over again — even worse.