Sticking Up for TARP

Why are so few Republicans willing to defend their votes in favor of TARP?

It may be because he isn't running for re-election, but Senator Judd Gregg became one of the first Republicans to vocally defend his TARP vote unapologetically today. Speaking on MSNBC, the GOP's ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee responded to a question about the critics of TARP in the bluntest of terms, stating simply “Well, they're wrong.”

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Voting in favor of TARP was the beginning of the end for a number of Republicans.  Minnesota's Norm Coleman lost in the general election in part due to a depressed conservative voter turnout resulting from anger about the bank bailout. Most recently, Senator Bob Bennett and Rep. Bob Inglis both lost their primaries to candidates who railed against TARP while offering few ideas for what they might have done differently besides simply voting no (and destroying the economy in the process).

Judd Gregg later observed that “TARP did what it was supposed to do — it basically saved the financial system on Main Street, too.”

More Republicans like Judd Gregg need to come forward and challenge their opponents in the Tea Party crowd to elaborate on their opposition to TARP. Too many candidates are getting off easy on this question. If they wish to oppose TARP, fine, but what would they have done instead? If their answer is simply “I would have voted no and let the system work itself out,” that person ought not be given the power to vote in Congress.

Follow Jeb Golinkin on Twitter: @Jgolinkin