Bennett says GOP short on ideas

Ousted Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) had some tough words for his party on Wednesday, saying it is lacking firm policy ideas. 

In a speech before a Republican group, Bennett said that the GOP has many slogans, but few ideas. 

“As I look out at the political landscape now, I find plenty of slogans on the Republican side, but not very many ideas,” Bennett said, according to the Salt Lake City Tribune. “Indeed, if you raise specific ideas and solutions, as I’ve tried to do on health care with [Oregon Democratic Sen.] Ron Wyden, you are attacked with the same vigor as we’ve seen in American politics all the way back to slavery and polygamy; you are attacked as being a wimp, insufficiently pure, and unreliable.”

Bennett, who was left off the primary ballot by the Utah Republican Party convention amid criticism of his record, has been defiant in his final months in the upper chamber. 

After his Tea Party-spurred defeat in May, Bennett said his loss was not "logical" and later advised his successor that he will likely not have much influence on Capitol Hill. 

Observers have pointed to Bennett's defeat as a sign of widespread anti-incumbent anger this midterm election cycle. Bennett came under fire partly over his negotiations with Wyden on healthcare and his vote for the banking bailouts in 2008.

Even though he has backed Tea Party-endorsed candidate Tim Bridgewater, he expressed worry that his successor will be too beholden to the party base. 

“The concern I have is that ideology and a demand for absolute party purity endangers our ability to govern once we get into office,” Bennett said.

He said that both parties are simply out to win elections and not produce good ideas, but said that the GOP has the momentum to take back the Senate. 

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