Three term US Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT) was ousted as a candidate for the seat he currently holds at the state Republican convention on May 8. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, saw what may be the end of her term as head of state, as the CDU seems headed for defeat in the nation's largest regional elections, North Rhine-Westfalia.

Despite his rock solid right win credentials, Bennett's vote for the 2008 bailout has haunted him and is said to have been a major factor in his third place finish in the Senate selection process. Merkel saw her popularity drop six points after committing German money to the Greek bailout.

Corporate media attributed Bennett's humiliation to the "Tea Party" movement, an artificial creation of DC lobbyist Dick Armey, as if to minimize the real significance of the loss - broad based anger at the bailouts. After all, did the Tea Partiers show up in North Rhine-Westfalia?

We're in for a fascinating and tumultuous series of primaries. For the first time, we will be able to measure the blowback from the the reflexive approvals of bailouts, which began shortly after the first bailout proposal went down to defeat 228 to 205 in the US House of Representatives, September 29, 2008. After that, it has been smooth sailing for with the ship of state delivering trillions in cash and credit to Wall Street while citizens got crumbs.