While many other states are applying for extra Federal funds to maintain their unemployment insurance systems the governor of South Carolina marches to a different drummer.

In a state that has been hard hit by the current slump he is convinced that unemployment insurance fund is going broke because of waste and fraud. In an attempt to starve the beast he has refused to ask for an available federal bailout:

For weeks, Mr. Sanford, newly elected as head of the Republican Governors Association and known for being a fierce free-market foe of government spending, stuck to his stand, questioning the probity of the South Carolina Employment Security Commission and demanding a new audit of the agency.

After being blasted by his fellow Republicans and the South Carolina he has relented.

Ah. The party of ideas!