STANDING UP TO THE NEW MCCARTHYISM: GOP senators may boycott hearing on for-profit schools. Well, not McCarthyism, exactly — but the defense of a traditional Democratic constituency against new forms of competition. “Republicans members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee last week sent a letter to Sen. Tom Harkin, Iowa Democrat, the committee chairman, protesting his handling of previous hearings on the subject and objecting to what they characterize as a merciless assault by Democrats on for-profit institutions. Agreeing that skyrocketing tuition rates and the rising number of student-loan defaults are serious concerns, Republicans want Mr. Harkin to focus on finding solutions for all colleges and universities, not just nontraditional ones.”

Yes, it’s not as if overpromising, overcharging and underdelivering are problems from which the traditional university sector is exempt.