The Associated Press offers up today's must-read piece on what it means to be a Republican.

They offer us an in-depth look into State Auditor David Vaudt's investigations, markedly up from his predecessor, where he has rooted out nearly $7 million in taxpayer fraud in just five years.

That's astounding.

His office has conducted nearly 100 special investigations, and in too many instances, they have found that your tax dollars are being misspent, misused or worse.  Think about the thousands and thousands of unchecked ledgers out there, all purporting to effectively manage your tax dollars.  Auditor Vaudt is not afraid to get into the nitty-gritty details, even finding a case of $250 misappropriated in the town of Jamaica.

Vaudt sums up civic responsibility in this way:

"It's taxpayer dollars, and every fraud that occurs destroys some of the trust that citizens have in government," he said. "I think it's so important that we set the tone that we don't tolerate fraud, that we investigate it ... and there are consequences for people who do that."

That is awesome.

What a concept - accountability and consequences for our elected officials, at every level.  Hardly witch hunts, Vaudt's investigations root out government at its worst - and unfortunately, we've come to expect wasteful spending as the norm from our elected officials.

Not any more.  Not with Dave Vaudt around.