McCain Gets This One Correct; Hewitt Wrong

While my favorite talk radio show is Hugh Hewitt’s, and his blog is a daily must read, I’m tired of all-Mitt, all-the-time. I admire Hewitt’s dedication to any cause he takes on, but I think he’s gone over the edge now.

Today’s post by Hewitt, about “McCain's Opposition To Comprehensive Catastrophe Insurance,” is uncharacteristic nonsense and, worse, entirely contradicts federalist principle and spending restraint.

McCain opposes a federal reinsurance of state pools for catastrophic disasters. Hewitt says:

Now the Arizona maverick has rebuked Florida voters for looking for federal help on an issue of extraordinary concern to all Americans who live in regions the insurance industry would rather not cover. While there are certainly a spectrum of approaches to the problem of recurring natural disasters, McCain's blanket rejection of any federal role outside of FEMA's is the sort of political tin ear that underscores why Democrats say they fear his candidacy even as they realize he is the much weaker general election candidate than Giuliani or Romney.

It is within the jurisdiction of the states to curtail construction in known high-danger zones, like the Florida and Gulf coastline and the California delta. Yet, year after year, wipe-out after wipe-out the states allow reconstruction there, using many billions of taxpayers’ dollars from elsewhere in the country.

Would Hewitt just allow this to not only continue but increase encouragement for this recklessness? Does Hewitt feel comfortable in a similar league as thankfully departing Senator Lott, exploiting his Congressional power to repair his Katrina damaged house?

McCain is willing to oppose it, correctly. Hewitt appears to be more concerned with opposing McCain.

I’m not an advocate of McCain, but I am an advocate of “straight talk.”