Conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt is advising Republicans in Congress to stop paying so much attention to the Wall Street Journal.
Hewitt joined “Examining Politics” to discuss his new book, The Fourth Way, a guidepost for the Trump administration and Republicans in the House and Senate on how to take advantage of Trump’s unexpected victory and move conservative legislation.
In the book, Hewitt urges small government, conservative Republicans to scrap plans to reform the tax code by eliminating popular tax deductions, an approach often favored by the Wall Street Journal editorial page. Hewitt, who described himself as a “Paul Ryan Republican” — after the House speaker who is pushing a package that would simplify the tax code in part by reducing available deductions — discussed his reasoning during an interview with the Washington Examiner’s weekly podcast.
“An affection for theory, over reality, is what I think clouds the judgment of many people who work in the Acela Corridor,” Hewitt said. “And, the reality is, a lot of Americans need their home mortgage interest deductions. The reality is, they give to their churches and synagogues and temples and they want the tax deduction to be left alone; and the reality is, Republicans get elected in blue states with high taxes. And, if you remove the state and local income tax deduction, as a lot of Republicans are suggesting, we’ll wipe out the remaining Republicans in California, New York, and other high-tax states and lose control of the House.”
