O.C. Attorney Gets Out the Conservative Message

Though a man of many media, Orange County attorney Hugh Hewitt’s message never wavers.

Whether it’s for his newspaper columns or his radio and television shows, the 38-year-old former White House assistant counsel abides by the conservative political maxim: “The government is best which governs least.”

The latest application of his guiding principle came when Hewitt headed a task force of 85 community and business leaders who this week proposed a host of alternatives to what they regard as the cumbersome regulations of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Hewitt’s group urged the district, which is charged with improving air quality, to junk their mandatory car-pooling regulations for businesses. Among other things, the task force suggested that the district finance research for emission-free vehicles and impose parking fees on solo drivers and use proceeds to reward employees who car-pool.

In fact, the district’s entire ride-share rule “deserves to be abolished in toto ,” said Hewitt Friday, moments before co-hosting another segment of KCET-TV Channel 28’s “Life and Times.”

In addition to his television show duties, Hewitt also hosts his own radio show on KFI-AM 640 and writes a local newspaper column. And, notes the Irvine resident wryly, he contributes to The Times opinion pages when “they need a token conservative.”

Hewitt’s intense involvement in so many communication arenas may appear somewhat ironic, in view of his scathing attacks on the media. Not only is the media overridden with “liberals,” they are also losing their standards, said Hewitt, whose Newport Beach law firm defended developers in the California gnatcatcher battle.

In a recent book review in which he glowed over former Vice President Dan Quayle’s “Standing Firm,” Hewitt said of his media colleagues: “This nation’s media elite has abandoned the old virtues of journalism: including objectivity, fairness, balance, context and--critically--any sense of relative import.”

If his stalwart conservatism puts him at odds with his co-workers in the media, why do it?

“I enjoy the exchange of ideas,” said Hewitt, who served as the first executive director of the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace from July to September, 1990.

The unabashed conservatism of the former Reagan Administration official has won him wide praise in Orange County.

“Hugh’s influence is far reaching in that both conservatives and liberals listen to him and respect his opinions,” said Kevin Cartwright, the Nixon library’s assistant director. “He has the rare ability to cut through public policy matters and make them understandable in ways that elicit a strong reaction--and a call to action.”