Political resistance to new government programs and “blue’ versus “red’ politics were among the forces that got in the way of timely renewal of the federal terrorism reinsurance program, said a leading insurance lobbyist in Washington.

The senior vice president for government affairs for the American Insurance Association, Leigh Anne Pusey, recalls that three or four years ago that there were jokes made by the Washington insiders regarding George Bush ending every single one of his speeches with “God Bless America and pass the terrorism bill.’

When it came to renewing TRIA in 2005, the full support for the Bush Administration was gone.

Pusey says, “Because they bought the program, thinking that it…