Veteran political analyst Dick Morris tells Newsmax that the Republicans’ chances of retaking the Senate this year are “very bright” — and even a GOP capture of the House is “very doable.”
Morris also said Sarah Palin is now the most popular Republican and has White House ambitions for 2012.
Editor's Note: See Newsmax.TV video with Dick Morris below.
And he called on Republicans to take advantage of a televised meeting with the president over healthcare reform to “put another nail in Obama’s coffin.”
Newsmax.TV’s Ashley Martella asked the best-selling author and regular Newsmax contributor about the GOP’s prospects in the Senate in November.
“I’ve been looking at the races and the incredible thing is that, if the Republicans win every seat in which they’re now ahead, actually have a lead in the polls, the Republicans today would win eight seats in the Senate — and we just need 10 to take control,” Morris said.
The Democrats trail Republican rivals by wide margins in
Delaware, North Dakota, Arkansas, Nevada, and Colorado, Morris pointed out.
“Beyond those five relatively easy seats there are five other seats that we might well pick up, and in three of them (Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Wisconsin) we’re leading.
“So in those eight states, the Republicans are ahead and could win the Senate seat if the election were held today.”
In Indiana and California, the Republican is just three points behind in the polls, and three other seats — in New York, Washington and Connecticut – “could possibly fall to us,” Morris added.
“So the chances of the Republicans taking the Senate are very bright.”
In the House, Morris said, “there are about 11 seats Republicans are going to pick up because of retirements, which means the total that they’ll need to win by defeating Democratic incumbents is only 29. And that is something I think is very doable.”
Martella noted that President Obama plans to host a televised meeting with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to discuss healthcare reform. “Will this be anything more than a dog-and-pony show, and should Republicans attend at all?” Martella said.
“Republicans should go, and they should win the debate that meeting will be,” Morris responded.
“It won’t be an effort to find a solution. It will be a contest to sell their view to the American public.
“Republicans should first talk about tort reform. They should say the biggest problem in high medical costs are unnecessary tests, and the only way to stop the unnecessary tests is to guarantee that the doctors won’t be sued.
"You can’t on the one hand say don’t administer this test, it costs too much, and then have the trial lawyers suing you because you didn’t implement that test.
“They should also talk about the need to avoid cuts in Medicare, the need to avoid taxing insurance policies. They should talk about expanding the number of doctors as we’re expanding the number of patients who are covered. And they should really show that the Republican Party has a very good agenda when it comes to healthcare reform.”
Martella asked whether powerful liberals such as Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Henry Waxman would even consider Republican ideas such as tort reform or interstate insurance company competition.
“No, they never would,” Morris declared. “They can’t because they’re getting too much money from the trial lawyers who are forcing them to oppose tort reform. But by winning the debate in the open meeting, the Republican Party can put another nail in Obama’s coffin.”
It will be clear that healthcare reform is “really dead,” he added, “not when the left runs out on it, but when the conservative Democrats in the House who voted for it last time indicate that they will now vote against it.”
Sarah Palin “brought the house down” when she spoke in Nashville at the National Tea Party Convention, Martella observed, and asked Morris: “Does she have presidential ambitions for 2012?”
“I think she does, and I think she is clearly the most popular figure in the Republican Party,” he said. “We have a long way to go, however, until we get there.”
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.