Dick Morris to Newsmax: Rubio Is the ‘Only Choice That Makes Sense’

With The New York Times reporting that Mitt Romney has made a decision and could announce his running mate as early as this week, political guru and best-selling author Dick Morris tells Newsmax.TV that he is convinced Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will get the nod, but not necessarily before the Republican National Convention.

“It’s the only choice that makes sense,” insisted the Fox News analyst in an exclusive interview on Monday. “It would be a mistake to announce it this week, or next, or next. He should save it for the convention because the key question is how many people will watch the convention? We need that suspense to be hanging in the air. But in an effort to kill the suspense, I believe that it will be Rubio, and I believe that he decided that a while ago.”

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In a wide-ranging interview, Morris also said:

• President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could try to pull an “end-run” around the Second Amendment and Congress by approving a United Nations treaty on international arms sales that restricts gun ownership by private citizens.

• Egypt is likely to become a worse ally to the U.S. than Pakistan despite receiving $1.3 billion each year in military foreign aid.

• Bain Capital is an “overwhelming success story” for Gov. Romney and the Republican challenger must start making that case to the American people.

• Republicans are likely to pick up 11 seats in the Senate, which would give the GOP an all-important majority.

Story continues.



Speculation about Romney’s running mate has become an ongoing guessing game for political journalists with the Drudge Report pointing to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as the front-runner, and The Times suggesting that former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman stand out among the hopefuls.

“I wrote a book called “Condi vs. Hillary” in which I urged her to run for president. She’d be a great president. But it would be a mistake to put Condoleezza Rice on the ticket because it would permit Obama to run against the Iraq war again, and it would bring that whole range of issues into focus,” explained Morris. “That cost us the ’08 election and we don’t want to re-litigate that.”

The author of the new book: “Screwed!: How Foreign Countries Are Ripping America Off and Plundering Our Economy — and How Our Leaders Help Them Do It,” Morris said that while both Portman and Rubio were elected to the Senate at the same time, Rubio can help deliver something that Republicans need — not only in this election, but for years to come.

“I think he brings charisma, strong conservative values, Florida, and a very good handle on the Latino vote which will probably help us carry Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada,” observed Morris. “Plus, the future of the nation is the Latino vote, and if the Republican Party loses the Latino vote by 2-1 all down the line, we’ll never win another national election.”

While Latinos only make up 8 or 9 percent of today’s electorate, “in 10 years, they’re going to be 18 or 20 percent,” Morris predicted.

Rubio would also help counter the president’s recent public pronouncement that he will not enforce immigration laws in the case of children of illegal immigrants.

“What we have to understand for the election is that this is a crucial issue with the Latino vote, and that we need to get back with the Latino vote and nominating Rubio as vice president is the best way to do that,” said Morris.

While treaties require approval from two-thirds of the Senate to become law in the U.S., Morris said that Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could try to pull an “end-run” around the Second Amendment and Congress by approving a United Nations treaty on international arms sales that restricts gun ownership by private citizens.

“The shocking thing is it won’t have to pass the Senate. Under the Vienna Convention, which the United States had signed and ratified, once Hillary Clinton signs this treaty — which she’s going to do on July 27 unless we can stop her — that treaty remains in effect until a subsequent president renounces it,” declared Morris. “If Obama’s re-elected, he won’t. And (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid will probably never bring this treaty up for a vote. We’ll be bound by it simply by Hillary’s signature, unless President Romney can renounce it.”

On Sunday, Clinton’s motorcade was pelted by tomatoes and shoes in Egypt, which benefits from $1.3 billion in military foreign aid each year from the U.S.

Morris, a former political advisor to President Bill Clinton, sees Egypt becoming much more like Pakistan in the future than the reliable ally of years past.

“In fact, probably worse than Pakistan because it will overtly oppose the United States,” he charged. “We have to realize that the United States Congress cut off aid to Egypt. It ruled that there should be no more aid unless Congress released the funds. And then Hillary Clinton unilaterally released the funds despite the congressional prohibition on doing so. So she deserves all the tomatoes she gets thrown at her, but they should be throwing flowers instead.”


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As the election winds down to the final months, Morris believes that Romney must do a better job defending his record as CEO of Bain Capital, a record that has come under increasing fire from the Obama campaign.

“The important thing to know about Bain Capital is that it was an overwhelming success story. And Romney needs to be pointing that out more,” he said.

“There is a company for example, named Steel Dynamic. It was failing; falling apart . . . He got the investors. He lined it up. He switched the company’s focus and now it’s the fifth-largest steel maker in the United States — 6,500 jobs. The average salary is $85,000. We need to put those kinds of stories in front of the American people.”

A Romney victory in November is only part of the equation for Republicans if they are to break the Washington gridlock.

“Oh we’ve got to take the Senate. Yes, if you leave the Senate in Democratic hands, you’re just going to have a 2-1 gridlock as opposed to a 1-2 gridlock,” he said. “It doesn’t help you much. You need all three pushing in the same direction, and I think we are going to win the Senate.”

Morris predicted Republican senatorial wins in Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Virginia.

In addition, he predicts that the GOP will be competitive in New Jersey, Nevada, Maine, and Massachusetts.

Technically, Republicans need to win only four seats to take control of the Senate — and only three if Romney is elected president.

“We need to win a lot more than four seats because we need to win a lot more than nominal control,” Morris added. “We need to get up into the mid 50s so that it really isn’t feasible for the Democrats to stall us without 60 votes if we fall short of 60 votes.”