Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan will pull off a Reagan-like victory over President Barack Obama in November, former New York Senator Alfonse D’Amato tells Newsmax.TV.
D’Amato, speaking from the Republican National Convention, said he has felt the mood change in Tampa from a “sense of apprehension and I’ve seen that change and it’s evolved into a sense of 'yes we can'and now 'yes we will.' ”
“People thought that Ronald Reagan did not have a chance when he started out,” he said. “And, even after the convention he trailed. But, as he came along and as his ideas and his persona came through and then the debates — he ran away with it. I see the same thing taking place except we are going to be in an even stronger position.”
Since 2008, the GOP has learned not to take Obama for granted, he said.
“Well number one, we’re not taking him for granted,” he said. “Number two, we know he is a wonderful communicator. Number three, there’s a sense of can you really believe him? Isn’t he more about showbiz? We have the opportunity to say, 'President Obama you made those promises but you haven’t kept them. Your performance has been inadequate. You have not earned the right to the people’s confidence.' ”
D’Amato said that the Obama campaign has adopted a negative tone because they know the “only way he can win” is to tear down Romney and “create fear.”
“If you look at his record and what he has done, and what he has promised, it’s abysmal,” he said, adding, “Mitt Romney, he is the fighter for the forgotten middle class. He understands their struggles and appreciates them. Now his wife did a great job in setting the stage. He now must connect with the forgotten middle class.”
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D’Amato noted that the GOP has an uphill battle to take the Senate but noted that when Reagan swept to victory in 1980, he took the upper chamber with him.
“It’s tough,” he said. “It is an upward battle but you know, when Ronald Reagan and the Big Ship pulled in he pulled in all the little guys including myself. I have a feeling that this race is going to be won electorally by a very comfortable margin, by Mitt Romney or lost by a smidgen. I hope it is the comfortable margin and that will help us win all of the close Senate races or most of them.”
He conceded that New York GOP Senate candidate Wendy Long has a tough fight on her hands to knock off Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand but she should not be counted out. He noted the state is much more Democratic than when he won in 1980.
“So it is an uphill battle, do you give up? No. She is bright, sensible; she has an incredible legal background having clerked both in the Second Circuit and in the Supreme Court. Sometimes upsets take place, would this be an upset? Sure would be.”
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