Rep. Pete Sessions tells Newsmax that he expects a “tsunami” of Republican wins in the House in the November elections and predicts that a GOP-controlled House will stop the Democrats’ agenda “dead in its tracks.”
Sen. John Cornyn is equally optimistic about the Republicans’ prospects of victory in the Senate, saying Majority Leader Harry Reid has been a “disaster.”
Sen. Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and fellow Texan Sessions, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, sat down for an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV.
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Asked how many seats he believes the GOP will capture in the Senate in November, Cornyn says: “We’re going to fight for every possible seat we can get, because obviously we want to get back in the majority so we can set the agenda and Harry Reid can’t.
“But I really think it’s probably going to be a two-election cycle transition in the Senate, although if we have a really good day anything’s possible. After [Republican Sen.] Scott Brown got elected in Massachusetts, my new saying is that if it can happen in Massachusetts it can happen anywhere.”
Cornyn says he feels very good about four Senate races in particular.
“West Virginia is particularly good because [Democratic] Governor Manchin is very popular there, but he will be basically a rubber stamp for Obama’s policies, which are not popular there.
“Illinois is Barack Obama’s old Senate seat, so that’s one of those trophy races. I think Mark Kirk will win” against Democrat Alexi Giannoulias.
“Nevada is really at a dead heat, where the difference I think is going to be who turns out their vote. And I know that [Republican] Sharron Angle’s voters are a lot more motivated than Harry Reid’s.
“And in Washington State, Dino Rossi’s running a very strong race” against incumbent Patty Murray. “I do feel very optimistic about picking up Washington State.”
Elaborating on the Nevada race, Cornyn tells Newsmax that Angle has “a very good chance to win. Unfortunately, she’s had to withstand a barrage of negative advertising. Harry Reid’s thrown everything but the kitchen sink at her, and I think that’s coming in the next three weeks.
“I think she needs to keep doing what she’s been doing — talking about high unemployment, 14.4 percent, 70 percent of home mortgages under water in Nevada. Harry Reid has been a disaster for the state when it comes to jobs, and of course spending and debt, which are the three issues that people care most about in Nevada and across the country.”
Asked whether the GOP can gain outright control of the House in the midterm elections, Rep. Sessions says: “We’re just a few weeks away from what I believe will be a tsunami. For the House of Representatives I believe we will go mid-40s and above. The polling data right now looks very good.
“Our candidates are right in touch with the voters and the messaging as a result of the unfulfilled promises of Nancy Pelosi. What the House did not do and accomplish these last few weeks means that our candidates are young guns that are prepared for victory and can forthrightly move forward with their ideas.
“We absolutely must read bills before we get them to the floor, something Nancy Pelosi has not done. We’re going to not spend more than we make, and we are going to free up the free enterprise system. Our candidates really feel good about their chances.”
If Republicans do take back the House, jobs will be their top priority, Sessions declares.
“Without any question the jobs issue is the most dominant we face in this country. We must approach [it] very quickly. President Obama and Nancy Pelosi’s agenda is to net lose 10 million jobs as a result of the political agenda of cap-and-trade, healthcare and card check.
“We will stop their agenda dead in its tracks, and instead of assaulting what would be employers we’re going to begin working with them.”
Asked about the Bush tax cuts, which Republicans want to extend rather than allow to expire at the end of the year, Cornyn says: “The president staked out this class warfare argument that you’re only going to do it for the middle class but [not for] anyone who made more than $250,000, ignoring the fact that about half a trillion dollars in business income is reported on an individual tax return by people who would suffer a tax increase.
“So I think the position that both the House and Senate Republicans have is you shouldn’t raise taxes on anybody, and particularly now during a fragile economic recovery.
“I predict in the Senate we’ll probably have a vote on this in the so-called lame-duck session after the election.”
Commenting on the rise of the tea party movement, Sessions says: “I think that what the tea party represents is really a confidence by the American people that we have now seen what happens with one-party Democratic control.
“They are after Nancy Pelosi because Nancy Pelosi did not live up to her promise of being open and honest in the way the House would be run, and she’s paying the price for that.”
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