DOMENICI SHOULD HAVE HIRED LAWYERS BEFORE HE TRIED INTIMIDATING THE U.S. ATTORNEY FOR NEW MEXICO

This is just my own little theory but I never expected Domenici to run for re-election next year. I have believed for a long time now that he was aiming to hand-off the seat smoothly to his protege, Rep. Heather Wilson, mostly to keep the other Republican congress member from New Mexico, reactionary extremist Steve Pearce from jumping in, probably beating Wilson and then losing the seat to a Democrat. (The theory is that the more mainstream conservative Wilson can appeal to people with a 3-digit IQ whereas Pearce's extremist allure runs out when you get beyond the people who have learned to sing Horst Wessel Lied.) Anyway, Domenici has about a quarter million dollars cash on hand, a pittance for a Senate run-- and far less than Tom Udall has on hand (over $700,000) and nothing compared to what Governor Bill Richardson would have left over from what he's out raising-- and is transferable-- for a presidential or vice-presidential campaign that is unlikely to go very far.


This dovetails nicely with how both Wilson and Domenici got on Republican federal prosecutor David Iglesias' ass about not staging a showy political trial against some Democrats in time for what was proving to be a very tough re-election battle for Wilson. (She won by 879 votes and had she lost Domenici's plan would have been mortally wounded.) When Iglesias proven to not be a team player, Domenici got tough with him, threatened him, tried to intimidate him and eventually called Gonzales and had him fired. This is absolutely a New Mexico version of Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre" and it probably dooms Domenici's and Wilson's plans no matter what they are.


This afternoon the Washington Post reported that Domenici, finally realizing what hot water he's in, hired a top defense attorney. He hired a Republican shyster who wasn't able to do much to keep his last GOP criminal client, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, out of prison. The Senate Ethics Committee has announced it is investigating Domenici's outrageous behavior. Hiring a heavy hitter like Blalack, who has managed to keep another crooked client, Bill Frist, out of jail so far for his stock manipulations when he was Senate Majority Leader, is very expensive. Like I said above, Domenici has around $260,000 in his kitty. Rep. Jerry Lewis, another Republican crook being investigated, has already reported spending almost a million dollars and he hasn't even been indicted yet!


What makes matters even worse is that Domenici has been unable to keep his stories straight and they change every day. At first he denied everything and accused Iglesias of lying. Now he admits he called him but disputes Iglesias' recollections. (Iglesias is sharp and Domenici, aside from being nasty and vicious, is noticeably senile.)

The DSCC smells a dead pig and they're eager to pick up a seat in Democratic-leaning New Mexico. As I said a few days ago, Bill Richardson, Tom Udall, Lt. Gov Diane Denish or Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez could all make credible runs against Domenici now. Richardson would be heavily favored to beat him.