Say What, Pete? NM Dem Party Chair Challenges Domenici to Clarify Confusing Iraq Stance(s)

Dick Knipfing of Albuquerque's KRQE News 13 interviewed Sen. Pete Domenici yesterday about his election season conversion on Bush's Iraq strategy. Click for video of the interview. In response, Democratic Party of New Mexico (DPNM) Chairman Brian S. Colón says he's disappointed by the senior senator’s confusing statements. According to Colón, Domenici’s main objective appears to be propping the door open for other vulnerable Republicans to distance themselves from previous positions.

“It’s about time Senator Domenici realized the error of his ways concerning Iraq, but his public statements sent so many mixed messages,” said Colón. “The more I think about what Senator Domenici is saying, the more confusing his position becomes.  New Mexicans deserve clarity on matters of conscience.”

When asked during a live interview yesterday on KRQE-TV, “what are you calling for and why?” New Mexico’s senior senator delivers a rambling hodge-podge of statements that never address the original question. Chairman Colón is asking Senator Domenici to clarify:

• What do you mean when you say the President “will never lose the war (in Iraq)”?
• What on earth makes you think that the new Secretary of Defense could become a hero as a result of the Bush Administration’s colossal failures in Iraq?
• What relevance is your feeling that President Bush “is a very close friend”?
• Besides blaming the Iraqis for their country’s misfortune, do you plan to take responsibility for facilitating the mismanaged war, the loss of over 3500 American lives and $440 billion, and the undermining of the nation’s domestic priorities (i.e. expanded health care access, improved education, and a safer and more secure environment)?

Will zealous Bush loyalists Rep. Heather Wilson and Rep. Steve Pearce be the next NM Republicans to try and spin a new, more politically palatable position on the Iraq occuation? Stay tuned. Anything's possible with Bush's approval ratings dipping lower than Nixon's during the Watergate era.

You can see and read other KRQE News coverage of Domenici's sudden awareness of the realities of the Iraq war here.

For our previous posts on Domenici and the 2008 Senate race in New Mexico, visit this archive.