Protesters greet Bush at Domenici fundraiser in ABQ

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About 100 people protested today against President Bush and U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici about 300 feet from a home where Bush attended a fundraiser for the GOP senator who is up for re-election next year, the Associated Press is reporting.

And Don Wiviott, one of three Democrats vying for the right to take on Domenici next year, took advantage of the event to attack Domenici for his votes on the Iraq war. Domenici has broken with Bush on Iraq policy – saying he wants a withdrawal of American troops to begin in the spring – but he doesn’t support Democratic proposals to bring troops home now or cut funding for the war.

“Instead of standing up to George Bush, Pete Domenici has continued to vote with him 100 percent in support of the war, and it is no surprise the president is now rewarding him with a million-dollar fundraiser,” Wiviott said in a news release. “Saying one thing and doing another is apparently a hard habit to break in Washington, D.C. I’m running to change all that.”

There is no immediate word on how much Domenici raised at the fundraiser, held this afternoon at the home of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Mayor Larry Abraham.

Bush’s visit to Albuquerque for the fundraiser comes as the president is preparing to nominate a new attorney general to replace Alberto Gonzales, whose resignation is the eighth at the Department of Justice following the U.S. attorney scandal. That controversy has also caused a drop in Domenici’s support and made him a target of Washington Democratic groups.

David Iglesias, former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, alleges that Domenici and U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson tried to pressure him to issue indictments in a public-corruption probe last year in time to sway voters in the November election. Iglesias says he refused. Two months later, he was fired without being given reason.

Domenici and Wilson admit to calling Iglesias but say they didn’t pressure him. Both are subjects of preliminary inquiries that could result in ethics investigations.

Domenici’s approval rating since the scandal broke has fallen as low at 51 percent. Prior to the scandal, it had never fallen below 60 percent.

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