DOMENICI WANTS DENDAHL OFF THE JOB

SANTA FE -- Sen. Pete Domenici said Wednesday that New Mexico Republican
Party chairman John Dendahl went "across the line" in his advocacy of drug
law reform and should resign.

"I don't think he should be chairman anymore," said Domenici, who is the
state's most prominent Republican and its senior senator.

"I have told him that in plain English," Domenici said in an interview from
Washington. "He should step down."

Domenici said he "strongly disagrees" with Dendahl's support of Gov. Gary
Johnson's eight-bill drug-reform package pending before the state
Legislature. The package includes proposals to decriminalize possession of
small amounts of marijuana, reduce penalties for possessing some other
drugs and legalize marijuana for medical purposes.

Dendahl, an outspoken conservative who has been a highly active chairman of
the party since 1994, said he would not quit. Domenici said he also
disagrees with the Republican governor on drug issues. Johnson responded
Wednesday in a letter to the Journal, praising Dendahl's "courage and
conviction."

"Unfortunately, he has received harsh and unfounded criticism," Johnson
said. Johnson said neither he nor Dendahl advocates drug use, which Johnson
calls "a bad choice."

Johnson mostly has been a critic of the nation's war on drugs, arguing it
is misdirected and ineffective.

Dendahl said he planned to seek re-election "on his record" when the GOP
state central committee meets to elect new party officers on May 5.

"We've brought this party into virtual parity with the Democratic Party,"
Dendahl said. "That's a record I'll proudly put on the table."

Domenici argued that Dendahl does not have "the luxury of endorsing the
legalization of marijuana as chairman of the Republican Party."

"For him to stand up and endorse it, it is just going across the line,"
Domenici said.

Dendahl's position on drugs has been well-known for more than a year.
However, Dendahl was highly visible on the issue this week, appearing at a
Santa Fe news conference Monday with former Gov. Toney Anaya, a
controversial liberal who was the Democrat that New Mexico Republicans most
loved to bash during his 1983-86 term at the Capitol.

Anaya, along with Albuquerque lawyer Mickey Barnett, a longtime
conservative activist now serving as the state's Republican national
committeeman, is working as a paid lobbyist in support of Johnson's
drug-reform package.

Domenici also criticized Barnett, saying, "I have said to Mickey Barnett
he'd better not publicly support it because I would have the same feelings
about him."

Barnett on Wednesday had no comment on Domenici's statements. But Barnett
said he thought Dendahl should stay on as Republican Party chief.

"John Dendahl is doing a great job as state chairman," said Barnett, who
ousted Manuel Lujan Jr., a former New Mexico congressman and former U.S.
Interior secretary, as national committeeman last year.

Conservative activists associated with Barnett and Dendahl started wresting
control of the state Republican Party from more moderate elements led by
Domenici and Lujan several years ago.

Edward Lujan, a former state Republican Party chairman and the brother of
Manuel Lujan Jr., said Wednesday he agrees with Domenici that Dendahl
overstepped in espousing his personal support of drug law reform in New Mexico.

"As state chairman you follow the principles and philosophies of the party,
not your own," Edward Lujan said.

Anaya on Wednesday commended Dendahl for saying he "would not use the votes
on the drug bills in a partisan way in the election next year." Anaya, when
he was New Mexico attorney general, ran against Domenici in 1978 for the
U.S. Senate.

Meanwhile, Dendahl has not hesitated as party chairman to retaliate against
Republicans who diverge from the party line on other issues.

Domenici noted that Anaya and Barnett are being paid by the Lindesmith
Center, a New York City-based foundation, which advocates drug law reform
across the country. Lindesmith is financed in large part by billionaire
philanthropist George Soros. "This is not a New Mexican that's hiring Toney
Anaya and Mickey Barnett," Domenici said.

Domenici said Lindesmith had "paid for a barrage of pro-marijuana radio ads
that have blanketed our state."

Domenici urged state lawmakers to reject Johnson's drug-reform proposals.

"If this passes, this will make New Mexico unique in the country for
legalized marijuana use," Domenici said. "I don't think that's the message
we want to send."