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| Republicans, Johnson Differ on Drug War |
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Posted by FoM on June 10, 2001 at 07:50:40 PT By Jay Miller, Inside the Capitol Source: Las Cruces Sun-News 
After facing his toughest audience last month, Gov. Gary Johnson got to preach to the choir this month when he addressed a drug policy conference in Albuquerque sponsored by the Lindesmith Center. Our governor was given standing ovations and hailed as a hero for his opposition to the war on drugs. The toughest audience Johnson has faced was the state Republican Central Committee last May 5 where he had to defend his "Republicanism" and try to convince the crowd that reforming our nation's drug efforts is "as Republican as it gets." The state's Republican leaders seemed unconvinced, sitting mostly silent during their governor's remarks. But four weekends later, it was a completely different story. Johnson was cheered when he exclaimed, "Current drug policy defies common sense." Also appearing at the drug conference were Rep. Joe Thompson and Sen. Cisco McSorley, who carried much of the governor's drug program in the 2001 Legislature. Both warned that they face political repercussions for their actions. Thompson, an Albuquerque Republican, told the conference he had just learned of a probable GOP opponent who is planning to make an issue of Thompson's role as a sponsor of drug reform bills. "You've got to protect your champions," he cautioned. McSorley, an Albuquerque Democrat, warned the group that if officials who stick their neck out backing drug law reform go down to defeat, it will make it more difficult for other politicians to come out against the drug war. But Johnson, who doesn't plan to run again, was more upbeat. He cited state GOP Chairman John Dendahl. who came under fire from New Mexico's Republican congressional delegation and from state legislators for embracing the governor's drug reform package. The audience cheered when Johnson told them Dendahl last month won re-election to the party chairmanship, defeating Rep. Ron Godbey, his severest critic, by better than a 2-1 margin. Dendahl certainly didn't campaign for his post on a drug reform platform. In fact, he had to pledge not to mix his party chairmanship with support of the governor's drug policy, as he had done during this year's legislative session. Dendahl likely won re-election based on his solid record of accomplishments the past six years. Johnson also had to go to bat for Dendahl in a big way, making Dendahl's nomination speech at the state Republican Central Committee meeting. The governor stayed away completely from any mention of drugs during the nomination speech. Instead, he lauded Dendahl for his dogged determination in going after Democrats in order to get Republicans elected. "You won't muzzle John," the governor said. "He is an F-16 and a guided missile rolled into one." As committee members tried to form a mental picture of Johnson's metaphor, some might have been thinking of Dendahl as a sometimes unguided missile. To use another metaphor, Dendahl always has been a pistol. Recently, the Lensic Theater in Santa Fe reopened after an $8 million renovation, transforming it into the Lensic Performing Arts Center. Dendahl was one of a few notables given an advance tour of the building. He immediately headed for the balcony seating area where he said he courted dates back in the 1950s. Dendahl also admitted that he may have been one of the rowdies who threw popcorn and Coke cups at the movie patrons below. Even those of us who didn't grow up in Santa Fe know Dendahl was hedging a little. It is a sure thing he was one of the rowdies. As Gary Johnson says, you can't muzzle John Dendahl. There's no way to keep that bulldog from biting. Rep. Ron Godbey, whom Dendahl defeated for the GOP chairmanship, doesn't share the governor's charitable view of Dendahl. He says the Republican Party chose drugs over common sense when it re-elected Dendahl. It's not likely many people share Godbey's assessment of the election outcome. The GOP hasn't climbed on the drug bandwagon. Source: Las Cruces Sun-News (NM) Related Articles: Hundreds Cheer Governor's Drug-Reform Stance Gov. Challenges Drug Agents' Methods CannabisNews Articles - Governor Gary Johnson Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #1 posted by Rambler on June 11, 2001 at 02:01:17 PT |
| I like the title;"Republicans,Johnson Differ on Drug War", you dont say?.. Here's tommorrows headline...;"Rastifarians,Bill Bennett disagree on Marijuana issue" or.. "Joyce Nalepka Wants Crack Vending Machines Removed from School Lunchrooms" [ Post Comment ] |
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