Editorial: Divergence over Yucca is obvious

Thursday, Aug. 17, 2000 | 9:31 a.m.

For those Nevadans who still weren't convinced there is any difference between the Republican and Democratic party standard-bearers regarding nuclear waste storage, those doubts now should be erased. Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic presidential nominee, has sent a statement to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., in which Gore reiterates that he, like President Clinton, would have vetoed legislation this year that would have accelerated the possibility of high-level nuclear waste being shipped to Nevada.

"I would like to repeat my opposition to this legislation and to promise you that as president I would veto such legislation if it were sent to me," Gore wrote. In contrast, all Nevadans have received from the Republican presidential nominee, George W. Bush, is a mealy-mouthed statement that blandly says he supports science, not politics, in determining the fate of Yucca Mountain. Since even the nuclear power industry disingenuously employs the "science, not politics" line, Bush's statement isn't worth much. Bush refuses to say if he would have vetoed the legislation.

Nuclear waste storage clearly is the biggest federal threat to this state, so Bush wants the issue to go away in Nevada. Making it difficult for Bush, though, is that he can't deny he's friendly with the nuclear power industry, which wants a repository built in Nevada. Plus, the GOP-led Congress has turned nuclear waste storage into a partisan issue, making this one of their top legislative priorities.

Campaigns are supposed to be waged on ideas, but Bush tends to dodge the specifics of controversial issues, including even his own plan to reform Social Security. So Bush's stonewalling isn't out of character, but Nevadans deserve a frank exchange between the presidential candidates on nuclear waste storage.