Editorial: This Santa looks more like Grinch

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2000 | 10:13 a.m.

At first blush it appeared Nevada received an early present in its Christmas stocking this week when it was revealed that former Sen. Bennett Johnston took his name out of consideration as Department of Energy secretary in a Bush administration. The ex-Democratic senator from Louisiana received everlasting notoriety from this state's residents for his so-called "Screw Nevada" legislation, which singled out Nevada as the only state to be studied for the possible location of a high-level nuclear waste repository.

Still, reporting by the Sun's Benjamin Grove reveals that trouble continues to lurk around the corner. Not only was Johnston on George W. Bush's short list for energy secretary, but he apparently also was offered the job by Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, who called him Monday morning. "I would say it was a job offer, subject to all the vetting," Johnston told Grove on Wednesday. That Bush would even contemplate offering a post to Johnston, who has been hell-bent on sending nuclear waste to Nevada, should dispel any notion that fairness will be a hallmark of the incoming administration on nuclear waste storage.

After Johnston's name recently was floated, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would oppose him. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said he spoke with Bush's chief of staff, Andrew Card, on Tuesday to express his outrage. Gibbons suggested his sway, and that of other top Nevada Republican officials, with the new GOP administration may have been effective in securing Johnston's withdrawal. Yet Johnston himself said Nevada opposition didn't enter into the equation; instead he cited his wife's reluctance about the demands of the job. If Johnston's take is correct, Nevada's GOP leaders should be worried by their lack of clout.

For that matter, even if it was Nevada GOP officials who eventually helped derail Johnston's selection, the fact that he was so close to being the next energy secretary speaks volumes about how Nevada's concerns will be nothing more than an afterthought to Bush. Nevadans shouldn't be too surprised then if they get a lump of coal from Bush if he eventually settles on a secretary of energy who tilts in favor of the nuclear power industry.