Columnist Jon Ralston: It’s no surprise the king lied

Friday, April 12, 2002 | 4:37 a.m.

The man on the other end of the line was in Washington and was calling from the Republican National Committee. I didn't catch his name -- and, frankly, he's lucky, as you will see.

Seems the man from the RNC was upset about a column I had written suggesting that when he announced his veto of George W. Bush's dump decision, Gov. Kenny Guinn should call the president a liar. RNCman told me, "You can't call the president of the United States a liar." And he also informed me that the decision had been made on science and not politics because the "EPA" had informed the president that the site was scientifically safe.

(I think he meant the DOE, but his ignorance was confirmed when he clearly didn't know what I was talking about when I asked him about the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board's deriding of the science at the site and those nearly 300 scientific questions raised by the General Accounting Office.)

The conversation stunned me for several reasons, not just why this GOP drone thought it was a good idea to challenge me on something he knew nothing about.

First, the attitude was scary. In the wake of the president's post-9/11 leadership and stratospheric poll numbers, these folks seem to think Bush is King George and that we commoners should bow down to his greatness. And should you dare to criticize our new monarch, the palace guard shall be at your door. The imperiousness, the haughtiness here is breathtaking.

But the second reason is that the Bushies continue to be in denial about what their man did here in Campaign '00. Call him King George or call him President Bush, but, my dear RNCman, he lied.

Bush made two statements during the campaign -- both written statements because he didn't want to answer questions and both sent only because of fears about Al Gore getting traction on the issue:

In May 2000 the Bush statement declared: "I believe sound science and not politics, must prevail in the designation of any high-level nuclear waste repository."

Then at the end of September, as Gore was gaining momentum here, the local Republicans panicked and elicited a letter to Guinn that said: "As I've said before, I believe the best science must prevail in the designation that would send nuclear waste to any proposed site -- either on a permanent or temporary basis -- unless it has been deemed scientifically safe."

Shortly after he took office, Bush's DOE designated the site and he quickly rubber-stamped it, after patronizing the state's governor and senators with an audience with the king.

So, to be specific, Mr. RNCman, Bush actually lied twice.

And he lied in the way a man lies when he is after one thing and is willing to say anything to get what he wants, even expressing love. And in this case, Bush romanced the state, had his one-election stand and got what he really lusted after: the presidency.

Just to fully inform my new GOP friend, it went something like this:

Bush to state: "Baby, I love you. I want your electoral votes. I promise I'll stay with you afterward on that dump thing."

State: "Oh, George, there's no one like you. Here, take me, take my votes."

Months later:

Bush to state: "Sorry, but my heart has always belonged to someone else."

State: "Who is she, you must tell me?"

Bush: "You know. You've always known. I cannot resist her -- she's rich, she's always been with me and she just keeps on giving. She's the nuclear industry."

State: "You lied to us, how could you lie, Mr. President."

Bush: "Sorry, baby. You read my lips. You should have read my contributor list."

To be fair, and to put this in context, Bush did what most federal politicians have done for two decades on this issue. He came to Nevada (or sent statements) and used the "sound science" shibboleth to try to curry favor. And for Bush, it worked. The state gave up its electoral votes. He's just one of the few who proved that he was lying when he said it. (Speaking of lying, it will be fascinating to watch the flip side if the battle ultimately is lost. Will voters who believed the promises of state and local politicians, and then were left with nothing, think those elected officials similarly were looking only to bed them for their own career gratification?)

Now the state's Republicans, who gave their love to Bush after his campaign statements, refuse to act like partisans scorned. They are meek and mute, having gotten screwed but refusing to tell anyone. As this comes to a head on Capitol Hill, Sen. John Ensign should ask his GOP colleagues how they would feel if the president had treated them like political whores.

So, yes, Mr. RNCman, it is true: King George lied. Feel free to call if you want to talk some more about it.