Analysis: Partisan politics could hurt efforts to halt Yucca

Friday, Jan. 18, 2002 | 4:43 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

Democratic and Republican elected leaders may stand united on the surface in their opposition to Yucca Mountain, but a growing partisan undercurrent in the fight threatens to disrupt that harmony and cause embarrassment to some of those leading the charge.

At the moment, top Republicans -- Gov. Kenny Guinn, Sen. John Ensign and Rep. Jim Gibbons -- appear to have the most at stake politically as the Bush administration considers naming Yucca Mountain as the nation's high-level nuclear waste dump.

"When it comes to stopping the Yucca Mountain project, the ball is decidedly in the Republicans' court," said Richard Urey, chief of staff for Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev. "Anybody who's waiting for a decision is looking into the eyes of the Republicans, not the Democrats, because you've got a Republican president who has to make the decision."

Guinn, Ensign and Gibbons have been assigned the daunting task of persuading President Bush to reject the pro-Yucca Mountain recommendation of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, a former Republican senator aligned with the energy industry. They're hoping to schedule a meeting with the president soon.

Mike Dayton, Gibbons' chief of staff, acknowledges that Republicans are under the gun as Abraham sends his recommendation to Bush in the coming days.

"A lot of the responsibility with the president rests on the shoulders of the Republicans," Dayton said "He promised us in a letter that sound science would be the factor that decides where nuclear waste is stored. We're all hopeful that the president will stick to his promise and side with science."

Bush made the "sound science" pledge during his 2000 campaign. It earned him Nevada's four electoral votes, the margin that put him over the top in his narrow victory over former Vice President Al Gore.

Most Democratic leaders expect Bush, who like Abraham has ties to the energy industry, will go along with the recommendation to store the nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. But they're trying not to paint the president into a corner.

"It looks to me like the die has been cast in terms of the president's decision," said former Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., a strong Yucca Mountain opponent. "But hope springs eternal."

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., though he's as realistic as anyone, has gone as far as publicly suggesting that Bush might overrule Abraham. That would certainly make Reid's job in the Senate easier. As the Senate's assistant majority leader, he has said he'll have an uphill battle stalling Yucca Mountain in Congress if the president backs the proposal.

Privately, Reid's aides and others within the Democratic Party already are setting the stage for additional partisan drum-beating after Bush likely sides with Abraham.

They're putting out the forceful spin that Bush will be breaking his promise to Nevadans if he listens to the energy secretary. And that, they say, will lead to dire political consequences for Nevada Republicans.

Much of their argument revolves around a recent General Accounting Office report that urged the Energy Department to put off declaring Yucca Mountain suitable to store the deadly waste because the department is years away from having enough scientific data to come to that conclusion.

Some Republicans are acknowledging that the Bush administration's handling of Yucca Mountain may hurt the chances of their congressional candidates this year.

And Democrats are predicting the fallout could spread to Guinn, a popular governor seeking his second term in office.

Some wishful thinkers within the Democratic Party are suggesting that Guinn, having already been embarrassed by the Bush administration, should bolt from the Republicans and become an independent to hammer home his loyalty to Nevadans.

But no one really believes that will happen, and Guinn scoffs at the suggestion, saying he has no intention of leaving the GOP.

Then there's talk among Democrats that a Bush recommendation in favor of Yucca Mountain could help the party find that formidable candidate they've been searching for to run against Guinn this year. No one, however, has surfaced so far.

Bryan, meanwhile, said there's little question in his mind that the White House handled the Yucca Mountain issue in a very "clumsy" manner.

Guinn first got the news that Abraham was going to make the recommendation from Karl Rove, the president's top political adviser.

"That strikes me as incredibly inept," Bryan said. "That married Bush to the Abraham decision before it even reached his desk."

At the same time, he said, Abraham was crass in making the recommendation just two days after visiting Yucca Mountain for the first time.

"It was so transparent," Bryan said. "Frankly, they've treated our governor shabbily."

But Guinn has done a great job in leading the opposition and isn't likely to lose any ground in his re-election bid, Bryan said.

"In my view the governor has been out front on this issue," Bryan said. "He's been terrific in terms of raising money in the state's effort to fight the program."

Guinn persuaded the Nevada Legislature to set aside $4 million in the fight, and he has gotten another $1.2 million from local governmental entities.

He's also gearing up to mount a fund-raising drive in the private sector. One well-known gaming company, Station Casinos Inc., already has committed to donating money to the cause, and others are expected to follow, Guinn said.

As Guinn and the Republicans prepare to take their case to Bush, Democratic officeholders are working other fronts.

Reid is pumping up the national media, trying to take advantage of the stepped-up interest in Yucca Mountain because of Abraham's recommendation.

And Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman is reaching out to the mayors of other cities along the waste shipment routes to Yucca Mountain.

The goal is to win over as many allies as possible in other states.

Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency, the state's Yucca Mountain watchdog, is looking for help from both parties.

"It seems to me we're in a position now that we really all have to work together," he said.

"Clearly there's a role for the Republicans, not only with the White House but with people on Capitol Hill. And certainly there's a role for the Democrats with the majority leader of the Senate in concert with Harry Reid."

That may be true. But the reality of politics could very well complicate that strategy.