Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Where’s the outrage?

Thursday, June 20, 2002 | 9:03 a.m.

I AM DISAPPOINTED. Every Nevadan should be disappointed, too.

That's because the enemy in our fight to keep the federal government from ramming Yucca Mountain down our throats is closer to us than we ever thought. We have looked him in the eyes and he is us!

Actually, disappointed is a word I am using because that seems to be the best our leadership in the state can come up with at the eleventh hour of our fight to win enough votes in the United states Senate to stop this madness.

Gov. Kenny Guinn's spokesman, Greg Bortolin, referred to a legal opinion from the legislative counsel's office as "disappointing." That, ladies and gentlemen, is the same word our good governor used when his fellow Republican, President George W. Bush, decided to ramrod the nuclear power industry's plan down our throat.

And, if I am not mistaken, that is the same word our Republican junior senator, John Ensign, used when he heard the news from the White House.

What is it with these guys?

The White House, the Energy Department and, so far, the House of Representatives have all said "to hell with the people of Nevada" and all we can muster is some disappointment!

At least our senior senator, Harry Reid, has the gumption to tell it like it is. He said President Bush flat out lied to Nevadans during the 2000 presidential elections. That is the truth and even though the truth can be a bit harsh sometimes, the fact is that the president lied to us.

So now when the legislative counsel tells the state that it cannot use $1.5 million in Clark County funds to match the $3 million made available by the Interim Finance Committee -- a decision that could stop Nevada's momentum heading toward the crucial Senate vote in the next few weeks -- the best our leaders can be is "disappointed."

How about "disgusted"? How about "mad as hell and not going to take it anymore"? How about "outraged" and several other descriptions that probably wouldn't make it through a family newspaper's sensitivity checkers?

How about anything other than disappointment?

So where does all this leave the people of this state who have been counting on Sens. Reid and Ensign's campaign to stop the dump in the Senate? The answer is: not in nearly as good of a shape as we were in before the Legislature's counsel stuck her nose in this matter. And who asked her, anyway? The answer to that question may prove interesting.

So now that everyone is disappointed, what are they going to do about it? Doing nothing is not an option because this vote appears likely to happen very soon and Nevada needs all the money it can find to keep the rest of the country engaged on this issue.

As this is being written, there are senators who were steadfastly opposed to Nevada's plight who are starting to listen. They are doing so because of our senators' persuasiveness and because Americans across the country are letting their feelings be known. And what many of them are saying is that they don't want the federal government to start shipping this radioactive poison near their homes and schools for the next 30-plus years.

I know our good governor has been reluctant to call a special session of the Legislature to fix this and other critical matters that face Nevadans. But this one is a no-brainer.

Since the Interim Finance Committee affixed the terms for private funds to match the $3 million they appropriated for Nevada's survival fight, it can also change those requirements. If it is too late to get this matter on the next regular meeting agenda, then the governor should encourage, implore, plead, beg and cajole the legislative members of that committee to call a special session immediately to remedy their mistake. He can make it happen because he is the governor, right?

It is clear none of them -- at least I hope that is clear -- wanted a lawyer to gum up the works this close to the vote. So, it is incumbent upon those legislators to fix their mess and allow the funds put up by Clark County to match the $1.5 million that the state needs to see this thing through.

To do anything less would be to let down the people of this state who have put their faith in our elected leadership to protect themselves and their families.

It would also be disappointing. Have you ever seen a disappointed Nevadan on his or her way to the voting booth?