Letter: State GOP’s fight against nuclear dump was fraud

Friday, May 14, 2004 | 8:52 a.m.

It looks like Nevada Republicans put into writing what we've all known all along -- that their supposed "fight" against Yucca Mountain was a lie. During the GOP's state convention, the party all but adopted a platform that included negotiating for "benefits" from the nuke waste dump.

Like many people, I had my doubts about the Republican effort to fight the dump when party leaders not only threw their support behind George W. Bush, but took key positions on his re-election committee. Attorney General Brian Sandoval, who is supposed to be leading Nevada's legal fight, is the chair of Bush's Nevada re-election committee. Whenever asked about the clear conflict of interest, the Republican response was, "We agree to disagree with the president about Yucca."

But now they agree 100 percent. And by putting it in writing, state Republicans proven, once again, how out of touch they are with the majority of the state's residents who don't want Nevada to become a nuclear dumping ground for the rest of the country.

Flip-flopping President Bush can kill the dump at any time, but chooses to continue to break the promise he made to Nevada four years ago. Meanwhile, John Kerry has nearly a 20-year record of standing alongside Nevada in our fight against Yucca Mountain, and has vowed to stop it. I hope in November other voters will remember the choice Nevada Republicans made to sell out our state and elect people who aren't so out of touch.

KYLE MURDOCH

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