NEVADA'S YUCCA MOUNTAIN fight is not a carnival in which there are only winners. There are losers, too.
Here are my choices:
Winners: The people of the state of Nevada.
Even though we may ultimately be the losers in what promises to be the federal government's most disastrous program to date, Nevadans -- the people who live and work here -- have understood from the beginning the consequences of the Department of Energy's flimflamming its way beneath Yucca Mountain and we have maintained our steady and purposeful opposition to this folly. To the extent that our steadfastness has given any spine to our elected officials, it is all because of the people.
Losers: The business community, gaming industry leaders and most elected officials.
The people who live and work here on a daily basis have invested in those who hold the elected positions and who control the purse strings of Nevada's financial resources, the authority and responsibility to protect them. Those folks have failed. Whether it is the gaming industry that sat so silent and unmoved by the needs of the people or the business leaders who got cheap and nearsighted at the same time, the proof is in the pudding. And that is putting it mildly.
Winner: Gov. Kenny Guinn.
Even though our good governor took the cowardly way out in not calling a special session and demanding the money needed in the time needed to win the Senate vote, he did lead a significant state charge against those who harbored ill will toward Nevadans. He could have been a bit more animated in his "disappointment" towards President George W. Bush, but his restraint was consistent with the advice he accepted to lay as low as he could without jeopardizing his "in the bag" re-election effort. He's a winner because at least he did something.
Loser: President George W. Bush.
Guinn was disappointed and the people of this state were aghast when the president went back on his promise to let science determine whether or not Yucca Mountain would get his approval. Not only did he lie to us, but he went overboard in using the power of the White House to fortify the few Republicans who decided Nevada was right and the DOE was wrong. It is amazing how fast principle gets trumped by the president's goody bag. Mark President Bush lousy in the state of Nevada because his strategists have already done as much. Either that or mark Nevadans critically stupid for even thinking about letting him off the hook. That includes Guinn, who could move to the loser column real fast if he forgets who done us wrong.
Winner: Nevada's senior senator, Harry Reid.
He started with less than 20 senators on Nevada's side and ended with 39 in an uphill battle that took all of his procedural muscle away. He made sure Majority Leader Tom Daschle kept his word to Nevadans, which was significantly more than Harry's colleague, John Ensign, was able to do. To be fair, no Republican leader in Nevada could get Bush to keep his word because he never had any intention of keeping it himself. Where Ensign and his fellow GOPers went wrong was in believing Bush in the first place and convincing Nevada voters of his sincerity.
Winner/loser: Nevada's junior senator, John Ensign.
John told Nevadans he could persuade his Republican colleagues to vote with us against Yucca Mountain. He tried. Really, he did. And for that he is a winner. But he didn't have the horsepower, the ability or the resources to get the job done. He admitted it himself, he failed. Not from lack of effort but from lack of talent. That makes him a loser. He's got four more years to figure that part out.
Loser: The Republican Party.
Try as they might, those who spin these things to a gullible public would have us believe that Yucca Mountain was a bipartisan effort and, thus, a pox on both parties' houses. The truth is that a Republican President Bush lied to Nevadans from the start; a Republican Energy Secretary paid no attention to science, only the moneyed interests of the power industry; the Republican Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, who takes gobs of money from the gambling interests in Nevada with impunity, was the prime mover in the House's effort to override Guinn's veto; and Republican senators and a Republican White House executed the final coup de grace. Most of the Democrats did support Harry Reid and Nevada. By the way, of the three Republican senators who voted with Nevada, two were with us from the start. John Ensign's was a pick-up.
And finally, Winners: The lawyers.
As Nevadans move to the next round of our fight to stop this oncoming nuke-laden locomotive, it will be the lawyers who will benefit. If they are as good as the attorney general and the governor say they are, they will deserve every penny of the millions of dollars they will earn fighting for Nevada. If they win, they will deserve so much more.
Sounds like a good time for this lawyer to come out of retirement!
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