Sunday, October 31, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Clinton attacks Bush on Yucca

Stumping for Kerry in Henderson, ex-president says election a referendum on repository plan

President Clinton speaks Saturday during a campaign appearance on behalf of John Kerry at the Desert Willow Community Center in Henderson. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A vote for President Bush is a vote for the controversial Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, President Clinton said in a speech Saturday in Henderson.

Using some of the starkest language yet in the campaign for Nevada's five electoral votes, Clinton called Tuesday's vote a referendum on the Yucca repository, an unpopular plan being fought by both Democrats and Republicans in this battleground state.

"If the president carries Nevada, the inescapable conclusion will be the majority of the people of Nevada have voted to put (nuclear waste) here," Clinton told a crowd of about 250 John Kerry supporters at a senior center. "There is no other conceivable explanation."

The issue of burying 77,000 tons of the nation's most radioactive waste in the Southern Nevada desert has been at the forefront of the presidential campaign in the state.

Democrats have attacked Bush's approval of the plan in 2002 and promoted Kerry's vow to stop the project if elected.

"When John Kerry tells you he's not going to do it because the science is not right, you know that," Clinton said. "And you know what the president is going to do, because he's already done it."

Nevada Democrats have accused Bush of breaking his 2000 campaign promise to base a decision on Yucca Mountain on "sound science." They point to a federal appeals court ruling in July that tossed out the project's radiation standard as inadequate as proof Bush reneged on his promise.

State Republicans, however, claim the president relied on bad science and say they have "agreed to disagree" on the issue. Bush has accused Kerry of pandering to voters on the matter.

"If Kerry wins, they'll say you voted against it," Clinton said. "If Bush wins, they'll say you voted for it. You can't get out of it."

Bush campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt dismissed Clinton's comments as "last-minute campaigning by desperate Democrats."

"President Bush has been clear and consistent and forthright with the citizens of Nevada," Schmitt said. "If you look at the polls, Nevadans understand and appreciate that President Bush based his decision on sound science rather than on a calculated campaign strategy."

During Saturday's speech, Clinton also talked about Kerry's plans for homeland security and health care. The former president said the Bush administration believes health insurance and drug companies should be making decisions for the American people.

"If you want a high-cost, low-coverage plan, you should vote for the president," Clinton said. "If you want a lower-cost, higher-coverage plan, you should vote for Kerry."

Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, who was in Las Vegas to attend a rally with hundreds of volunteers, said Clinton's visit will not have much impact on the presidential race in Nevada.

"It does reflect the fact that Senator Kerry is experiencing some lack of enthusiasm among some core Democrats, and I think he hopes that President Clinton will correct that for him," Gillespie said. "But I don't believe that kind of charisma is transferable. People are going to base their vote on John Kerry and George W. Bush."

Also on Saturday, Wesley Clark praised Kerry at town hall meetings in Reno and Elko.

The retired Army general criticized Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, saying his "wrong choices" there have made America less safe.

Clark was the latest in a string of Kerry surrogates who have visited the state in recent days, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, actor Ed Norton and Kerry's sister, Peggy Kerry.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani campaigned on behalf of Bush in Las Vegas on Tuesday, just hours before Kerry attended a rally at a park across town.

Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards planned to campaign for Kerry in Reno today, a day before Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, are set to appear at rallies in Henderson and Sparks.