Watch your step around Yucca, Adam Laxalt, lest you fall in!

Why, Adam Laxalt. Why?

Why would you knowingly and wittingly stride into the Yucca Mountain issue in a statewide campaign for attorney general? Don’t you know how crazy that is? Don’t you know how much pundits hate to write about that worn-out issue? And now it is all over the Internet, filling my inbox, and you just know there’s more to come.

Why?

For those who haven’t heard, here are the basics: In an interview on Nevada Newsmakers — a Reno-based political interview show — Laxalt was asked about Yucca Mountain, the designated repository for nuclear waste that’s been piling up at the nation’s reactors, but which has been blocked, mostly by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Barack Obama. Here’s what he said, according to Reno Gazette Journal political reporter Ray Hagar:

“If elected) I would follow what Attorney General (Catherine Cortez) Masto has done on this, to fund the state’s right to chose whether or not we want to be this repository place for the country. This is a big part of why I am running for attorney general. The office can be used in a very active way to let Nevadans choose what is best for Nevada.

“If Nevadans decide if this is something they want, then so be it,” Laxalt said. “But as long as we do not want this, it should not be forced on the state.”

When asked if Yucca Mountain was a good idea for Nevada, Laxalt said: “That is a policy decision for people like the governor and our legislators to sort out.”

A few things about this:

First, Cortez Masto has not “fund[ed] the state’s right to choose whether or not we want to be this repository place for the country.” She, like attorneys general before her, including now-Gov. Brian Sandoval, has fought the federal government’s attempts to actually build the repository that the Congress of the United States and the then-president (Republican Ronald Reagan) already decided would be the repository for the country. So I’m not quite sure what Laxalt was trying to say there.

Two, Nevadans are mostly united on this issue, save for residents of counties that would see jobs and a financial windfall from hosting the repository. But the state’s elected officials — almost without exception — are uniformly against Yucca Mountain as a concept, and have been ever since Nevada’s tiny congressional delegation was rolled back in the 1980s and watched helplessly as the state was designated the place for storing waste.

Three, it’s not just about Nevada. It’s a national issue, because nuclear waste would have to be transported by road and rail across many states in order to arrive at Yucca Mountain. That transportation and the danger associated with it is an important part of this issue as well, and a powerful argument for alternatives such as on-site reprocessing of nuclear waste.

Four, and finally, if elected, Laxalt should pause to understand that, as attorney general, he is something of a policymaker himself. His quote makes it appear as if he sees the job as simply a staff lawyer to the executive and legislative branches; in fact, attorney general is the chief law-enforcement officer of the state. By deciding what is a priority and what is not, an attorney general has tremendous influence over what crimes are prosecuted and who gets help. It also means that if somebody asks about a contentious and long-time problem such as Yucca Mountain, it might be a good idea to have your own position on the matter at the ready.

Oh, and by the way, the governor and the Legislature have made a policy decision on Yucca: They’re against it.

By answering as he did, Laxalt opened the door to attacks from Democrats, especially his opponent for the AG’s job, Secretary of State Ross Miller:

“As a lifelong Nevadan, I’ve been fighting Yucca Mountain my entire professional life, including when I served as chair of the lead grassroots organization devoted to defeating it,” Miller said. “Today, in a bipartisan fashion with Gov. Sandoval, I approved more resources to make sure that we win this battle for our children and grandchildren’s health and safety.”

And the Nevada Democratic Party:

“Adam Laxalt is running to be Nevada’s next attorney general and somehow has ‘no opinion’ on one of the state’s top issues that has been in litigation for decades. Maybe if Laxalt had lived and practiced law in the state of Nevada for longer than five minutes, the Washington insider would have some time to actually learn that thirty-three earthquake faults intersect the area around Yucca and the site is situated above an aquifer that provides drinking water.

“Either Adam Laxalt is following the marching orders of his campaign adviser, former nuclear industry lobbyist and Yucca Mountain supporter Bob List, or Laxalt has lived in Nevada for such a short time he doesn’t know that Nevadans have been fighting to keep our communities safe from nuclear waste for years. Laxalt needs to stop trying to have it both ways and come clean to Nevada voters on whether he supports this dangerous project to turn Nevada into a nuclear waste dump.” (BTW, the Democrats may have forgotten that List was also governor of Nevada. Just saying.)

And even state Treasurer Kate Marshall, who’s now running for secretary of state!

“I applaud Gov. Sandoval, Secretary of State Miller and the Board of Examiners for approving funds to help protect Yucca Mountain and the well-being of Nevadans,” said state Treasurer Kate Marshall. “As Nevada’s next secretary of state, I would continue to oppose any attempts by the federal government to dump radioactive waste in our backyard and will work with both parties to prevent that from happening.” (To be fair, she was not only attacking Laxalt, but also her own Republican opponent, state Sen. Barbara Cegavske, over Yucca.)

Laxalt’s campaign came back with a statement, saying the candidate is against Yucca and Miller is a sissy girl, or words to that effect:

“Ross Miller’s attacks are absurd. Adam opposes Yucca Mountain and in the very interview Ross cites in his attack, Adam said he will maintain the position of the current attorney general on the issue of Yucca Mountain. We understand that Ross has been able to skate by without scrutiny of his record, but this year voters will have a chance to evaluate his performance. Adam stands ready and eager to debate Ross in front of Nevada’s voters on this and every other issue. It’s time for Ross to show a little backbone, come out of hiding, and debate the issues voters care about. Nevada voters deserve as much.”

Except, as I said, Laxalt mischaracterized the position of the current attorney general on the issue.

My God, when will this end?!

The reason this issue has some potency is that there are some officials in Nevada who do want the repository here. It means jobs and, some of them say, compensation to the state that could boost budgets for education, mental health and other needs. So Laxalt’s no-position position indicates a willingness to compromise that Yucca fight icons such as Richard Bryan or Kenny Guinn would not support. And even a hint of compromise is enough to beat this dull butter knife into a razor-sharp K-Bar suitable for inserting between the ribs of a nascent political campaign.

But the real issue here seems to be residency. Laxalt is undeniably new to Nevada, and obviously unfamiliar with the long and tortured history of this issue, which has been used to torment candidates and even would-be presidents and vice presidents in this state for so long, I recoil at even the thought of writing the phrase. But every few cycles, somebody steps on the Yucca land mine. This time, it’s Laxalt.

Why, I ask? Why?