MaxPower
08-12-2004, 04:20 PM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=578&e=4&u=/nm/20040812/ts_nm/campaign_bush_dc
Kerry's accussation that Bush broke his promise is a matter of opinion and probably not so, but Bush's statement that Kerry voted for the Yucca Mountain project "several times" seems like an outright lie.
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Bush Accuses Kerry of Using Political Poker Chip
21 minutes ago
By Steve Holland
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) accused Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) on Thursday of shifting positions to oppose storing nuclear waste at the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada and using the issue as a "political poker chip" in a gamble to grab a state Bush won in 2000.
Bush made the accusation during a brief stop in the U.S. gambling capital before heading to California, where he was to appear with popular Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites).
Aides said Bush would announce $320 million in federal assistance for California. The state holds 55 electoral votes in the presidential election, the most in the country. Polls give Kerry a wide lead over Bush there and the Bush campaign is hoping Schwarzenegger can give him a boost.
Bush and his wife, Laura, will also appear on CNN's "Larry King Live" show from Los Angeles and attend a Republican fund-raiser.
Nevada's Yucca Mountain -- which Bush approved in 2002 as a burial site for radioactive refuse from nuclear power plants and weapons -- has become a centerpiece of the closely fought Nov. 2 White House race in Nevada.
Kerry said in a visit to the state on Tuesday that Bush had broken his promise as a candidate in 2000 to base his decision on "sound science, not politics" and cited a number of skeptical studies from the U.S. government's General Accounting Office (news - web sites), the National Academy of Sciences (news - web sites) and other bodies.
The issue is largely local but could help determine the presidential race. Nevada is a key battleground state that Bush won in 2000, and without its five electoral votes would not be in the White House.
BUSH DEFENDS DECISION
Bush defended his decision to move ahead with Yucca Mountain but made clear he was comfortable with the state's appeals to the courts and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
"I said I would make a decision based on science, not politics. I said I would listen to the scientists in determining whether this project can move forward in a safe manner and that's exactly what I did," Bush said.
The Bush campaign says Kerry voted for the 1987 Nuclear Waste Policy Act Amendments that began the process of studying Yucca Mountain for nuclear waste storage.
"My opponent is trying to turn Yucca Mountain into a political poker chip," Bush said. "He says he is strongly against Yucca, here in Nevada, but he voted for it several times, and so did his running mate (John Edwards (news - web sites)). My point to you is that, if they're going to change, one day they may change again. I think you need straight talk on this issue."
Kerry has consistently voted against a nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain. The 1987 amendments act was tacked onto budget legislation, for which he voted, but Kerry said on Tuesday, "When it has counted -- on real votes to say no to Yucca mountain, I voted no."
The Bush campaign handed reporters traveling with the president a copy of a letter signed by Kerry and other senators calling for an "accelerated" schedule for the removal of waste from permanently shut-down nuclear power reactors.
The letter makes reference to legislation that would provide for the removal of waste to a "centralized permanent facility" and says the problem of these reactors should be addressed as part of any legislation.
The letter makes no mention of Yucca Mountain but Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said the "centralized permanent facility" refers to Yucca Mountain. "They're calling for waste to be removed from the East Coast and sent to Yucca Mountain," he said.
(Additional reporting by Caren Bohan)
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Kerry's accussation that Bush broke his promise is a matter of opinion and probably not so, but Bush's statement that Kerry voted for the Yucca Mountain project "several times" seems like an outright lie.
[ QUOTE ]
Bush Accuses Kerry of Using Political Poker Chip
21 minutes ago
By Steve Holland
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) accused Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) on Thursday of shifting positions to oppose storing nuclear waste at the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada and using the issue as a "political poker chip" in a gamble to grab a state Bush won in 2000.
Bush made the accusation during a brief stop in the U.S. gambling capital before heading to California, where he was to appear with popular Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites).
Aides said Bush would announce $320 million in federal assistance for California. The state holds 55 electoral votes in the presidential election, the most in the country. Polls give Kerry a wide lead over Bush there and the Bush campaign is hoping Schwarzenegger can give him a boost.
Bush and his wife, Laura, will also appear on CNN's "Larry King Live" show from Los Angeles and attend a Republican fund-raiser.
Nevada's Yucca Mountain -- which Bush approved in 2002 as a burial site for radioactive refuse from nuclear power plants and weapons -- has become a centerpiece of the closely fought Nov. 2 White House race in Nevada.
Kerry said in a visit to the state on Tuesday that Bush had broken his promise as a candidate in 2000 to base his decision on "sound science, not politics" and cited a number of skeptical studies from the U.S. government's General Accounting Office (news - web sites), the National Academy of Sciences (news - web sites) and other bodies.
The issue is largely local but could help determine the presidential race. Nevada is a key battleground state that Bush won in 2000, and without its five electoral votes would not be in the White House.
BUSH DEFENDS DECISION
Bush defended his decision to move ahead with Yucca Mountain but made clear he was comfortable with the state's appeals to the courts and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
"I said I would make a decision based on science, not politics. I said I would listen to the scientists in determining whether this project can move forward in a safe manner and that's exactly what I did," Bush said.
The Bush campaign says Kerry voted for the 1987 Nuclear Waste Policy Act Amendments that began the process of studying Yucca Mountain for nuclear waste storage.
"My opponent is trying to turn Yucca Mountain into a political poker chip," Bush said. "He says he is strongly against Yucca, here in Nevada, but he voted for it several times, and so did his running mate (John Edwards (news - web sites)). My point to you is that, if they're going to change, one day they may change again. I think you need straight talk on this issue."
Kerry has consistently voted against a nuclear repository at Yucca Mountain. The 1987 amendments act was tacked onto budget legislation, for which he voted, but Kerry said on Tuesday, "When it has counted -- on real votes to say no to Yucca mountain, I voted no."
The Bush campaign handed reporters traveling with the president a copy of a letter signed by Kerry and other senators calling for an "accelerated" schedule for the removal of waste from permanently shut-down nuclear power reactors.
The letter makes reference to legislation that would provide for the removal of waste to a "centralized permanent facility" and says the problem of these reactors should be addressed as part of any legislation.
The letter makes no mention of Yucca Mountain but Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel said the "centralized permanent facility" refers to Yucca Mountain. "They're calling for waste to be removed from the East Coast and sent to Yucca Mountain," he said.
(Additional reporting by Caren Bohan)
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