Commentary By Ron Beasley
If the voters of Nevada sends the toxic Sharron Angle it seems only fair that they should become the home to a radioactive garbage dump.
Harry Reid loss could reopen nuke debate
Opponents of a Nevada nuclear waste dump thought they�d finally managed to kill the Yucca Mountain project. Then came Sharron Angle.
The tea party-backed Republican stands a good chance at ousting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has spent much of his career fighting the nuclear repository. And without a senior Nevada lawmaker in position to fend off Yucca�s supporters, the project could have new life.
A Yucca kick-start would be welcome news to the nuclear industry and pro-nuclear lawmakers who see the lack of a long-term repository as a roadblock for what they foresee as a U.S. nuclear renaissance.
Nuclear power has become a central tenet of congressional Republicans� energy agenda; senators like John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Lamar Alexander say expanding the power source will help to cut dependence on foreign oil and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Democrats and the Obama administration have shown a willingness to compromise on the issue, and nuclear is posed to be a focal point of energy talks next year on Capitol Hill if Republicans make major electoral gains.
Reid often takes credit for killing the multibillion-dollar Yucca project by leading efforts to starve its funding and prodding the Obama administration to explore alternative sites. But Congress is full of powerful lawmakers eager to restart the project, and Yucca opponents fear that the rest of the Nevada delegation won�t be strong enough to fend them off if Reid loses.
�The idea of losing Senator Reid for those people that are opposed to Yucca Mountain being the national repository is devastating,� said Rep. Shelley Berkley, who could be the only Democrat in Nevada's congressional delegation next year.
Elections do indeed have consequences and Sharron Angle has said she is in favor of the Yucca Mountain site but wouldn't have the power to stop it even if she did oppose it.
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