Who is hip deep in financial ties?
From the category of ironic arguments... TPM reports on a radio attack ad the Clinton campaign has put out against Obama in Nevada:
And Barack Obama? The Las Vegas Review Journal said Obama was, quote, "hip-deep in financial ties" to one of America’s biggest Yucca Mountain promoters ...nuclear giant Exelon.
So if you want Yucca Mountain shut down for good, there’s only one choice ...the one the Sun called – quote – "the best prepared, best qualified Democratic candidate."
...continuing the trend, begun in New Hampshire and before, of broadcasting misleading information on a state wedge issue in anticipation of the vote in question. Of course, unlike the N.H. anti-choice smears from the Clinton campaign, which were demonstrably false given any honest review of the record, Yucca Mountain bills have a tendency to die in the Senate, and Obama has not needed to vote on the matter in the past. Much of what we have to go on are his past statements...
An October '07 letter concerning an EPW committee hearing:
Dear Leader Reid and Chairman Boxer:
I understand that the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is holding a hearing on October 31 entitled, "Examination of the Licensing Process for the Yucca Mountain Repository," at which Senator Reid is scheduled to testify. I know both of you have been working on this issue for many years, so I am writing to share my perspective on the issue given its importance to my home state of Illinois. Although I am no longer a member of the EPW Committee, I respectfully offer the following views and ask that they be included as part of the hearing record. Separately, I will be submitting questions for the hearing witnesses.
snip
Legitimate scientific questions have been raised about the safety of storing spent nuclear fuel at this location. With regard to Yucca Mountain, the National Academy of Sciences maintains that peak risks might occur hundreds of thousands of years from now. In 2004, a federal court questioned whether standards developed by the Environmental Protection Agency for the Yucca Mountain repository were sufficient to guarantee the safety of Nevadans.
Questions also have been raised about the viability of transporting spent nuclear fuel to Nevada from different locations around the country. Although it would seem to serve the interests of Illinois – and other states with nuclear reactors – to send our waste to another state, transporting nuclear waste materials poses uncertain risk. In fact, since a large amount of this spent fuel would likely travel by rail, this is a serious concern for the people of Chicago, which is the transportation hub of the Midwest.
Because of these safety issues and the unwavering opposition from the people of Nevada and their elected officials, there is strong reason to believe that many more billions of dollars could be expended on Yucca Mountain without any significant progress in moving towards a permanent solution to the problem of where to store spent nuclear fuel.
For these reasons, I believe that it is no longer a sustainable federal policy for Yucca Mountain to be considered as a permanent repository.
snip
the selection of Yucca Mountain has failed, the time for debate on this site is over, and it is time to start exploring new alternatives for safe, long-term solutions based on sound science. I thank you both for your leadership on this issue, and I appreciate your consideration of my views.
A May 20th letter in the Las Vegas Review-Journal
I want every Nevadan to know that I have always opposed using Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository, and I want to explain the many reasons why I've held that view.
In my state of Illinois, we have faced our own issues of nuclear waste management. There are some who believe that Illinois should serve as a repository for nuclear waste from other states. My view on this subject was made clear in a 2006 letter to Sen. Pete Domenici, who at the time was chairman of the Senate Energy Committee. "States should not be unfairly burdened with waste from other states," I wrote. "Every state should be afforded the opportunity to chart a course that addresses its own interim waste storage in a manner that makes sense for that state."
That is a position I hold to this day when it comes to both Illinois and Nevada.
and then there's Bob Fulkerson, who spoke out against the Clinton ads as reported by TPM...
Bob Fulkerson, state leader of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, noted he has opposed Yucca Mountain for 20 years. He vowed to fight it for as long as he lives.
Review-Journal
As to Barack Obama's alleged cushy relationship with Exelon, one might point out relevant information that he has been pushing increased notification requirements on such industry interests since an Exelon plant was discovered to have leaked tritiated water:
U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) Thursday strongly urged members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to support legislation he has introduced that would require nuclear companies to inform state and local officials if there is an accidental or unintentional leak of a radioactive substance.
"My constituents deserve to be notified immediately and comprehensively when these substances are released into the groundwater," said Senator Obama. "That's why I introduced a bill to require nuclear companies to inform not just the NRC, but also state and local officials if there is an accidental or unintentional leak of a radioactive substance. This is a simple common-sense bill. It's good for public safety, it's good for the public's right to know, and it's ultimately good for the nuclear power industry."
Dr. Nils J. Diaz, Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, indicated to Senator Obama that there are NRC representatives at every nuclear plant in the country and that Exelon officials, as well as NRC officials at the Exelon plant and at NRC headquarters, would have learned of the leaks immediately and should have known that the content was radioactive. Mr. Diaz indicated that the commission would have notified state and local officials only if the release had been large enough to merit radiological protection measures.
Senator Obama said that more timely disclosure to state and local officials of any unplanned release, even when it does not pose an immediate health risk, would help prevent residents of the surrounding community from feeling angry and misled.
There are 2006 and 2007 versions of this bill that Obama has submitted. Given that Hillary Clinton was a cosponsor of the 2006 bill, I assume she's aware of it.
This is a fairly thin attack on Obama. All of the candidates are against Yucca, and only John Edwards has ever held any different position on the matter. Moreover, if we are to assume that receiving money from employees of an industry makes one beholden to those industry interests, that assumption does not (and not) bode well for Hillary Clinton. I expect her concession that she is a slave to federal lobbyists any day now...
Of course, if we follow that line of thinking, Obama having unprecedented funds from small donors... I suppose that makes him beholden to you and to me... I think I'll go purchase a little more influence.