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More Democats for Nuclear Energy?

By Eric McErlain
Thanks to my NEI colleague Donn Salvosa passing along the following exchange between Larry Kudlow and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi than ran this morning on CNBC (no link available):
KUDLOW: All right. We're here, back with more of my interview with House leader Nancy Pelosi. We'll get her thoughts on the U.S. policy in Iraq and on energy. I began by asking whether she would support an offshore drilling bill.

Rep. PELOSI: Depends. The Senate bill that is out there now is a much better bill than the House bill because it's targeted in what it would use the money for. I think we have to have some sunset to say, `How many years can we have tens of billions of dollars siphoned off from the federal government to a state?' Which is part of that bill? But there's really a need for remediation in terms of wetlands in New Orleans and the rest. So some kind of a bill like that might gain support just so long as it wasn't used as a model to do offshore drilling all over the country and in a way that is very close to shore.

KUDLOW: Expansion of nuclear power?

Rep. PELOSI: Has to be looked at. Technology has changed over the last, say, dozen years when this debate was going on a long time ago. I think we have to look at it. Because what is the alternative? You go to India? What is it, coal for all of those people, China and the rest? So I think it has to be revisited.
Next, click here for an interview Virginia Governor Mark Warner gave to Helen Smith and Glenn Reynolds where he expresses much the same sentiment.

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Comments

Paul Primavera said…
Rep. Pelosi needs to do more than just look at nuke power. First, she should start with her constituents in anti-nuke California and get them educated. Then she needs to get her peers in Congress (Nita Lowey, Charles Rangel and the others advocating for an Indian Point shutdown) on board.

I'll believe she's pro-nuke when she actually does something positive.
October 27, 2006 at 10:03 AM
KenG said…
Unfortunately, Paul is probably onto something here. Politicians that are out of power (either party) tend to run toward the center (as they see it). However, after they are elected, they tend to revert to catering to the groups they think are their core backers. It is almost always a political plus to be open minded. What remains to be seen is whether Democrats (individually or collectively) will see any reason to take action that would be counter to knee jerk environmental positions.
October 27, 2006 at 2:40 PM
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