N.H. GOP says Shaheen has flipped on nuclear energy

By Brian Lawson, PolitickerNH.com Reporter

The New Hampshire Republican Party has released videos from a 1987 television program that they say shows former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen (D-Madbury) has changed her position on nuclear energy, videos the Shaheen campaign says were "taken out of context."

The videos show Shaheen debating former House Speaker Marshall Cobleigh on WMUR's Close-Up. At the time Shaheen was the campaign manager for Paul McEachern's gubernatorial campaign.

"These clips are over 20 years old and taken out of context," Kate Bedingfield, Shaheen's communications director, said in a statement. "What Jeanne Shaheen has consistently said, including to Fosters a few weeks ago, is that nuclear power is a part of our energy mix - that is a fact. But we should not subsidize it and we should not expand it until we have a safe way to deal with the waste."

In one video Cobleigh said, "And if we don't have nuclear power in this country we are going to become more and more vulnerable to the Arabs in the mid east, and that's why we are in danger of war, because we are not taking care of our energy dependence."

To which Shaheen responded "that argument just doesn't wash."

"Today, Jeanne Shaheen has completely flip-flopped her position by claiming that she actually supports nuclear power and that it should be ‘part of the mix' in any plan to deal with our national energy crisis," New Hampshire Republican Chairman Fergus Cullen said in a press release. "With energy prices at record levels Shaheen has made yet another politically motivated, election year shift on a critical issue."

Bedingfield added that U.S. Sen. John Sununu (R-Waterville Valley), Shaheen's opponent, is supporting a "backward-looking policy that does nothing but pad Big Oil's profits will never get us to energy independence and it will continue to prevent us from creating 21st century jobs in New Hampshire."

One of the videos can be seen below and the rest can be viewed by reading the following press release: Shaheen's Nuclear Exposure

Brian Lawson is a PolitickerNH.com Reporter and can be reached via email at brian.lawson@politickernh.com.

Email this Article

Comments

Fergus has lost it.

posted by NH Ratepayer

Do the NH Republicans really think showing Jeanne Shaheen stating what most NH people thought 20 years ago, nuclear power was unsafe and costly, is really going to turn voters to Sununu? Especially since it was Sununu Sr. who caused NH to have the highest electric rates in the country? Talk about grasping at straws!!

09/15/08 6:24 pm

Shaheen=Fraud

posted by Indypendent

Is there any issue that Jeanne Shaheen hasn't completely flip-flopped her position on? Taxes? Iraq? Energy? She has stuck her finger in the find to figure out what position to take on every single policy. She opposed nuclear power in the 80s and now we have an energy crisis due in large part to people like her. We haven't been able to build a nuclear plant in this country in years. Now, 20 years later she opposes more offshore drilling. She was part of the problem in the 80s and she is part of the problem today.

09/15/08 9:12 pm

Radical Community Organizer

posted by RadicalShaheen

This is the proof that Jeanne Shaheen was just a radical community organizer in her early days. She was one of those hippie liberals that opposed nuclear power and caused our nation to become beholden to Middle East oil. Shame on her for causing this mess!

09/15/08 9:56 pm

What a Waste

posted by Bill McGonigle

I can't believe the Republicans are wasting their time with this. Get a clue guys, nobody wants a candidate who hasn't ever evolved their positions, especially on technology. 'Flip-Flop' isn't some magic political Kryptonite that makes opponents wither. Spend time going after real issues. How about you point out that the issue of nuclear waste has already been solved, less than 20 years ago, in the form of the Integral Fast Reactor, a program Shaheen's buddies in the Clinton administration killed shortly after taking office? Point out that if they hadn't we'd already be well on our way to cleaning up the waste, dealing with proliferation concerns, have a solution to Iran, and heading off our dependence on foreign oil. And point out that an engineer like Sununu is needed to bring leadership to the energy problem. Take ownership and leadership, don't play schoolyard name-calling games. Jeez, people, step up.

09/15/08 10:48 pm

Hummer is not to blame ?

posted by Anonymous2012

Hummer is not to blame ? People driving oversized vehicles are not to blame. Blame is cheap and easy. While playing the blame game you could also blame those who never got into solar and wind. Over consumption is a problem. Problem with nuclear is... who really wants it in their neighborhood?

09/16/08 8:18 am