Vermont Yankee, it's security, sale and criticism of Howard Dean

[KaraokeKarlton]

Okay, let's take a very close look at this. Not too long ago, Dean was being criticized on this site for supporting the sale of Vermont Yankee. In the minds of some he was the devil incarnate for having any kind of contact with the company that bought Vermont Yankee.

Part of the reason Dean supported the sale is because the state couldn't manage Vermont Yankee. There were security issues that the state just didn't have the resources to deal with, no matter how badly the state wanted to be able to deal with them. That was the reality, period.

So, like a good, responsible, concerned and common-sense kinda guy, Dean wanted to sell Vermont Yankee to people who DID have the ability and resources to run it properly, address the safety concerns and protect Vermonters from potential disaster should a problem arise.

Now it seems Dean is being attacked for being "lax on security" of Vermont Yankee. This, to me, is downright ridiculous. The whole reason he wanted to sell Vermont Yankee is because he wanted to deal with the very security issue he's now being attacked about.

I'm sorry folks, but you can't criticize Dean for supporting the sale of Vermont Yankee to make it safer and then turn around and claim he wasn't doing enough to make it safer. Kindly make up your minds exactly which thing you want to criticize and then direct your criticism in the proper direction.

If you oppose the sale of Vermont Yankee, then you have no business complaining about the facility haveing safety issues and need to blame Bush for not providing adequate funding to protect the reactors from potential terror attacks.

If you want to complain about the safety issues, you need to take it up with those in Vermont who fought and held up the sale of Vermont Yankee that resulted in the safety lapses being prolonged.

[Brian_Expat]

1. Ha! I've figured out why we shouldn't nominate Dean. . .

It's because. . .

He's a right-wing corporate whore who sold Vermont Yankee yet is too much of a left-wing socialist to deal effectively with homeland security! :evilgrin:

[KaraokeKarlton]

3. lol

nah, he's just plain smart...and that scares people.

[JVS]

4. Since when are Socialists bad at security?

[slinkerwink]

12. lol

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Shut it down

Sale or no sale, that place has no business being open. I live 10 miles from VT Yankee, so I speak as one who would be vaporized should it decide to blow one of these fine days.

[KaraokeKarlton]

5. Well, it's due to shut down in 2012

And if it's going to be open, don't you feel a little better having it run by someone who has the resources and knowledge to run it properly? Dean handled it as well as anyone could have, and that's really what this discussion is about. I'm just so sick of people on here talking out of their ass about Vermont and Dean when they have no idea what they're talking about. :shrug:

[baggypants]

6. It's just Monday morning quarterbacking

Like so many things, political and otherwise, everybodys an expert after the fact.

Damned if ya do; damned if ya don't.

[KaraokeKarlton]

7. Notice how the critics are avoiding this thread?

But they're busy kicking the thread with the ridiculous and inaccurate article.

Kinda makes you wonder if it's really the truth they're looking for, don't it?

[Dookus]

8. I'm not ignoring this thread...

I just choose not to post because I suspect it will be lcoked.

Why must you make gross generalizations about everybody else? Why personalize everything?

[Desertrose]

11. you just said we are talking out of our asses

and know nothing about Vt & Dean and then you complain when people don't post on your thread...

make up yer mind...is it about Dean,the issues or you?

I have yet to see a lot of your threads get down to the "truth"...everyone has their version of it it would seem.

:shrug:

Peace
DR

[wtmusic]

9. informative post KK

thanks :-)

[KittyWampus]

10. Dean Didn't Just "Support" The Sale

The actions of his administration made it more profitable as it was sold below market value.

And so, if Dean knew there were security problems etc., perhaps upgrades should have been part of the deal, were they?

Did the Dean Administration make sure that anything was done?

Further, I live in NY and since the Federal Government is doing nothing to clean up the Stock Market, Eliot Spitzer is stepping in where the Feds lack the will to tred.

[TLM]

13. In fact i think that's why they sold it at that price...

Because the company was going to be facing a loss the first few years due to the cost of addressing those safety concerns.

And since the plant is being shut down in 2012, there's not really any prospect for long term profitability either.

So what other incentive to the buyer is there, other than to sell it below market value?

[Scott Lee]

14. Indeed.

It's curious, why fiscal responsibility wouldn't be not only a feather in the cap of Governor Dean, but also in wooing all those disgruntled moderate repubs out there.

[blm]

15. He sold it to the BFEE loyalists, the Koch brothers

who also fund The CATO Institute.

Remember when CATO said Dean was a Democrat they can work with? Remember when Dean pushed deregulation of electricity as governor?

Remember in Conason's book, The Hunting of the President, when he reported that BushInc. went after Bill Clinton right after Bush took office in 1989 to try to compromise him in some way?

Remember that many insiders knew that Dean wanted to run for president since 97. Gee...why do you think the Koch brothers would want to deal with Dean? Why would Dean keep all those papers regarding that deal under seal?

[XanaDUer]

17. Links!

http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/Archive/Articles/Article/43924

"MONTPELIER — The Conservation Law Foundation will file a freedom of information request with the Dean administration today to find out how many contacts it has had with Vermont utility executives over the pending sale of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.

Mark Sinclair, senior attorney with the environmental group, said Monday that recent news reports about the financial contributions made by Vermont utility executives or board members to Gov. Howard Dean’s presidential campaign political action committee were “too much of a coincidence.”

******************************************************************

Link between Entergy and Koch Industries:

http://216.239.37.104/search?q=cache:eVS7kVja6pIJ:www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m4PRN/2000_April_24/66164713/p1/article.jhtml+%22entergy/koch+industries%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

[askew]

16. Thanks for starting this thread.

I always appreciate your VT input.

[Moderator]

18. locking

6. You may not start a new discussion thread in order to continue a current or
recent flame war from another thread. The moderators have the authority to lock
threads in order to contain flaming on a particular topic to only one thread at
a time.

Here is the current thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=57029



DU Moderator