Dear Friends,

Obama...GNEP (spent fuel dumping & reprocessing) & lack of freedom of speech...

We wanted to let you know how the Obama campaign treats people concerned about his position on GNEP and nuclear issues...

At the big Obama-Oprah rally here in Columbia, South Carolina on Sunday, a few of us decided to hold up signs at the entrance to the venue (university football stadium) against Obama’s support of research into GNEP.  You may have noticed at the Democratic debate two weeks ago in Las Vegas that he said he supported nuclear power and that Argonne lab in Illinois was conducting promising research on how to manage nuclear waste (uh, GNEP that is).  If GNEP goes forward, South Carolina (Savannah River Site & the old Barnwell reprocessing plant) is perhaps the main site being considered to receive the nation’s spent nuclear fuel.

When we arrived at the stadium entrance with a few posterboard signs the Obama
people were all over us, trying to kick us off the property.  They said we could go
to the “free speech” area that was several blocks away.   Hm...sure sounds like a
tactic of a certain president who could care less about free speech. We didn’t leave
and they got the police to come, who forced us off the property and to the sidewalk across the street (where people entering the stadium could still see us).  The stadium, they said, was rented by the Obama campaign and it was not a public area any more. Hunh?!  One of us returned to the stadium property with a sign and a police officer pursued her and shoved her in the back, making sure to be out of camera range.

So, we wanted to let you know about these tactics of the Obama campaign to stifle free speech.  Is the campaign really about the change it claims?  The reaction was shocking and unanticipated by us.  If anyone has heard of his campaign applying this tactic at others sites please let us know.  And, if anyone has heard him say more about GNEP and reprocessing please pass it on.  And, how much money is he taking from the nuclear industry (while claiming to take no money from special interests)??

And Oprah, is she also pro-GNEP and anti-free speech?  Say it ain't so!

Regards,

Tom Clements
Leslie Minerd
Elaine Cooper