The almost nuclear agnostic

I am very close to being a nuclear agnostic. This has been a position I have held since the seventh grade when my science teacher Mrs. Powers (haha awesome) asked us which side we would like to debate. I said I didn't care and she put me on the pro-nuclear. Beth Richardson of the opposing camp got so enraged she continued following me around into the next period to continue the debate until I sicked my math teacher on her.
I say I am an almost nuclear agnostic because I do not have especially strong feelings one way or another on the issue, but the feelings I do have are against all things nuclear. My energy plan as a 2010 Congressional candidate was to focus on decentralized renewables http://www.nilvsdcbs.com/energypolicy.html
What confuses me on this issue is the Republican love of nuclear power. I'll assume it isn't a lobbying thing because it is the position of so many Republicans. They tend not to care or even believe in global warming, so I know it isn't that nuclear doesn't contribute to global warming (or at least directly).So I don't see any particular reason to be for it yet there is a very big anti-conservative reason not to be for it. No nuclear power plant in the history of ever has run without taxpayer dollars.
Last presidential election cycle John McCain was fond of pointing out that France is big on nuclear power, somehow forgetting that France is big on public funding of everything. I get and agree with the arguments against nuclear power, but I don't even know what the arguments for nuclear power is other than "it's not coal". We have plenty of alternatives to coal.


related article in local news today
http://politicmo.com/2011/03/21/nixon-tilley-together-on-nuclear-power/?utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter