In January 2015 the Michigan state government started leaving coolers of bottled water beside water fountains in their Flint offices so that state employees would not have to drink the poisoned water.
Plug that into the excellent timeline over at fivethirtyeight and the pattern becomes even more obvious. The state Department of Environmental Quality intentionally thumbed the scale on every single water quality test they took in Flint precisely because they already had a good idea what a legitimate test would find.
I am embarrassed to admit that I once thought of Rick Snyder as one of the good ones, at least relative to what we expect these days from a Republican governor. This was a crime against humanity.
dr. bloor
Elevating my blood pressure requires an element of surprise. 110/70 and holding.
p.a.
Can’t sue US Congresscritters. What about governors? Discovery, anyone?
schrodinger's cat
Why am I not hearing calls for his resignation?
schrodinger's cat
Speaking of blood pressure can I get a recommendation for a blood pressure cuff.
RaflW
If Rick Snyder doesn’t get forced out of office over this never-ending scandal, then justice is dead in this country. What a f*king human disaster of malfeasance, venality and blithe negligence.
WarMunchkin
@schrodinger’s cat: Because when a Tragedy Happens, we Call on All Americans to Be Serious and Come Together without conducting a Partisan Witch Hunt against the people over a Policy Difference.
dogwood
@schrodinger’s cat:
I guess there are no calls for his resignation because the people of Michigan don’t much care. I don’t have cable or network news, so I don’t know if he national media is giving this much attention . But since I’m sure Donald Trump doesn’t give a damn, I doubt it gets more than cursory coverage. This is where democrats drive me crazy. They just don’t demand the media cover serious things, and let republicans demand the media cover nonsense 24-7.
Miss Bianca
You really thought Snyder was one of “the good ones” even by current GOP standards? Oy, vey. As someone who grew up in Michigan, and has watched his “emergency managers” running rough-shod over Detroit, Flint, Benton Harbor etc. ever since the beginning of his Commissariat- all I can do is shake my head.
satby
No outcry that I have witnessed in SWMI. But then Snyder and Upton are their people.
redshirt
@dr. bloor: Right? I’m supposed to be shocked a Republican did something vile and evil?
I’d only be shocked these days if they did something for the common good.
hueyplong
Knowingly killing people to save a few bucks in Flint would have marked the final merging of the GOP into the perfect party of business except that they’ve decided to build that bridge to the 21st century and nominate a high end grifter authoritarian instead.
They are struggling to decide which historical villains to emulate.
Emma
Sorry to say I’m not surprised at all. The last two decades have turned me into a thoroughgoing cynic.
RaflW
@srv: Speaking of blithe negligence, we have to hear from this shitheel.
vtr
Rick Snyder represents the attitude of the entire Republcan Party toward the people.
redshirt
@dogwood: Even with the White House for 8 years, the Democrats have no control over the media at all. Completely at the whim of whatever nutjob Republican wants to froth about.
satby
@Miss Bianca: and guess what Detroit, Benton Harbor, and Flint all have in common?
Betty Cracker
@schrodinger’s cat: Bernie Sanders did. Not sure if Hillary Clinton called for his resignation per se, but she’s certainly lambasted him over the issue, including in the recent town hall, IIRC.
joel hanes
It was manslaughter, and should be prosecuted as such
Cermet
@srv: This was capitalism ideology in its standard repug-a-thug form, not government. Not even learning from this – typical.
Mnemosyne
I’m just some schmoe on the other side of the country who posts snarky website comments, and even I knew that the whole “Emergency Manager” thing was going to turn into a giant clusterfuck.
I thought it was going to be strictly financial, though, and not involve actually poisoning people, causing permanent damage. My bad for being naive.
Patricia Kayden
I’ve heard from a fellow B’Juicer that there are petitions to have Snyder recalled. I’m hoping that beyond recalls and civil lawsuits, there is a criminal investigation into the Flint fiasco which leads to arrests of Snyder and his cronies for their deliberate effort to cover up the poisoning of Flint’s water supply to save money.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/05/health/flint-michigan-water-investigation/
Capri
Snyder is asked about resigning all the time. He’s responded that he needs to stay in office so that he can fix the problem.
dogwood
@RaflW:
Every country has its share of soulless people like srv. You can’t let them get you down.
hueyplong
“He’s responded that he needs to stay in office so that he can fix the problem.”
Would have enjoyed hearing Nixon say that.
NorthLeft12
I guess by comparison with the sickeningly corrupt, bigoted, and completely ignorant Republican members of Congress and the Michigan state legislatures, Snyder may come off a little better. But he is every inch the model for the Governor that a majority of Michiganders want.
Living across the river from Michigan, I don’t have much doubt that Snyder would not only avoid resigning but would probably get re-elected if he wanted public office again.
Not 100% sure what is going on over there, but I’ll happily stay over here in Canada and not travel into that madhouse……ever.
Unfortunately, a large number of good people over there must put up with these right wing nut jobs and the criminal officials they elect.
Patricia Kayden
@Miss Bianca: As Rachel Maddow has pointed out, the whole idea of emergency managers is undemocratic as it takes away citizens’ rights to vote for their leaders.
There is a direct link between the emergency managers policy and Flint’s water crisis.
http://www.metrotimes.com/Blogs/archives/2015/12/21/rachel-maddow-gov-snyders-anti-democratic-policies-to-blame-for-flint-water-crisis
Citizen_X
@srv:
“Faith in government” means absolutely fuck all. There’s always a government; “no government” means you’re “governed” by warlords.
I do have faith that democratic (small d) government is far better than corporatocratic government. This is a pretty perfect demonstration.
Roger Moore
@Capri:
“You have to leave me in the henhouse,” said the fox, “so I can guard the remaining chickens!”
Patricia Kayden
@schrodinger’s cat:
Petitions for Snyder’s recall have been unsuccessful so far.
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/01/28/state-panel-consider-snyder-recall-petitions-today/79449966/
dogwood
@Citizen_X:
srv imagines himself a warlord. So you’re not gonna convince him with logic. There really are people who like to imagine poisoning people they find inferior. Some of them are elected officials like Snyder, but most of them are losers who think the Donald will give them a fiefdom like our resident troll.
Frankensteinbeck
@Miss Bianca:
Hey, which was your favorite book? Mine was ‘Miss Bianca In The Salt Mines.’ What do you think about Disney’s turning the message of the series upside down? Yes this is totally OT but I meet so few Margery Sharp fans.
MomSense
@Citizen_X:
I like to elect people who actually see the value of good governance and want to do their best. The problem is electing all these people who hate government, want to stop it, and then sabotage it as soon as they are elected.
Thoroughly Pizzled
Snyder is very good at publicly ignoring the culture war and other red meat so people think he’s a moderate, then signing everything the Republicans want into law. He’s the perfect guy to slip past people that assume Republicans are all dumb hicks. I hate him so much.
Rommie
There’s been a minor push to question if he should resign, but that’s all it is so far. I think it’s in large part because most people understand the Michigan House will NEVER impeach him, not even if he’s caught with a dead boy AND a live girl. So it’s only a resignation that will boot Snyder, and so far he can still skate by with “plausible deniability” and not get hammered by the weakened media.
He can’t run for Governor again, so he has to get caught red-handed doing something he can’t blame on a lackey, AND for it to get real pressure put on him. I hope it happens, but I expect him to finish his term out.
And this is a “moderate” Republican – and a shining example of how awful President Romney would have been, and Kasich would be from the current crop. They’d/They’ll pull this kind of BS without blinking.
singfoom
Um, shouldn’t someone go to jail? Or isn’t a class action lawsuit for remediation and compensation for harms a possibility here?
I can’t….even…..
How the hell do you sleep at night when you know the water’s too contaminated to drink for your state employees but you wait 9 months to tell the public…..
OzarkHillbilly
@schrodinger’s cat: I have read of 2 calls for his resignation. Don’t remember who but both were MI political figures. Of course they were met with cries of “Let’s not politicize this.”
schrodinger's cat
@OzarkHillbilly: Why the hell not?
Kay
Since there are now questions whether this would have saved any money (even best case) I wish they would look at some other reasons.
The emergency manager in Detroit tried to privatize the water system there. He was stopped (partly) because the federal government wouldn’t fund privatized water system infrastructure, but these emergency managers all seem to share the same goal- to sell everything off. I don’t know if there’s any connection but did someone stand to make money on this somehow?
This is from 2014:
jl
@Kay:
” did someone stand to make money on this somehow? ”
Would be interesting to look into that angle for Snyder. I read that in this case, even Snyder’s flunkies decided against the change to the dirty water. Snyder’s office over-ruled them. Don’t have the link at hand. I would like to know more about how and why that happened.
dogwood
@Kay:
Of course people stood to make money off of it. There is no reason for privatizing public goods other than creating profit. Just like privatizing social security.
Cacti
@Rommie:
This.
“Moderate” Republican Snyder signed right to work into law, and allowed the residents of Flint to drink lead contaminated water for close to a year.
Frankensteinbeck
@Kay:
There doesn’t have to be anyone specific to profit. There’s A) ideology, B) racism-tinged spite, and C) ‘If we sell it, there’s got to be room to make a buck somewhere.’
sharl
Some stuff released in response to FOIA requests – for example, this post by the excellent Jia Tolentino (redacted letter image alone is here) – is at best darkly comical, but given what lead does (especially to children), more aptly described as sociopathic and evil.
Are there any First Amendment legal types here who would know how doable it would be to have a look-see at the text that lies under all that black covering? I don’t know how many documents are so totally redacted like the one I linked,* but that just begs for further attention.
*Here is a 274pp .pdf with everything that Snyder’s folks submitted in response to the FOIA request; I’ve only looked at the first few pages.
SiubhanDuinne
@OzarkHillbilly:
Flint native Michael Moore has a petition for Snyder’s arrest.
Kay
@jl:
I’m sure you know this, but Eclectrablog does (some) original reporting on the emergency manager scene and have for years. They’re also just a great Michigan blog. I don’t in any way get paid by them (I swear!) but they survive on donations. Chris Savage runs it. I met him at the Netroots in Detroit. He does great work. I donate sporadically and unreliably :)
If we want to do better in state races we could probably really use some independent state news sources.
Kay
@Frankensteinbeck:
Oh, sure but you’d need something specific and that would do it. I just happened to be in Detroit during the water crisis there and there was lots of interesting speculation about privatization.
You know they aren’t going to be able to resist the Great Lakes in their quest to Sell Off and Ruin Everything. All that water and no one getting rich off it! That’s practically criminal.
sharl
@Kay: The Electablog team was great last night covering Rachel Maddow’s show, which was broadcasted (broadcast?) from Flint. They and Maddow’s staff clearly knew one another, and Chris Savage’s crew were in turn plugged in with local Flint activists.
That may be where local/state news reporting is heading, given the budget slashing going on in the traditional media which used to have robust Statehouse bureaus.
Miss Bianca
@satby:
um…let me think…melanin-enhanced populations?
Kay
@sharl:
Maybe. We need something. I think Savage pays his writers, too. When I met him he had a job outside the blog which I’m sure he still needs. I don’t imagine it’s wildly profitable.
Plunderbund serves the same role in Ohio. They occasionally even break stories, so some original reporting.
Miss Bianca
@Frankensteinbeck:
Oh, “The Rescuers” will always be my fave rave, but all of them are wonderful, including “MB in the Salt Mines” (I always pictured the salt mines under Detroit as the setting!).
Can’t speak to the Disney movies, as I have never seen them – too afraid of what I’d see! But I know at least one person whose opinion I adore who actually prefers the Disney “Rescuers” to Margery Sharp’s…so MMV on this one, of course…
debbie
@schrodinger’s cat:
Forget resignation. Where is the recall petition?
ETA: Reading further, I see they’re trying.
Lynnd
Snyder is too busy wasting time, and money trying to repair his image, to be bothered with the people in Flint. When the Governor does have a minute or two to spare, he spends it bickering with the EPA over who’s the boss.
Miss Bianca
@Patricia Kayden:
Yup, this is the point I’ve been making for years. All the smug white corporate tool-boys I went to school with are saying, “oh, but if the people of those communities are going to act like irresponsible CHILDREN (their actual words), then they deserve to have their democracy deposed” !
Frankensteinbeck
@Miss Bianca:
The Disney movies are very different. There’s none of the sexual tension, Bernard is an overweight schlub, Bianca is perfect and competent in all things, the plots are entirely new and not from the books at all, and she accepts his marriage proposal in the second movie. They are almost, but not quite, unrecognizable.
But mainly, I’m glad to find someone else who’s read the books!
Miss Bianca
Hey, screw resignation, screw the recall – I want the bastard hoist by his own petard. How about an “emergency manager” for the WHOLE STATE OF MICHIGAN? Except that it would probably end up being another GOP variation on Darth Snyder…
bemused
Wasn’t there something hinky about selling the Silverdome Stadium and an emergency manager?
Miss Bianca
@Frankensteinbeck:
Oh, the whole point of “The Rescuers” is Love inspiring Heroism! Too bad.
You are an author yourself, yes?
OK, enough threadjack for now… ; )
Linnaeus
Snyder’s no moderate. He gets the benefit of being called one because the bar for being “moderate” is so low nowadays, e.g, not threatening to close every abortion clinic in the state, but he’s a thoroughgoing corporatist. In some ways, he’s more dangerous than his neighboring governors are.
kc
Al Qaeda should give Snyder a medal.
satby
@Miss Bianca: got it in one.
MazeDancer
Here is link to online version of Rachel Maddow’s show from Flint. You want to see it. Brilliant journalism.
And Democrats should be using Flint in every way possible to help state and local elections. As in: Elect a GOP official, this horror could happen to you.
Snarki, child of Loki
Clearly the correct action to take with respect to Snyder is to fill him full of lead.
Poetic justice, even.
Feathers
@Miss Bianca: I loved all the Rescuers books as a youngin’, but I have to confess I didn’t catch the reference. I remember the movie being disappointing, but not existentially disappointing. Looking up the books, I had not realized that there had been a reissue under the fantastic New York Review of Books children’s series. I’ll have to pick some up for gifts. I’ve been getting the ones I missed as a child out of the library and enjoying them immensely.
tom
Snyder heckled out of Ann Arbor bar
Miss Bianca
@tom:
Yeah, it would be the Old Town! So glad it’s still there!