Bernie Sanders calls on Michigan’s governor to resign over water contamination in Flint

[Attorney in Texas]

Source: Washington Post

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on Saturday called for Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) to resign amid mounting criticism of his administration’s slow response to a crisis over lead contamination in Flint’s drinking water.

“There are no excuses,” Sanders said in the statement. “The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint's water. He did nothing. As a result, hundreds of children were poisoned. Thousands may have been exposed to potential brain damage from lead."

The statement came as the senator from Vermont prepared for a full weekend of political events in South Carolina, including a high-stakes debate Sunday night with former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley.

...

“The people of Flint deserve more than an apology," Sanders said.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/16/bernie-sanders-calls-on-michigans-governor-to-resign-over-water-contamination-in-flint/

[FrodosPet]

1. Tough on children. Tough on Michigan.

Tough as a $2.00 steak, and far less appetizing.

Rick Snyder. One tough spaz.

[Mizerio]

2. I agree

The situation could have been avoided.

[JackRiddler]

3. About time - I was waiting for this.

He should visit Flint immediately.

[gregcrawford]

7. And lock his sorry ass...

... in a gymnasium with the parents of children affected by his negligence and greed. There'll be nothing left of him but pink slime.

[JackRiddler]

13. No, no, I mean Sanders should...

visit Flint immediately. Screw what Snyder does, he should just be ready not to resist if and when the police finally come for him.

I've been waiting for Sanders to speak out on Flint, get his non-sorry ass over there post-haste, bring a national spotlight to an issue that speaks to everything at once: corporate abuse and plunder, neoliberal insanity, the attack on the public sphere, Tea Partyism, ecology, deindustrialization, and above all the total and deadly contempt and neglect for children, workers, the poor, black people... Flint needs help and Flint is a microcosm of what's wrong with America, 2016.

[EriktheRedder]

4. Bernie should also launch an investigation into the

EPA's policies and practices as they also knew and did nothing...
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/01/14/epa_knew_about_flint_water_problems_in_april_2015.html

[DustyJoe]

5. Well using this logic on the state level

What federal official was called on to resign or actually resigned after the EPA mine spill in Colorado that rendered the Animas river water unusable for weeks in a three state area ?

As usual no heads rolled for a thoughtless federal action that caused much mayhem.

Good Luck Michigan.

[tabasco]

12. What federal official knew about the spill and did not report it?

Your post makes no sense.

[DustyJoe]

16. Only the EPA directing the activity causing the spill

"According to an EPA memorandum, the release occurred on Aug. 5 at 10:51 a.m.," U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., said in a congressional subcommittee meeting on Friday. "However, EPA headquarters, Region 6 and Region 9 were not notified until 11 a.m. the next morning."

The 24 hour notofication delay allowed the toxic water access to crop irrigation used for both crops and animals.

http://www.daily-times.com/story/san-juan-county/2015/09/12/environmental-protection-agency-releases-notification-plan/73053004/


Hopefully that makes sense. And yet no one ended up under the gun within the teflon EPA ranks.

[tabasco]

18. LOL! Snyder knew about the problem months/years before the catastrophe.

Thanks for playing. Please try again.

[tabasco]

19. Please explain this statement in more detail:

"The 24 hour notofication (sic) delay allowed the toxic water access to crop irrigation used for both crops and animals."

How exactly would notification at the exact moment of the spill prevented "the toxic water access to crop irrigation used for both crops and animals?"

[DustyJoe]

20. simply because ......

Farmers and Ranchers would have had the opportunity to close the headgates feeding the irrigation ditches therefore not allowing the water to flow in the irrigation network.

http://myinforms.com/en-us/a/15884327-navajo-nation-reopens-irrigation-canal-3-weeks-after-mine-spill/

https://www.cpr.org/news/newsbeat/mine-spill-navajo-will-close-irrigation-canals-year


As it was, the 24 hour delay allowed the toxic flow access to the irrigation network depositing the heavy metals in the soil with the shallower, slower flowing ditches as compared to the toxic plume advancing quicly down the deeper, fast flowing river not allowing as much heavy metals to sink into the soil along the river.

Luckily the largest federally subsidized farm in the region NAPI the Navajo farm project depends on water from the San Juan river 10 miles or so northeast of where the toxic plume from the Animas river and the San Juan converge on the Southwest edge of Farmington NM. Otherwise a lot of potato chips would taste funny as NAPI is one of the largest potato growers in the west.

[tabasco]

21. You are referring to the formal notification of higher headquarters.

An independent technical report following the spill reported that the downstream community (Silverton) was notified immediately.

Actions Taken After the Release to Repair and Stabilize the Site. EPA called down for the roads to be blocked where the stream crosses them, which was promptly accomplished. They also had word passed on to people in Silverton. The details of the notifications made are not a subject of this report.

http://www.usbr.gov/docs/goldkingminereport.pdf

Speaking of those downstream communities --- they REFUSED EPA Superfund assistance prior to the event because they were worried about tourism.

The Silverton Board of Trustees and the San Juan County Commission approved a joint resolution Monday to seek the money. It's a reversal for local officials who long feared that designation as a federal Superfund site would harm economic development.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/silverton-to-seek-federal-cleanup-help-after-gold-king-mine-disaster

[captainarizona]

6. republicans should drink the flint water

Any republican who wants to vote has to drink a glass of flint tap water!

[Pathwalker]

8. Yeah - not gonna happen, Senator. This state is now OWNED

by Repukes, and the Lansing press(state capitol) is telling everyone what a "heroic job" the asshole is doing. Why, Bull Schittee, our AG, is already on the case and he will find that Snydley Snyder is the only real victim here, and deserves a halo for the "heroic job" he's done to help all those horrible people in Flint.

Reporting from Michigan, where we are well and truly FUCKED!

[rockfordfile]

9. I would like to see the republican arrested

[elias49]

10. YES!

Well played by Sanders.

[certainot]

11. 3 michigan universities supporting rw radio make them good places to protest

19 limbaugh stations around michigan broadcast the sports of Michigan St. 11, Michigan 7, Western Michigan 1

all those stations were snyder supporters, helped get him elected, and will be defending him now. those stations are probably working hard to attack his critics and keep him in office. if he was a democrat they would all be screaming in unison until the tea baggeroons got their pichforks and marched to the mansion.

19 stations x 15 hrs/day avg RW talk x 5 days/week x 52 wks = 74100 hrs of pro Snyder/Republican advertising every year. At $1000/hour that’s 74 $MIL in free pro privatization anti-public ed and global warming denial endorsed by three Michigan universities and their brands every year.

protests at those unis to get them to look for apolitical alternatives would scare the crap out of the GOP and the discussion would stimulate student voter participation. if one of those schools considered it the others would be shamed into following. if the schools consider dumping those stations their advertisers would flee.

the stations pay peanuts to broadcast games and the stations use the university mascots and community cred to elect shits like snyder and sell their privatization agenda. that includes defunding and privatizing public ed! some and maybe most of those stations would have to change format to keep the association. it would ensure many more democrats would be elected next november.

it's happening all over the country - 90 unis support 260 limbaugh stations the same way.

[JudyM]

14. Great comment. RW radio hate mongering etc is at the heart of many of the country's problems. Nt

[lark]

15. Thank you Bernie Sanders!

This is a very bold and principled stand and one that truly needs to be made. Love it how he is so often totally right!!

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

17. Please - there is more to this than just "the gov knew and didnt do anything" - they CAUSED the

problem in the first place!!! The choice was made to not follow fed regulations re safe drinking water - had the water been treated properly with anticorrosion agents this never would have happened.

THIS is the direct result of rw ideology - choking off public services, turning over govt functions to for-profit crony capitalists. Drowning govt in the proverbial bathtub has always been the ultimate goal all along.

In a nutshell - they thought they didn't need no stinkin water regulations! Whether thru stupidity, ignorance, greed.... or some combination thereof.... doesn't frickin matter. They are responsible.