{"id":20703,"date":"2016-03-18T14:07:11","date_gmt":"2016-03-18T21:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=20703"},"modified":"2016-03-18T14:07:11","modified_gmt":"2016-03-18T21:07:11","slug":"republicans-love-sturmbannfhrer-snyder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2016\/03\/18\/republicans-love-sturmbannfhrer-snyder\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans Love Sturmbannführer Snyder"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time, since he began murdering and maiming the residents of Flint, Sturmbannf\u00fchrer Rick Snyder (R-MI) testilied [sp. intentional<\/em>] before Congress.  Even though it is well documented that Snyder\u2019s aids knew the water was poisonous before hew switched the water supply to the Flint River<\/a>, Snyder claimed ignorance until just recently.  It should come as no surprise that Congressional Republicans defended him.  I suspect that some were envious enough that he got to kill and injure blacks, that they want to help him get away with it, as there is certainly no valid justification for defending him.<\/font><\/p>\n

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\"SnyderHat\"The good news for Flint, Mich., residents who attended the third and final House Oversight Committee hearing on their town\u2019s water crisis was that Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy were both castigated on a public stage.<\/p>\n

The bad news: The hearing was as divided as ever, with Democrats almost exclusively focusing their ire on Snyder, and Republicans going so far as to praise him. During three hearings on Flint over February and March, only three individual members of Congress have broken partisan ranks in the blame game.<\/p>\n

At Thursday\u2019s hearing, Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) called on McCarthy to resign, while ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) called on Snyder to resign.<\/p>\n

All three hearings in the committee have been partisan tugs-of-war over whether to focus on Snyder\u2019s shortcomings (Democrats\u2019 preference) or the EPA\u2019s (Republicans\u2019 preference). Chaffetz has noted multiple times that Congress has jurisdiction over EPA\u2019s funding, not over Michigan\u2019s state government. Hence, Republicans feel that EPA is the appropriate target.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, three Republicans not only defended Snyder, but praised him<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve accepted far more blame for this problem than you deserve,\u201d Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.) told Snyder, adding that Flint\u2019s economic problems date back \u201clong before you took office.\u201d\u2026 [emphasis added<\/em>]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Inserted from <Morning Consult<\/a>><\/p>\n

Perhaps McCarthy could have done more to push the issue. such as declaring a federal emergency in Flint sooner than she did, but the truth is that Snyder\u2019s she did inform Snyder\u2019s aides on multiple occasions, and they hindered the EPA\u2019s ability to stop the crisis<\/a>.  Shifting blame to her, is just a smoke screen.<\/font><\/p>\n

Rachel Maddow covered the story<\/a> quite well.<\/font><\/p>\n