Bernie Sanders Sound Off On Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Over Flint Water Crisis

Bernie Sanders is not pleased with the way Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has handled the Flint water crisis, and now he’s voicing his frustrations with absolutely no reservations.

According to Politico, the Democratic presidential hopeful has accused Gov. Snyder of knowingly allowing the lead-poisoning water crisis to continue throughout Flint, MI without doing anything to resolve the problem.

Bernie Sanders also accused Snyder of blatantly disregarding the health and safety of the people. In a campaign release, Bernie criticized Snyder by insisting “the people of Flint deserve more than an apology.” In fact, Bernie went a step further by saying Gov. Snyder should consider resigning.

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

In the wake of the alarming incident, Bernie Sanders blasted Snyder for the timeline of events that occurred as a result of his orders, which could have caused illness and even fatalities if severely high levels of lead had been found in patients’ blood.

Bernie Sanders calls for Michigan governor to resign over Flint water crisis: "There are no excuses" https://t.co/Yy9zEW8r6u

— VICE News (@VICENews) January 17, 2016

According to ABC News, the problem began back in April of 2014 when Flint, MI changed it’s water source. For those who don’t know, Detroit, MI had previously been the source of Flint’s water source, but in 2014, the city began drawing its water from the Flint River. Bernie Sanders touched on a number of issues regarding the timeline, where he criticized Synder for doing nothing to prevent this ordeal. In just a few short months, things took a disturbing turn for the worse.

By summer, three boil water advisories were issued after the water tested positive for coliform bacteria. Bernie Sanders’ claims were confirmed based on the advisories and the problematic issues that followed. In October of 2014, the Flint water crisis made headlines again when General Motors decided to refrain from using Flint River water because it began to rust industrial parts.

By 2015, the state had made minimal efforts to improve the Flint, MI water system by pledging $2 million, but to no avail. Bernies Sanders’ statement also shed light on this particular issue. Although state officials assured Flint residents that all was well, research proved that wasn’t the case. In March, Flint officials insisted the city’s water quality had improved, but by September, a group of researchers led by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha of Hurley Medical Center urged the city to stop using the river water due to heightened levels of lead found in the blood of small children. Even after the doctors’ findings were made public, city officials still insisted the water was safe. Bernie Sanders believes the continued disregard for safety was a blatant oversight on Snyder’s part.

So far @SenSanders seems to be the one candidate who truly has the people's back #FlintWaterCrisis https://t.co/qwNxO9YdLw

— Erin Brockovich (@ErinBrockovich) January 16, 2016

Approximately three weeks after the lead research was reported, Snyder and the Michigan Legislature approved approximately $9.4 million, which included $6 million to transition back to using Detroit water. The funds were also used for water filters, inspections, and lab testing which has led to Snyder’s recent directive. On Jan. 5, Snyder declared a state of emergency due to the city’s dangerous water supply. Then, on Jan. 14, Snyder submitted a request to President Obama for a major disaster declaration, which was granted on Jan. 16. Even though Snyder made the request, Bernie Sanders believes the decision came long after the damage was done.

However, Bernie Sanders isn’t the only person slamming Snyder. It has been reported that Michael Moore is also furious about the state of emergency in Michigan. Do you agree or disagree with Bernie Sanders? Share your thoughts.

[Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images]