Politicians say Flint water crisis a hoax

[tencats]

Oakland County Republican Executive L. Brooks Patterson, said he was offering "the other side" of the story.

Even as authorities are still advising residents in Flint, Mich., not to drink or bathe in the city's tap water, leaving thousands to rely on bottled water to survive, some of the state's prominent political voices think Flint's water crisis may be exaggerated.

Foremost among them is Oakland County Republican Executive L. Brooks Patterson, who voiced skepticism about the severity of the crisis during an appearance before the Detroit Economic Club luncheon Tuesday, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"I don't think we should say or use words anymore like 'Flint's been poisoned,'?" Patterson told reporters. "Because I don't think that's accurate."


Despite what many see as definitive evidence of a crisis, Patterson told the station he changed his mind after hearing a radio interview with Bill Ballenger, a well-known Republican political analyst, former state lawmaker and Flint resident, who said he was offering "the other side" of the story.

In the interview cited by Patterson, Ballenger said his own blood tests hadn't revealed elevated levels of lead. He wondered whether the crisis was a hoax, according to the Free Press. He argued that the crisis was instead perpetuated by politicians and members of the media "with an ax to grind."

"The idea that the entire population of Flint has been poisoned and that we all have elevated blood levels because of this is just a total canard," Ballenger told WJR. "It's just a crock, and for this to be perpetuated as a story is doing a lot of damage to Flint as a community."

Within hours of voicing his skepticism, Ballenger was removed as a contributing writer for Inside Michigan Politics, "a newsletter that covers politics across the state," according to WWJ.

http://www.sltrib.com/home/3441922-155/story.html

[Human101948]

1. To prove their point they should drink unfiltered Flint River water for a year...

That would shut up those liberals who are perpetrating this hoax.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. +1000

[Proserpina]

2. He's one of the biggest jerks in the state who gets paid by public money

I hope he's digging his own political grave with this.

[1939]

4. Ballenger probably lives in a newer house in a newer area

With modern piping in the walls and the streets. The filtered Flint River water is probably safe to drink at the water plant. The problem is that this "safe" water is pulling the lead off of the older pipes and putting it into the water stream at the individual taps.

[Rex]

5. Republicans are pathetic excuses for human beings, that is just all there is to it.

Fucking crawl back under your rock you piece of shit. Nobody wants to hear from the sorry asses that causes this problem, they want solutions so they can drink the fucking water.

This is why I hate on the GOP so much, they fucking suck as humans.

[Octafish]

6. Emergency Manager at play: L Brooks Patterson, the White Pride Demagogue

Guy made a name for himself opposing school busing.

He's floating the excuse, er defense strategy for the coming trials.

Not poisoned because it wasn't done on purpose. Yeah, that's it.

Emergency Manager at work: Tyrannical trickle down GOP policies -- tax cuts for the rich and services cuts for the rest (austerity) -- are to blame.

[Bradical79]

7. Sorry crooked politicians

I have eyeballs. Saw the water a few months ago. It was pretty nasty. I'm not going to believe orange tap water is good for drinking or bathing in. And when it gets to the point of being visually identifiable as bad, you start asking questions about what's in that water and what's in the people who have been drinking that water, and who the hell let it get to that point. Get bent.