Friday, February 5, 2016

Republicans Say the Darndest Things - Cruz on Flint & New Orleans -- 'The Democrats Did It'

Texas Senator and
Presidential Candidate
Ted Cruz (R)



Ted Cruz took his campaign to New Hampshire this week where he told one audience:
"You know, you look at what's happening in Flint.  Flint is an absolute outrage.  You've got your own government poisoning the citizens.  You look at the basic responsibilities of government, making sure our water's clean is really near the top.   I mean, we're not talking talking rocket science here...  This is, 'Don't have the water coming out of my sink poison me.' ...You know, there's an interesting parallel between Flint and New Orleans.  Both cities have been governed with one-party government control of far-left Democrats for decades."
what eye thynk:  This is one of those statements that the unthinking swallow whole without realizing they have just kicked themselves in the head.

First, why bring New Orleans into the argument?  The problems in New Orleans today are not unlike those of any large city in the U.S.  If he is trying to refer to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, that had nothing to do with the city's Democratic leadership and everything to do with W's mishandling of the catastrophe. ("You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie!")  Does Mr. Cruz really need to be reminded that George W was a Republican? 

Secondly, Flint's water crisis came about while the city was operating under a state appointed manager (a Republican) who had been put in place by Michigan's governor, (another Republican).  The crisis continued despite warnings by environmentalists, by a University of Virginia study, and by local physicians while the state (Republican) administration claimed everything was fine, nothing to worry about, the water is perfectly safe.  When the Democratic-led city council voted to reconnect to Detroit's water system in light of the obvious (to everyone but the Republicans in charge) problems, Republican leadership vetoed that decision.

Blaming the Flint crisis on Democratic leadership may sound great in a campaign stump speech, but it has no basis in fact.  Voters who believe this garbage are looking for someone to blame and they don't care who, as long as it's not them.

And finally, if "one-party government control" is so evil, why would the American people want to turn the entire federal government over to Republican-one-party rule?  The GOP hasn't exactly shown any gift for responsible governing since they gained control of both houses of Congress.

A big part of becoming an adult is learning to take responsibility for your own actions.  Ted Cruz still has a lot of growing up to do.

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