If the eventual Republican presidential nominee takes the advice of The Washington Monthly’s D.R. Tucker, he’ll choose Michigan governor Rick Snyder as his running mate, not in spite of what happened to Flint’s water supply, but because of it.
“Snyder never gave a damn about the residents of Flint, and still doesn’t,” claimed Tucker in a Saturday post. “The Snyder vision—the Republican vision—is that if you don’t have money, you’re not really a citizen…Think about what animates the right today: Contempt for the mainstream media. Contempt for racial minorities. Contempt for government. Contempt for those outside of the right-wing tribe. Snyder would appeal to all of the right’s darkest impulses.”
Tucker lauded MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow for devoting considerable airtime to the Flint story, remarking that she “has been…outraged by Snyder’s human-rights abuses, as we all should be. Maddow understands that Snyder is conservatism. He is continuing the dark tradition Ronald Reagan gave birth to 35 years ago when he declared, ‘Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.’”
From Tucker’s post (bolding added):
[Snyder would be the] ideal Republican vice-presidential candidate for whichever wingnut secures the GOP nomination this year…
…Snyder’s handling of the Flint water crisis succinctly symbolizes the GOP’s vision of government: penny-pinching, cold, scornful of the weak and vulnerable, operating with reckless disregard for future generations…
…Snyder never gave a damn about the residents of Flint, and still doesn’t. The Snyder vision—the Republican vision—is that if you don’t have money, you’re not really a citizen…
…[Rachel] Maddow has been…outraged by Snyder’s human-rights abuses, as we all should be. Maddow understands that Snyder is conservatism. He is continuing the dark tradition Ronald Reagan gave birth to 35 years ago when he declared, “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”
Yet government is not the problem per se. Government run by people who hate government is the problem. Government run by people who regard certain citizens as worthless moochers undeserving of the basic necessities of life is the problem…
…[F]ar too many Americans…simply don’t give a damn about the residents of Flint…
Those are the very same Americans who are embracing the hate-filled messages of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz…
Recall the repulsive running mates Republicans have selected over the decades. Richard Nixon in 1952. Spiro Agnew in 1968. Dan Quayle in 1988. Dick Cheney in 2000. Sarah Palin in 2008. Paul Ryan in 2012. Considering this track record, would Snyder really be that far-fetched of a choice?
Think about what animates the right today: Contempt for the mainstream media. Contempt for racial minorities. Contempt for government. Contempt for those outside of the right-wing tribe. Snyder would appeal to all of the right’s darkest impulses: selecting him as VP would be the ultimate bleep-you to progressives, the “political establishment” and the Fourth Estate.
