Rick Snyder says he’ll be drinking Flint water for the next 30 days

Last Friday, when Governor Snyder told the people of Flint that it was time for them to stop relying on bottled water, and start drinking from their taps again, they responded with a resounding, “You first.” After a moment of awkward silence, Snyder unenthusiastically said, “I’m happy to look into that.”

Well, over the weekend, Snyder and his people apparently came to the conclusion that, if he’s going to stay in office, he’s eventually going to have to drink the water. And, today, there was a big photo op in Flint, where the Governor let himself into a home, filled up a big glass of tap water, and then proceeded to take tiny little sips from it while telling the homeowner that her tap water was now safe enough for people over six, unless, of course, they might be pregnant. And, not only that, but he filled up three gallon jugs full of water to take back to Ann Arbor with him, telling the homeowner that he’d be back for more, as he intends to drink nothing by Flint tap water for the next 30 days… The following is from MLive.

Gov. Rick Snyder says he will drink Flint water for the next 30 days.

He made the promise while visiting a home in Flint’s college area Monday to talk to homeowners about the Flint water crisis and to see if their water filters were working.

“I’m going to start drinking this at home and work,” Snyder said of gallons of water his team collected from the home. “I’m going to be drinking Flint water for the next 30 days or so.”

Snyder was in Flint April 18 for a press conference and to visit a home on Brookside Drive near Court Street where his team collected the gallons of water for Snyder to drink…

Early on in this whole thing, it might have meant something to me had Snyder gone into a Flint restaurant, ordered an untested glass of water, and gulped it down in front of television cameras. Announcing that he’s going to be drinking filtered water from a home where it’s already been tested, though, doesn’t really do much for me. Plus, we don’t even know that he’ll actually be drinking the water. It’s not like he’s going to live stream himself drinking a glass of Flint water ever hour, on the hour. And, given everything that’s happened over the past year, that’s what I’d need to see before even considering the possibility of changing my mind about our Governor. I’d have to see him drink pint after pint of water, all day long, brought to him from random homes, apartments and schools around Flint. Until he does that, I’m just going to assume this is another brilliant marketing move dreamed up by one of the high-priced PR firms he now has on retainer.

Here’s a little more from the Detroit Free Press on why this is happening now.

…Snyder’s actions Monday followed developments Friday, when the governor encouraged Flint residents to start using more filtered tap water instead of bottled water and was told by a state official that Flint residents wanted him to start drinking the tap water first.

“I completely understand why some Flint residents are hesitant to drink the water and I am hopeful I can alleviate some of the skepticism and mistrust by putting words to action,” Snyder said. “Flint residents made it clear that they would like to see me personally drink the water, so today I am fulfilling that request. And I will continue drinking Flint water at work and at home for at least 30 days.”

Snyder spokesman Ari Adler said two media outlets were invited to the home to watch Snyder drink the water. Snyder’s office later released photos of him drinking the tap water.

The governor said he won’t always be able to drink the Flint tap water when he is travelling, but he plans to drink it when he is at his downtown Ann Arbor home and when he is at work in his office in the Romney Building in Lansing. He said he will get more filtered Flint tap water when the initial three gallons runs out…

Video from Grand Rapids’ Channel 8 News:

As for watching the Governor drink the water, I wonder if he’d allow us to put a camera in his Ann Arbor home and live-stream it… If I were to launch a Kickstarter to raise enough money for a camera, would you contribute?

Oh, for what it’s worth, Linette doesn’t think it’s a stunt. She just thinks that he doesn’t want to drink the Ann Arbor water anymore because of the dioxane plume.

update: I was up late last night struggling to remember the pop culture precedent for this water-drinking photo op of Snyder’s. I knew there was someone on a television who, like our Governor, had been forced to consume something against his will in order convince people of its non-toxicity. I just couldn’t remember who it was. Thankfully, though, Sara Grosky, came up with it this morning, sending me the following image of Mr. Burns being served Blinky the fish.

[The lead paint portrait at the at the top of the page of Rick Snyder was painted by local artist Michael Dykehouse, who I interviewed here a while back.]