We all know the GOP is out of touch with the public, but when there s a major crisis unfolding in the United States, one would expect even the Republicans, especially presidential candidates, to keep up to date with what s happening. Not so with Marco Rubio. When asked about the lead contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan, Marco Rubio said that he has not  been focusing  on it.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi77s6CjZRE]The contamination has left tens of thousands of residents without drinking water and the lead in the water may have caused irreversible damage to many more who have been drinking it. Yet, Senator Rubio did not feel that it was important to read up on the issue. Rubio said: I d love to give you a better answer on it. It s just not an issue we ve been quite frankly fully briefed or apprised of in terms of the role the governor has played and the state has played in Michigan on these sorts of issues. Rubio continued, saying that he s unable to give: A deeply detailed answer on what the right approach should be, other than to tell you that in general I believe the federal government s role in some of these things [is] largely limited unless it involves a federal jurisdictional issue. Whether he thinks the federal government s role is limited doesn t mean he shouldn t pay attention to a crisis affecting tens of thousands of Americans and especially when Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) asked the Obama Administration to declare a state of emergency and send millions of dollars to help alleviate the situation.It s not just Rubio who s been both silent and ignorant on the issue. Other Republicans haven t commented on or mentioned the tragedy at all. However, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have condemned the negligence that led to the crisis, not only framing it as a health problem, but one that is a racial justice issue. Clinton said: I think every single American should be outraged. We had a city in the United States of America where the population, which is poor in many ways, and majority-African American, has been drinking and bathing in lead-contaminated water. And the governor of that state acted as though he didn t really care. He had requests for help that he basically stonewalled. I ll tell you what: if the kids in a rich suburb of Detroit had been drinking contaminated water and being bathed in it, there would have been action. Gov. Snyder, who s a Republican just like Rubio, is facing a class action lawsuit from Flint residents.Sen. Bernie Sanders  added that he thinks Gov. Snyder should resign:  There are no excuses. The governor long ago knew about the lead in Flint s water. He did nothing. As a result, hundreds of children were poisoned. Thousands may have been exposed to potential brain damage from lead. Gov. Snyder should resign. Officials fear that some children in Flint who drank and bathed in the water may have brain damage and other long term health problems. Yet, Rubio and the Republicans don t see the importance of addressing and taking the initiative on an unflolding tragedy in an American city.Featured image via YouTube screenshot