They Were Lying? Who'd Have Ever Guessed?

This morning, Charlie Sykes, mouthpiece for the Scott Walker perpetual gubernatorial campaign, was harping and harping and harping about the proposed increase in water rates, screaming about how it would drive MillerCoors out of the city because it would be too expensive.

When I heard him, he seemed a bit more on the histrionic side than usual, like he was trying to hard.

Now we know why. He was lying.

From BizTimes.com:

Julian Green, director of media relations for Miller Coors, today responded with an official statement, headlined, “MillerCoors Has No Intention of Ending Production at its Hometown Milwaukee Brewery.” Here is Green’s complete statement:
“The sensational statements and over-the-top media reporting of the last few days about the impact of the proposed Milwaukee water rate increase has blown this issue completely out of proportion. MillerCoors has no intention of ending production at our hometown Milwaukee Brewery, which is operating at historically high volume levels since the successful joint venture between Miller and Coors launched nearly two years ago. Like any good business, we constantly monitor our production costs across our facilities and seek efficiency and competitive advantage by spreading volumes optimally across our operations. While we are concerned about the proposed water utility rate increases, these costs are only part of a much bigger picture. We are only looking to lessen the financial impact to our Milwaukee operation due to the heavy volumes we utilize. We’ve been brewing great beer in Milwaukee for over 150 years with strong and continuous support from the leadership of The City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County and State of Wisconsin. In fact, in response to the proposed water rate increase, the City of Milwaukee and Wisconsin State Legislature assisted us in passing SB651, which includes language to offset a portion of any potential future increase. We’d ask everyone to relax and enjoy one of our fine beers with the reassurance that we will be making beer in Miller Valley for many years to come.”

But then again. It should be no surprise that Sykes would lie to his audience. If a man can lie to his family, he can lie to anyone.