"His Invisible Friend Joe the Plumber". Don’t ignore this man.

NRO ^ | October 16, 2008, | Kathryn Jean Lopez

[Tolik]

The title of this piece — “His invisible friend Joe the Plumber” — comes from a line with which MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann started his late-night post-debate broadcast on Wednesday night.

The problem with the host’s description is that Joe the Plumber is anything but invisible. To the taxman. Now, to the candidates. I don’t know if Joe the Plumber will win the election for John McCain. But he should.

Because in the end this election is all about freedom. And Senator Government is not.

Joe the Plumber, as everyone by the end of this weekend is liable to know, is one Joe Wurzelbacher, an Ohio plumber who wants to buy a business but knows it’s going to hurt him, tax-wise, if Barack Obama becomes president.

To his concerns, Obama told Joe: “It’s not that I want to punish your success, I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they’ve got a chance at success, too. I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody.”

What does that sound like to you. Could it be . . . Marx? Could it be . . . socialism?

In an Internet interview this week, after his now-infamous run-in with Barack Obama, Plumber Joe worried about just that: “You start giving people stuff, and then they start expecting it — and that scares me. A lot of people expect it now. They get upset when their check’s late, they get upset when they don’t get as many benefits as they used to, or when different government agencies are cut or spending is cut here and there for whatever reason — people get upset at that. And that’s because they’re used to getting it and they want more. I mean, everyone’s always gonna want more. People work the system left and right to get more out of welfare, to get more out of state assistance, federal assistance. And if government’s there for them, they’re gonna keep on trying to manipulate it to get more out of it. You got people that come along and say, “Hey, I wanna help you people,” I mean, they’re all ears! They’re like, ‘Hey, you can help me more, I don’t have to work as hard, I don’t have to do as much, and you’re gonna give me this? Man, that’s great, you’re a good guy.’”

He continued, “So yeah, it goes down the socialist — His health-care plan scares me. You know, I don’t like people going without health care, but it’s not my job to pay for everyone else’s health care. It’s hard enough paying for my own. I like the idea of deregulation as far as — nationally, you know, you only get insurance companies that can work in this state — if you deregulate that then you have more people competing and then the prices would go lower. It seems pretty simple to me. It probably isn’t that simple — but you flood the market with more products, usually they go down cheaper.”

Whereas John McCain talked Wednesday night about things like choice — and not the murdering type Obama did — Barack Obama rightly worries Americans like Plumber Joe.

In this election, the burdens of our taxpayers have been an afterthought in the face of an unprecedented government takeover of the mortgage industry. But excessive government comes at an excessive cost — not just in economic theory, but to very real people. (That’s “real” in the sense of “non-imaginary,” Keith.) I don’t know how the Joe the Plumber strategy polls, but, for the sake of all the Joes out there, let’s listen to the Plumber’s concerns about what a President Obama would mean to all of our pocketbooks.

— Kathryn Jean Lopez is the editor of National Review Online.

[Tolik]

In an Internet interview this week, after his now-infamous run-in with Barack Obama, Plumber Joe worried about just that:

“You start giving people stuff, and then they start expecting it — and that scares me. A lot of people expect it now. They get upset when their check’s late, they get upset when they don’t get as many benefits as they used to, or when different government agencies are cut or spending is cut here and there for whatever reason — people get upset at that. And that’s because they’re used to getting it and they want more. I mean, everyone’s always gonna want more. People work the system left and right to get more out of welfare, to get more out of state assistance, federal assistance. And if government’s there for them, they’re gonna keep on trying to manipulate it to get more out of it. You got people that come along and say, “Hey, I wanna help you people,” I mean, they’re all ears! They’re like, ‘Hey, you can help me more, I don’t have to work as hard, I don’t have to do as much, and you’re gonna give me this? Man, that’s great, you’re a good guy.’”

He continued, “So yeah, it goes down the socialist — His health-care plan scares me. You know, I don’t like people going without health care, but it’s not my job to pay for everyone else’s health care. It’s hard enough paying for my own. I like the idea of deregulation as far as — nationally, you know, you only get insurance companies that can work in this state — if you deregulate that then you have more people competing and then the prices would go lower. It seems pretty simple to me. It probably isn’t that simple — but you flood the market with more products, usually they go down cheaper.”

Nailed It!

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[JenB987]

How about Joe the Plumber and Sarahcuda for a ticket? Jeeze, this guy gets it and delivers it. Sure wish McCain would have done the same BEFORE last night...

[perfect_rovian_storm]

This guy is amazing. If only we could vote for him for President. He gets it better than McCain does.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

I wish he would have done it last night. He couldn’t articulate what Joe just did. He couldn’t even call it socialism.

Obama’s plans are a sitting duck, just waiting to be knocked down. They’re dumb, and they’re unAmerican.

Joe’s just a regular guy and so am I, but when both Joe and I could have done a better job against Obama, there’s something WAY wrong.

[housedeep]

I think this is a gift, pure and simple.
John McCain used Joe the plumber effectively to make the pain we all might feel from Obama REAL.
Its going to be very effective for the next three weeks.

[cookcounty]

"This guy is amazing. If only we could vote for him for President. He gets it better than McCain does."

YES! Feed Basic American Values populism!

My Dad was a plumber with an 8th grade education, and he understood better than 95% of the population what makes our country tick. He would have loved Joe.

[Dutchgirl]

[uptoolate]

Two things:

“Plumber Joe for Budget Director”

&

Who’s Keith Olbermann?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

My uncle Lloyd was a plumber in Toledo, Ohio. He started his day carrying a US mailbag on a route that he walked for five or six hours every day. In the afternoon and evenings, he kept appointments fixing his neighbor’s toilets and drains.

[Fresh Wind]

Joe and Sarah together on the campaign trail!!

[BerniesFriend]

tells you something when a “plumber” knows more about economics than a Harvard guy..

[cookcounty]

"He )McCain) couldn’t articulate

Unfortunately, that's true.......but there are a million Joe the Plumbers out there whose job it will now be to drag McCain the Human Sandbag into the breach to stanch the socialist tide.

We can do this.

[Realism]

Hey Joe as a U.S. citizen your share of the $10 trillion national debt is about $33,800, Are you the type of person who pays his debts or are you going to leave it to the kids?

[MrB]

Too many “independents” and “moderates” consider “socialism” to be name calling and waving the bloody shirt.

It could be softened with a simple question -

how is “spreading the wealth around” different from Socialism, Marxism, and Communism?
Because Communism is totalitarian?
Pray tell, how else will it be implemented?

[dubie]

some obama flunky bought up joetheplummer.com

[MrB]

Is “joetheplumber” still available?

[AmericanInTokyo]

[bray]

America needs more Plumbers.

Pray for W, McCuda and Our Troops

[Dems_R_Losers]

This is such a huge "tell" about what liberals and conservatives actually think about the middle class. Liberals really believe the "What's The Matter With Kansas" hooey that middle class Americans are falling behind and are just sitting on their asses waiting for bigger checks from the government. They believe that giving middle class Americans a few more bucks that they have confiscated from "the rich" will actually "trickle up" and produce economic growth as the middle class folks spend more of that money at Walmart or wherever the lumpen proletariat shop.

Conservatives believe what Joe the Plumber believes. We know that no society ever taxed and spent its way to prosperity. We know that middle class Americans just want to be able to keep more of what they earn through their own hard work. We know that they do not expect more government handouts and they understand that more handouts equals more dependency and laziness, which does not grow an economy.

Obama is running a brazen campaign to buy votes with more government handouts. I have a feeling he and his pals are going to find out the hard way that isn't what Middle Class America is all about.

[Oratam]

OMG! How did Joe the Plumber escape the socialist indoctrination of the last 40+ years? Off to a re-education camp STAT!

[perfect_rovian_storm]

It could be softened like that. But nobody ever gets ahead by following followers. And ‘indepentents’ and ‘moderates’ are followers.

If you lead, they will follow. If you let them lead, you go nowhere.

[devolve]

[cookcounty]

It's important now to make people realize that

a) Obama is a man of poor judgement

b) He's just another lying politician

He gave us great ammo last night on the later count, with his very direct, articulate and incontrovertiable LIE about his only connection with ACORN being his one lawsuit in 1995.

[Cboldt]

-- some obama flunky bought up joetheplummer.com --

Not up with spelling. Heh. The "correct" spelling one has been in use since 2004.

[Andonius_99]

nope, it’s owned by another Joe in Amarillo, TX

[TexasNative2000]

God bless Joe Wurzelbacher, but he's about to get the Palin treatment.

He's going to get a media rectal exam that makes the Clarence Thomas hearings look like a walk in the park.

He's a legitimate threat to Obama because he puts a face on Obama's tax plan. He's about to get unloaded upon.

[cookcounty]

Hmmmm...Joe Biden, .....3 letter word...jobs......

Uh, is this about Joe’s own personal lobbyist dynasty?

[Lou L]

Does anyone know...is Joe the Plumber getting local airtime in Ohio? If he’s become a bit of a celebrity now, and is getting some attention for his conversation with Obama, couldn’t that help McCain’s cause? We could really use Ohio in the “red” column...

[autumnraine]

Palin/Joe The Plumber ‘16!!

[cookcounty]

"How did Joe the Plumber escape the socialist indoctrination "

Easy...he ran his own business.

Everybody should be pushed to start their own business.

Even if it doesn't work out, it's a fantastic education that's worth the losses!!! Even if you fail, you win!!

[Mr. Know It All]

Yeah. Joe the symbol. Symbol of what?

After the debate last night, he said he'd made up his mind who he was supporting, but wouldn't say who he would actually vote for. Someone at Politico found out why. He's not registered to vote.

From what he says, I guess that he supports McCain, but not in anyway that will count on November 4th. Pretty sad that this guy gets held up at emblematic of America. Complain, complain, complain, but don't actually do anything to help.

If Obama wins Ohio, don't forget to drop Joe a note of thanks.

[cookcounty]

Jindal&Joe2012!

[anniegetyourgun]

Keith Obamaman is the invisible one. Most Americans wouldn’t be able to identify him in a photo. He and his butch buddy, Madcow, might as well be drawing a paycheck from the Obama campaign.

[Cathy]

Is Joe the Plumber married? I think I am in love.

[autumnraine]

IN all seriousness, I would love to see a Palin/Jindahl ticket.

[Oratam]

"How did Joe the Plumber escape the socialist indoctrination "
Easy...he ran his own business.

You are so right. Entrepreneurship should be taught in school as the assumed path one will take in life . . . rather than the outdated worker-bee/factory drone approach that I assume still pervades the public school system.

[albie]

“Reviewing the polls printed in The New York Times and The Washington Post in the last month of every presidential election since 1976, I found the polls were never wrong in a friendly way to Republicans. When the polls were wrong, which was often, they overestimated support for the Democrat, usually by about 6 to 10 points”. Ann Coulter

...We need to keep away from the double digit leads. “Joe the plumber” will help a great deal. Just as Sarah Palin resonates with the the avaerage American, so will Joe. He needs to go on tour with McCain. Palin does fine on her own. McCain needs the “juice” of “Joe”.

[randita]

He couldn’t articulate what Joe just did. He couldn’t even call it socialism.

Calling it socialism won't work (even though that's the truth). Republicans have used that playbook for decades and when people hear it, their eyes glaze over. In two paragraphs, Joe explained it in real terms that even a 5 year old could understand.

Conservatives really need to learn some new political jargon. Joe gave them some ideas.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

If Joe is a small business owner as he claims, I doubt he has much free time to waste helping McCain. We know he is not wealthy, no matter how much Obama wants the nation to think he is. Joe’s main priority would be taking care of his business and keeping the money rolling in.

McCain is a big boy and he needs to step up to the plate.

Let Joe take care of his family.

[tubebender]

I started a very small business 47 years ago and grew it and for the last 15 years my son and daughter have turned it into a thriving enterprise with as many as 16 additional employees.

No one ever talks about the additional “Tax” costs to small business in the form of accountants to reduce the burden of the socialists picking our pockets. The reason there are not more entrepreneurs reporting taxable incomes above $250,000 is the practice of tax reduction via several legal “loop holes” to minimize those year end taxes. ...

[Fishrrman]

Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher lives in Ohio, a contested state.

Why hasn’t he been invited out for lunch with either McCain or - better yet - with Sarah and Todd Palin?

Gee, maybe they could ask him to do a campaign appearance or two with them....

- John

[perfect_rovian_storm]

I don’t recall hearing very many elected Republicans beside Reagan calling socialism what it is. When people hear ‘socialist income redistribution’, their eyes don’t glaze over. Their eyes open.

[jan in Colorado]

Easy...he ran his own business.

Exactly!

My ex boss is an atheist, and a liberal on social issues, but she is a small business owner and always votes Republican.

[ml/nj]

this election is all about freedom

Well, it should be anyway.

I wish, last night when they were talking about abortion and Obama start talking about a right to privacy being in the Consitution and including it with the the supposed right to freedom of speech, that McCain would have asked whether we also had a right to the fruits of our labor.

ML/NJ

[Christian4Bush]

mark

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Darn straight! Nailed it!

“You start giving people stuff, and then they start expecting it — and that scares me. A lot of people expect it now.”

Plain, hard truth like a nail in wood.

[nhwingut]

Exactly. I predicted this two days ago if he became an issue.

And last night’s debate guarantees it.

Already Politico is reporting Joe’s an “unregistered.”

Next will be his taxes, his business dealings, criminal background check, etc.

[rawcatslyentist]

>"I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody.” "

Hey Bambi!!! Gimme YOUR money!!!

"It's good for everybody"!!!!

[AmericanInTokyo]

Thank you for your input.