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Joe the Plumber?; Not a plumber. And not even called Joe
Topic Started: Oct 17 2008, 06:00 AM (2,527 Views)
ds9074
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Joe the Plumber's story has sprung a few leaks. It turns out that the man held up by John McCain as the typical, hard-working American taxpayer isn't really a proper plumber and owes nearly $1,200 in back taxes.

And, officially at least, he isn't even called Joe.

The burly, bald Samuel J Wurzelbacher first came to public attention when he stopped Barack Obama on the street in Toledo last weekend and complained about his plans to raise taxes on America's wealthy.

“I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year,” he told Mr Obama. “Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?”

Footage of the encounter soon made it to YouTube and caused a stir with conservative bloggers. It was also seized on by John McCain who mentioned "Joe the Plumber" no fewer than 20 times during the final presidential debate on Wednesday night.

Mr Wurzelbacher became an instant celebrity, fielding calls during the debate and facing reporters outside his home near Toledo the following morning for an impromptu news conference broadcast across the nation.

Then came the backlash. A bit of digging soon uncovered the fact that Mr Wurzelabacher doesn't have a plumber's licence. He acknowledged that, but said he did not need one because he works for someone else at a company that does residential work.

Local officials said that he would still need to be a licensed apprentice or "journeyman" to work in Toledo, which he is not.

And then there was the matter of his taxes - according to court records, Mr Wurzelbacher owes the state of Ohio $1,182.98 in personal income tax. Last January the Ohio Department of Taxation filed a claim on his property until he pays the debt.

Even if Mr Wurzelbacher was in a position to buy the plumbing business he works for, it would be unlikely that his personal income would ever climb over $250,000. Currently he earns much less, he admits, so would probably be in line for a tax cut under Mr Obama's plans.

Leaning against his black Dodge Durango SUV outside his home yesterday morning, Mr Wurzelbacher at first was amused by the media attention, then overwhelmed and finally a little annoyed.

"I don’t have a lot of pull. It’s not like I’m Matt Damon,” he complained.

Taping an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman yesterday afternoon, Mr McCain admitted that he had not yet spoken to Mr Wurzelbacher, and apologised for the press attention he had received after the debate.

But that didn't stop him taking his name in vain one more time, at a charity dinner in New York last night when Mr McCain complained that Mr Obama's running-mate, "Joe the Six-Term Senator Biden", had been questioning the plumber's veracity and joked about his own property holdings.

"He claims that this honest, hard-working small businessman could not possibly have enough income to face a tax increase under the Obama plan," Mr McCain said.

"What they don't know is that Joe the Plumber recently signed a very lucrative contract with a wealthy couple to handle all the work on all seven of their houses."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4961157.ece
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Wichita
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Is this what we can look forward to under an Obama adminsitration? Dare to ask him a question and your entire life story is fair game as if you were a public official.

BTW, Joe didn't stop Obama a question on any street. He asked Obama a question when Obama campaign stopped where Joe lives. (In other words, Joe did not seek out Obama.)



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ds9074
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Well the question is who did the "bit of digging" - the Obama camp or the media.
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Dwayne
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^^^ Both... they coordinate.
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Minuet
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And of course the fact that MCCAIN mentioned the man 20 times in the debate had nothing to do with the media wanting to know more about the man.......

Is this what we can look forward to with a McCain administration? ;)
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Dwayne
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Actually, this whole spectacle over Joe the Plumber demostrates the media biases so well. In fact, it demonstrates the biases even better than the nomination of Sarah Palin.

This man, Joe, was minding his own business at his own home. Obama chose to walk down that street on his own volition. Joe didn't invite him to walk down the street. The media has been as less than clear about this. I believe they have done so in an effort to leave ambiguity in people's mind. They want people to not be clear on this point, so many, less observant partisans, will assume Joe sought out Obama, and consequently he must be some kind of republican plant.

Then the whole issue of his license and his taxes and his associations... It's all an attempt to destroy this mans' credibility and the media is doing the foot work necessary to cause second-guessing amongst some people.
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Dwayne
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Not to mention, in just two days after McCain mentions the man's name, there are over 800 stories on this guy on Google News: http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=Samuel%20J%20Wurzelbacher&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn
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Minuet
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And of course that is Obama's fault - not McCain's fault for using the poor innocent guy who Obama happened upon.

Maybe if the right-wing bloggers and McCain hadn't used this guy he would be forgotten by now.
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Wichita
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Dwayne
Oct 17 2008, 07:57 AM
^^^ Both... they coordinate.
That's NOT what I said.

My point was that there seems to be a trend with the media and Obama. Ask him a question - no matter how benign - and you are accused of being a racist (and worse).

While it is ludicrous to suggest that what Palin (for example) has said is equivalent to getting out fire hoses and turning them on black people, she is a public figure.

Joe the Plumber is a private citizen and, had the Obama campaign not come to his neighborhood, would have most likely never been heard from by the general public.

There is a legal disctinction between how a public and a private person is treated in the media in this country.

Minuet
 
And of course the fact that MCCAIN mentioned the man 20 times in the debate had nothing to do with the media wanting to know more about the man.......


McCain said his name 20 times??????????????????

:rotfl: :rotfl:

Yeah, that's scary. :rolleyes:

Minuet, BEFORE THE DEBATE, I had already learned that Joe was not a licensed plumber, that he was not registered to vote and that he had a tax lien.

Now, if you are comfortable with people searching for you personal information in such a fashion - because you asked a question in a public venue - then certainly that is your business. I do not.

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Dwayne
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:no:

If the media and Obama want to challenge this man, challenge him on the merits of his question and then the response from Obama... After all, it's not really who Joe the Plumber is that put him in the spotlight, it's the question he asked and the answer he got that brought him attention... Obama and the media don't want you to focus on that, so both throw in these distractions.
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Wichita
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Minuet
Oct 17 2008, 08:57 AM
And of course that is Obama's fault - not McCain's fault for using the poor innocent guy who Obama happened upon.

Maybe if the right-wing bloggers and McCain hadn't used this guy he would be forgotten by now.
Given that a left-wing blog posted the man's home address, I somehow doubt that. ;)

I do find it interesting that you did not find that Obama and his VP also mentioning the guy's name a number of times objectionable, however,

Edited by Wichita, Oct 17 2008, 09:21 AM.
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Dwayne
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Wichita
Oct 17 2008, 09:18 AM
Dwayne
Oct 17 2008, 07:57 AM
^^^ Both... they coordinate.
That's NOT what I said.
Wichita, my comment was not directed at you... it was directed at DS.
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Minuet
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Wichita
Oct 17 2008, 09:20 AM
Minuet
Oct 17 2008, 08:57 AM
And of course that is Obama's fault - not McCain's fault for using the poor innocent guy who Obama happened upon.

Maybe if the right-wing bloggers and McCain hadn't used this guy he would be forgotten by now.
Given that a left-wing blog posted the man's home address, I somehow doubt that. ;)

I do find it interesting that you did not find that Obama and his VP also mentioning the guy's name a number of times objectionable, however,

Wichita, I admitted in another thread that I did not watch the debate.

I did read reports and by most accounts McCain mentioned "Joe the plumber" so many times that even the right wingers were getting irritated with him.
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Wichita
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Minuet
Oct 17 2008, 09:39 AM
Wichita
Oct 17 2008, 09:20 AM
Minuet
Oct 17 2008, 08:57 AM
And of course that is Obama's fault - not McCain's fault for using the poor innocent guy who Obama happened upon.

Maybe if the right-wing bloggers and McCain hadn't used this guy he would be forgotten by now.
Given that a left-wing blog posted the man's home address, I somehow doubt that. ;)

I do find it interesting that you did not find that Obama and his VP also mentioning the guy's name a number of times objectionable, however,

Wichita, I admitted in another thread that I did not watch the debate.

I did read reports and by most accounts McCain mentioned "Joe the plumber" so many times that even the right wingers were getting irritated with him.
:headscratch: :headscratch:

I wasn't talking about the debate.
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Minuet
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Ok - could you provide a link to where you did learn the personal information? You are claiming it was dug up by left wingers. Let's see some proof.
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