To my way of thinking, Joe the Plumber – singing the psalm of the common man, and representing the views of the middle class and what we once used to call “the Silent Majority” – has completely terrified the left, the Obama camp and the press.
And so…he must be destroyed.
So what happens to Mr. Wurzelbacher for expressing his views?
Reports in the mainstream media appear claiming that he is unlicensed (even though he doesn’t need one as an employee of a business or as a contractor working on a residence), and that he apparently has a tax lien filed against him.
Not to be outdone, the Daily Kos published his home address for all the world to see.
Andrew Sullivan is all of a doodah that Joe uses his middle name, btw. How’s THAT for petty? I guess Queen Victoria wasn’t really a queen because she went by one of her middle names.
Ed Morrissey says there is “a stench of desperation about this”. I agree. He also says: Guess who else has tax liens?
But here’s the thing: what or who Joe the Plumber is does not matter. What matters is what Barack Obama said to him. The focus on Joe the Plumber – the obsession on him, and the need to somehow discredit him in the eyes of the nation – is meant to distract you from what Barack Obama said, and nothing else.
And what Barack Obama said was:
Those words are what matters. It does not matter whether Obama said them to Joe the Plumber or Booby McBoobadoob. Don’t allow yourself to become distracted by the media swarm/feed. Stay focused on Obama’s words. THOSE are what matters. And what is happening to Joe the Plumber matters.
Says Glenn Reynolds:
They told me that if George W. Bush were re-elected, people would be punished for speaking truth to power. And they were right!
He also notes that Joe was standing on his front lawn and Obama approached him. So much for the “plant” idea, and why is the left so quick to PROJECT that idea onto their opponents? He’s right. It is disturbing.
James Pethokoukis writes Did Obama Just Blow the Election by promising to “spread the wealth around?”
A while back I chatted with a University of Chicago professor who was a frequent lunch companion of Obama’s. This professor said that Obama was as close to a full-out Marxist as anyone who has ever run for president of the United States. Now, I tend to quickly dismiss that kind of talk as way over the top…But if he is as free with that sort of redistributive philosophy in private as he was on the campaign trail this week, I have no doubt that U of C professor really does figure him as a radical. And after last night’s debate, a few more Americans might think that way, too. McCain’s best line: “Now, of all times in America, we need to cut people’s taxes. We need to encourage business, create jobs, not spread the wealth around.”
America just heard the President Presumptive tell them, essentially, “don’t dream too big. Don’t dare to dream too big, because if you do, we’re just going to chop you down to size, so that everyone is the same.”
That is not an American recipe. It is a recipe that’s been tried several times and all it ever does is sap people of ambition, creativity and freedom. What’s the point in excelling if your excellence will be the equal of mediocrity? What’s the point of dreaming, if your dreams are going to be subject to the whims of others?
America likes its dreams, its ambitions and its freedoms. Between Obama’s slip-of-the-tongue and the increasingly troubling stories of voter fraud – excuse me, voter registration fraud (which is mean to enable voter fraud) – rampant in one state after another, he’s making a lot of Americans wary.
America is the can-do nation; it does not like being told it can’t do something. Americans do not like being told not to dream glorious dreams. They do not like being told that excellence must subdue itself. And they really don’t like cheating the vote. And while Americans may tolerate little lies, the big, bold ones can get under their skin.
Things turn on a dime. This election may well turn not on who “Joe the Plumber” is – but who Barack Obama is revealing himself – finally – to be.
Lorie Byrd has more, plus a video
Hot Air has breaking on Joe and notes:
Should have known better than to ask a media darling a tough question before your affairs were in order, Joe. Exit question: The law’s the law and it is, after all, his own fault for not having the papers he needs. If, say, an illegal alien had asked McCain a tough question and some righty media source responded by bringing his status to light, would the left feel the same way?
I guess it’s a fair question. So is this.
Okie on the Lam has troublesome links to troublesome things.
Finally – remember when Tim Robbins said he felt a “chill wind” blowing in America – back in 2001, referring to George W. Bush? Well, it seems the chill wind is blowing alright – hard and from the left – and it’s going after anyone who dares to question the Messiah.
And yeah…the guy’s not even in office, yet. What is it going to be like, when President Obama and his crew have the power (and seemingly the full support) of the agencies behind them?
Sure is getting interesting. Put on a sweater, that wind is chill!
UPDATE I: Obama on Joe; “he’s trying to suggest that a plumber…is the guy he’s fighting for…” (crowd laughs) Because plumbers can never make that much money? Has Obama hired a plumber, lately? What a uniter.
More muscle tactics here. Neoneocon says at least Joe is not a bitter clinger
UPDATE II: Ace points out the effect of the chill wind. Tim Robbins was just 7 years early, and warning about the wrong folks.
UPDATE III: Lorie Byrd has a straight-talking column:
Some liberal bloggers went after Joe the Plumber saying he didn’t even make $250,000 and that he would receive a tax cut under Barack Obama’s plan, supposedly proving “Joe the Plumber” was a Republican lie. Here is what Joe said in the exchange with Obama: “I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes about 250, 270-80 thousand dollars a year. Your new tax plan is going to tax me more isn’t it?” So much for the Republican lie. Joe told Obama that he was planning on buying a company, which he hoped would put him in that $250,000 or more income range in the future, which prompted Obama’s response about spreading the wealth around. By choosing that line of attack, those on the left proved what many of us on the right already believed – that they don’t “get” the basic concept of the American dream.
You’ll want to read it all.
James Taranto has more and more and more
Finally: Brutally Honest has an omen of things to come.
Betsy Newmark: Sliming Joe and why it matters
The absurdity of “vetting” a guy whose standing on his front lawn and is approached by Obama.