Re: OT - Was "Joe" the Plumber a plant?
- From: Popcorn_Stand <lakers_mail@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:45:39 -0700 (PDT)
On Oct 16, 11:35 am, theBZA <dewey3kNOS...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Typical Karl Rove dirty tricks. His name isn't Joe and he isn't a
licensed plumber.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/joe-in-the-spotlight/?hp
October 16, 2008, 1:30 pm
Joe in the Spotlight
By Larry Rohter AND Liz Robbins
One week ago, Joe Wurzelbacher was just another working man living in a
modest ranch house in Toledo, Ohio, thinking about how to expand his
plumbing business. But when he stopped Senator Barack Obama during a
visit to his block this weekend to ask about his taxes, he set himself
on a path to being the newest media celebrity — and, like other
celebrities, found himself under scrutiny.
Turns out that “Joe the Plumber,” as he became nationally known when
Senator John McCain made him a theme at Wednesday night’s third and
final presidential debate, may run a plumbing business but he is not a
licensed plumber. His full name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher. And he owes a
bit in back taxes.
The premise of his question to Mr. Obama about taxes may also be flawed,
according to tax analysts.
An official at Local 50 of the plumber’s union, based in Toledo, said
Mr. Wurzelbacher does not hold a license. He also has never served an
apprenticeship and does not belong to the union. (The national plumber’s
union, the United Association of Plumbers, Steamfitters, and Service
Mechanics, endorsed Mr. Obama, it should be noted.)
“He’s basically playing games with the world,” Thomas Joseph, the
local’s business manager, said in a telephone interview Thursday
morning.
Just five days ago, Mr. Wurzelbacher, 34, lived in anonymity, a single
father who worked all day at his plumbing business and came home to fix
dinner and help his son with his homework, as he said on national
television.
But he became the hero of conservatives and Republicans when he stopped
Mr. Obama, who was campaigning on Shrewsbury Street on Sunday, and asked
whether he believed in the American dream. Mr. Wurzelbacher said he was
concerned about having to pay taxes as he reached a point where he could
afford to buy his own plumbing business, one he said would draw income
of $250,000 a year.
“I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a
year,” he told Mr. Obama during an exchange that was filmed and later
showed up on YouTube. “Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t
it?”
That encounter led to New York Post headlines, appearances on the Fox
News Channel and interviews with conservative groups, who seized on part
of Mr. Obama’s reply.
“I think that when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for
everybody,” Mr. Obama had said.
When Mr. McCain invoked Mr. Wurzelbacher in Wednesday’s debate — some
version of “Joe the Plumber” was mentioned two dozen times during the 90
minutes — as a way to criticize Mr. Obama’s tax plan and wealth-sharing
argument, Mr. Wurzelbacher suddenly found camera crews outside his home,
Katie Couric on the phone, and himself in the full glare of the media
spotlight.
Mr. Wurzelbacher did not respond to a message left on his home phone and
there was no answer at his plumbing business.
On Thursday, he told the Associated Press that he felt like Britney
Spears.
“I’m kind of like Britney Spears having a headache,” he said. “Everybody
wants to know about it.”
Unlike some other states, Ohio does not have a formal statewide
licensing system for plumbers. But the city of Toledo and other
municipalities do, Mr. Joseph said, and Mr. Wurzelbacher has not met
those requirements.
“All contractors are licensed, and he does not have a license, either as
a contractor or a plumber,” the union official said, citing a search of
government records. “I can’t find that he’s ever even applied for any
kind of apprenticeship, and he has never belonged to local 189 in
Columbus, which is what he claims on his Facebook page.”
According to public records, Mr. Wurzelbacher has been subject to two
liens, each over $1,000, one of which — a personal tax lien — is still
outstanding.
And his question to Mr. Obama about paying taxes? According to some tax
analysts, if Mr. Wurzelbacher’s gross receipts from his business is
$250,000 — and not his taxable income — then he would not have to pay
higher taxes under Mr. Obama’s plan, and probably would be eligible for
a tax cut.
Mr. Wurzelbacher is registered to vote in Lucas County under the name
Samuel Joseph Worzelbacher.
“We have his named spelled W-O, instead of W-U,” Linda Howe, executive
director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, said in a telephone
interview. “Handwriting is sometimes hard to read. He has never
corrected it in his registration card.”
The records, she said, showed he voted Republican in the March primary.
Mr. Wurzelbacher told Ms. Couric that his encounter with Mr. Obama was a
matter of impulse.
“Neighbors were outside asking him questions, and I didn’t think they
were asking him tough enough questions,” he said.
He went on, “You know, I’ve always wanted to ask one of these guys a
question and really corner them and get them to answer a question,” he
said, “for once instead of tap dancing around it. And unfortunately I
asked the question, but I still got a tap dance.”
He added, “Almost as good as Sammy Davis Jr.”
Five days later his decision to confront Mr. Obama has spawned a line of
novelty T-shirts.
“Vote Joe the Plumber ’08,” one shirt reads, with the tag: “No More
Drips in the White House.”
--
Liberal Media? Thomas Muthee. 'Nuff said.
There is an interview with "Joe" here. Link is upper left on page.
http://abcnews.go.com/
.
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