Gregory D.

Lee

Read Greg's bio and previous columns here

October 20, 2008

Joe the Plumber vs. the Media Goliath

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, a.k.a “Joe the Plumber,” was in his Holland, Ohio home, minding his own business when he looked out the window and saw Sen. Barack Obama doing neighborhood canvassing. Joe seized the opportunity to ask the Democratic presidential candidate a tax policy question that has resonated with the American people.

Joe walked up to Sen. Obama and asked him if he believed in the American dream. He tells the candidate that he intended to purchase a plumbing business that made more than $250,000 per year, and then asked him, “You’re tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?”

Sen. Obama gave a politician’s explanation why he would raise Joe’s taxes, and then made an off-the-cuff remark: “. . . I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.” Joe had singlehandedly managed to get him to admit that his tax policy was designed to raise taxes on people earning over $250,000 for the purpose of redistributing it to those who didn’t – the classic definition of socialism.

That’s when all hell broke loose for poor Joe. The mainstream media unleashed its full force against him. They set out to destroy the credibility of a man who asked an innocent question, as if the questioner was a plant for Sen. McCain. How dare this man question the socialistic intentions of the media’s messiah?

The media’s instant background investigation of Joe revealed that he was an employee of a licensed plumber, not a licensed plumber himself. They revealed that he had tax problems, and had been slapped with a couple of tax liens on his home. They got a statement from the local plumbers union stating that he was “impersonating a plumber,” implying he was a criminal.

What they uncovered was that Joe was overregulated and overtaxed.

What does Joe’s background have to do with the question he asked? Absolutely nothing, but it served as a way to divert attention from the question that revealed Sen. Obama’s naked left-wing leanings, and that he wants to take away from the haves and give to the have-nots.

John McCain invoked Joe the Plumber’s name almost a dozen times in the last presidential debate that night to illustrate Sen. Obama’s redistribution scheme. Joe became an instant celebrity and hero of conservatives.

Sen. Obama never called the dogs off. He watched as his media attackers continued to malign him.

Is Sen. Obama a socialist? There is a Sen. Obama Internet ad urging you to “Calculate your Obama tax cut.” I filled in the boxes indicating that I hypothetically earned $20,000, was married filing jointly with my wife, had two children, child care expenses and college expenses, and was paying a mortgage. The Obama calculator revealed that I would receive a $2,365 tax cut, plus a $4,000 tax credit on college expenses and a 50 percent tax credit on my savings. Considering that someone earning only $20,000 does not pay any federal income taxes, the “tax cut” this fictitious person would receive is actually a welfare check financed through Sen. Obama’s redistribution of wealth scheme. So there’s no question what Sen. Obama told Joe about spreading the wealth around was exactly what he intends to do. Joe’s crime was that he got Sen. Obama to admit it.

And Sen. Obama’s supporters continued to lie about another incident that occurred at a recent Sen. McCain rally. The media widely reported that people in the crowd at a McCain rally was whipped to frenzy by Gov. Sarah Palin by mentioning Sen. Obama’s association with another socialist, former Weatherman founder Bill Ayers. The media alleged that some Sen. McCain supporters in the crowd yelled, “Kill him! Kill him!” referring to Sen. Obama. The Secret Service launched an investigation into the threats to one of its protectees.

Its investigation revealed that there were undercover Secret Service agents spread among the crowd, and none of them heard anyone yelling “Kill him!” What they did hear was people saying, “Tell him, tell him!” when a particularly good point was made by Gov. Sarah Palin about Sen. Obama – quite a difference. But was that ever reported by the mainstream media?

Since the last presidential debate and the emergence of Joe, Sen. Obama has lost three points in the polls. Conservatives have made Joe the poster boy of the McCain campaign. Voters are beginning to wake up to Sen. Obama’s wealth redistribution scheme.

Joe slayed Goliath by exposing Sen. Obama for what he is. Nice job, Joe.

Gregory D. Lee is a nationally syndicated columnist for North Star Writers Group. He can be reached through his website: www.gregorydlee.com.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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