New McCain Ad: We Are All Joe The Plumber

John McCain is going all in on the Joe-the-plumber meme with a television ad this morning that showcases other small business owners -- all claiming to be veritable Joe the Plumbers themselves -- criticizing Barack Obama's tax policies.

"Spread the wealth?" the anchor asks.

"I'm supposed to work harder..." says one man.

"Just to pay more taxes," says another.

"Obama wants my sweat to pay for his trillion dollars in new spending?"

The spot, titled "Sweat Equity," was rumored to be in the works yesterday and it pushes an attack line that the McCain-Palin ticket has been whacking at all week: mainly, that Obama's policies are socialistic, bad for these economic times, and destined to raise taxes on small business owners. At least two of those three claims seem recognizably baseless.

But Joe the Plumber hasn't exactly worked as a campaign tool for McCain. A Suffolk University poll of Ohio and Missouri released last week found only a handful of voters in those two states said that Joe Wurzelbacher's complaints about Obama made them more likely to vote for the Republican candidate.

The ad, according to the McCain campaign, will be televised in key states.

Comments

[ITSDEE]

So the Repugs are all now "Joe the Plumber"? HUMPH! What a laugh and how very contradictory. Especially since they just spent $150,000 to make the moose with lipstick look better! What a crock of Shiggady! Are they listening to what they are saying??? Evidently NOT!

OBAMA/BIDEN '08, '12

[RepubLieResistant]

Well since there's so many Joe the plumbers out there, maybe we should hit them up for the taxes they failed to pay up!

[ITSDEE]

How about that?? Sounds good to me.

[Skepticat]

So what's next - giving out Joe the plumber masks as in "V for Vendetta" and have the faithful march on the white house?

[proveit2me]

Since we're all Joe the Plumber now (are we all still Georgian's too? I didn't get the memo), I guess I need to start acting contrary to my best interests. Just mailed my paycheck to T. Boone Pickens, called a cop a a-hole and stuck a fork in my eye. Man, Being a republican shill is hard on the vision!

[TKFraz]

LMAO...this is truly a stupid ad.

[GrainneKathleen]

heeheehee, thanks for the laugh; maybe I will apply for 20 more credit cards and buy the new hummer pick up truck

[BigSurf]

This negative crap is plugging up the ads.

They need a plunger, if they only knew a real plumber.

McSame's ad is saying that everyone is not registered to vote, and everyone lies about who they are and how much they make.

[zanzig]

They know Liddy, won't he do?

[biglith]

This ad is going to kill. Kill this Joe the Plumber theme once and for all.

[MathIsTruth]

In Sarah Palin's Alaska, they heavily tax the oil companies, and use the money to send oil rebate checks (something like $1200) to every Alaskan household.

Isn't that "spreading the wealth"? Isn't that socialism?

[zanzig]

I read somewhere that the rebate checks were $3,100 per individual, not household. So a family of 4 actually received over $12,000.

[MathIsTruth]

Thank you for the correction.

It just means that the absurdity of the McCain claim is ten times worse than I thought!

[viewfromuphere]

Joe the Plumber....so last week.

He hasn't exactly resonated outside of the republican base.....as a couple polls seemed to show.

[ifonlyuknew]

13 more days........Vote early if you can.

Obama/Biden 08

[hmmmmmer]

Just hearing the phrase joe the plumber brings up a little of what I ate last night.

[therseus]

Help me here! Are they saying all the republican voters are all Joe-the-fake-plumber-owing-back-taxes ? That man would benefit from Obama's tax plan, yet hes sticking to his guns, in his criticism of Obama. Doesnt make sense..... unless... your a republican. Wait... Joe or whatever his name is, isnt even a registered to vote. Even more mystery. And they still push this guy to the media... ???
McCains campaign is now obviously a runaway train of illogical statements, smears and prejudices.

[justobserve]

Joe the plumber, I am a plumber but I don't earn more than $250,000 so I will have my tax cut under President Obama. As for McCain, his definition of "middle class" is someone who earns around $5,000,000 so all of McCain's middle class of course will pay more tax under President Obama. They had it so good for the last 8 years so now it's the time to recognize the hard work of the real middle class "also"! Even Buffett said he should pay more tax because he doesn't need Bush's tax cut while people who earn less has to pay more tax comparing with their income. They need tax cut more than he. I'd say, Buffett is a real patriot, unlike McCain who crashed four planes by his reckless maverick attitude and ended up in Hanoi jail and boasted his hero status ever since.

[GrainneKathleen]

No offense, Joe, but I am NOT Joe the Plumber. I am currently disabled and on Social Security; my husband and I gross under 40,000 a year and pay $800 a month in health insurance premiums. We live in Maine and have huge heating bills though we keep the thermostat at 58F daily and 50F nightly. We have no savings and don't know when we will. I am working hard to become able to work again; yet in the wealthiest country in the world, a medical condition can ruin you. We had the help of family through the three years it took to "win" Social Security. Not all Americans are so fortunate - medical conditions often result in homelessness and poverty. So I am not Joe the Plumber, but I am not idly complaining; I am helping out the Obama campaign with phone calls and ready to cast my own historic ballot. I don't expect Obama and government to solve my problems for me. I just want them to recognize they exist everywhere and that people should not fall through the cracks - we cannot have a stable economy with many in poverty. So I really don't want to hear about an unliscensed tax-evading plumber whose biggest problem is he doesn't want to pay 3% more in federal income tax should he exceed $250,000 in income, surely a record in the halls of plumbing history. I would say he should count his blessings, as I and many Americans do every

[Noogie]

Joe the Plumber's dream is to install gold faucets in the homes of the Rich and Famous.

[LisaLisa1234]

God bless you, GrainneKathleen.

[GrainneKathleen]

ditto

[kissmygrits]

We're all pathological liars who don't pay our taxes and don't believe in things most Americans support, like social security? That's weird. I'm definitely not Joe the Plumber, then, b/c I've never had a $1000 tax lien filed against me, and I'm actually licensed in my profession.

[TaylorRae]

We are all unlicensed, tax-evading business owners?

[PCRX]

Corrected: We are all unlicensed, tax-evading (wanna-be) business owners?

[independent32955]

samuel (joe's real first name) is not a business owner...he just plays one on tv.