Joe The Plumber Vs. CNN's Rick Sanchez: "You're Asking Me Insane Questions"

Joe the Plumber, in his last media tour of (one can hope) this election cycle, took to CNN this afternoon to make the case for his candidate John McCain. Only things didn't exactly go as planned. Host Rick Sanchez began asking a whole host of questions on sensitive topics like: Why don't you have a plumber's license? Why haven't you paid your taxes? Why is a hospital in South Carolina asking you for $1,100 in payments? And why does someone making far less than $250,000 have a problem with taxes being raised on those in the top income brackets?

Joe, not surprisingly, was none too pleased with having the grilling turned on him. "You're asking me all these insane questions," he said, shooting back that Sanchez never applied the same scrutiny to Barack Obama. Joe called Sanchez's inquiries "ridiculous" and at one point pleaded, "Why don't you ask what I'm going to do now?"

Here is the clip:

And here is the transcript of the heated/humorous exchange.

Why are you vetting me out and you haven't done this for Obama? You are asking me all these insane questions I asked a question of an elected public official and you are going to ask me these questions? That's kind of ridiculous man.

You have gone on the air and endorsed John McCain, you are no longer just joe private person, you have thrust yourself into this campaign by holding news conferences talking to reporters and endorsing a candidate. You have to be asked the tough questions my friend. That's the way it works in this country

Well, ask good questions then. Why don't you ask what I'm going to do now?

Both individuals, it seems, make valid points. But did Joe really think he could go on the stump, call Obama a socialist and a fatal threat to Israel and not expect any push-back?

Read more about Election 2008 coverage here.

Comments

[makeanimpact]

He's a total fraud. Anyone else think he's on GOP payroll?

[lisakaz2]

That last question esp. needed to be asked. TG this guy can fade into the obscurity he deserves.

[DangitRuss]

He jumped into the fishbowl and he doesn't understand why people want to know about him. Palin/The Plumber in 2012. Now that's comedy!

[ronnierayjenkins]

Roll up those sleeves Joe and let's see your tatoos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kqmNTk6ls0

[dmsdzinr]

Joe (the FAKE) Plumber, Hey DUDE Your OPINIONS are NOT FACTS!!!! Oh Yeah, maybe in your MIND.
But, Right is RIGHT & Wrong is WRONG! Joe, YOU ARE SO WRONG!!!

[vicarious]

I saw the interview and was glad to see someone finally sock it to Joe The Plumber. Besides being struck by the sheer inanity of Joe's responses, I also had a problem with Joe repeatedly addressing Rick Sanchez as "brother" (what attitude). There is one question that Rick Sanchez did not ask, however, and I wish he had: why, when throwing his hat in McCain's ring, did Joe utter the words "I am endorsing John McCain, a REAL American"? I am not American (am Canadian, for the record), but I still found Joe's choice of words highly offensive (as did, I'm sure, a lot of American citizens).

[sylar]

"Right is right, wrong is wrong"

Joe/Sam The Tax-Evading- Non-$250,0­00-Making-­GOP-Plant Plummer, 2008

[Shashi0224]

Joe the Plumber was a sham of the McCain campaign. A further blessing of McCain's loss is that we never have to hear from Joe the Plumber again.
His 15 minutes has come and gone and just like Sarah Palin, he is nothing more than a slogan....no substance, just slogan.
I'm so glad we're done with this kind of bs.

I'm so thankful for President-Elect Barack Obama and Vice-President Elect Joe Biden!! REAL PEOPLE!!

[foujj]

About time the media grew a pair and asked some tough questions to these political shills. If I had a nickel for everytime some political mouth piece got away with making outrageously false and inflammatory remarks without crossexamination, I could bail out the banks myself.

[ObamaCanada]

Thank You Rick Sanchez Plumber Sam is gone to the dustbin of history. Never to be heard of again. I think he wish he stayed in the Faux newszone! If "Joe" wants to get up on a stage and give political speeches he should not cry when he gets properly vetted! Pay your taxes Joe the FRAUD!!!

[PiscesGirl24]

This is the culmination of the problems with the McCain campaign. His surrogates never really knew what they were saying. Wealthy people worker harder? Really? Wow! I would guess that most people working "work hard" and actually the middle class has been paying taxes, Joe. Something you may not understand...

[geowizerd]

What gets me is "Joe's" assertions that rich people "work harder", and therefore deserve to keep their wealth. I can say with some certainty that a Wall Street MBA or a tax lawyer does NOT work harder than a brick layer or a pipefitter or a coal miner. And what about those with "old money" (inherited)? A lot of those folks (say, like Paris Hilton) never did a day's work in their life.

My only dissapointment with this interview was that it was over the phone, rather than in person. It would have been a blast to watch Joe squirm and turn red!

[lisakaz2]

That "work harder" garbage was the self-insulated view of the well heeled. He ain't foolin' me.

[RobHughey]

I kinda have to hold back when you mention Paris Hilton. She may be the child of privilege, but that woman has made millions and millions of dollars on her "oh, I'm so dumb" image. She's a mogul who works every waking moment of her day. Heck, she even gets paid to make club appearances while partying. I'd say she's far more savvy than she gets credit for. ...just my opinion.

But does she work harder than the people you've brought up? HELL NO. I found (and find) almost all of what Joe the Stereotype says to be ridiculous and out-of-touch with reality.

[TMann99821]

When John McCain was looking for Joe The Plumber at his campaign rally he wasn't there. However, it wasn't enirely Joe's fault because he said he would be there anywhere from noon to 6 PM.

[geowizerd]

That's the cable guy...

[my2girls]

Bye Bye Joe! Your 15 minutes are up.

Don't forget to fire the publicist you hired last week.

[Inthematrix]

Actually, this was a dumb interview. I am no JTP supporter but Rick's point was basically that JTB shouldn't have even asked the question he asked Obama since it wouldn't even affect him directly anyway. That is a ridiculous position to try to advocate. I don't need to have ovaries and a uterus to ask a candidate if he thinks a female should have a right to choose abortion. The whole premise of this interview was ridiculous. I know that the end game was to prove that Joe was just a tool for the Republicans and that he really didn't care about that tax issue but Rick used logic that could be easily refuted in order to make his point.

http://inthematrix.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/president-barack-obama/

[gnorrfa]

you believe you don't need to be a woman to meddle in women's lives?

[greeniefromOH]

Or be a gay to meddle in gay people's lives....

We could go on and on, couldn't we? LOL.

[LAR1969]

Ah, you hit the nail on the head. Rick wanted to ask those questions all along, but didn't build the right foundation.

[Doug77]

It's not that Joe asked the question, it's that he lied when he asked the question. He didn't say "If I made 250k and I wanted to buy this business" he said he was going to buy the business-he outright lied. Also, don't you love that someone who, again, lied, doesn't pay his taxes, and owes a hospital money keeps claiming that he's principled. It's a bad interview because Joe doesn't know what the he's talking about, not even that he's wrong (he is) but that he can't even defend his own argument in any logical way. Finally, there's nothing inherently moral or good about "working hard". It's a senseless leftover from the Protestant work ethic, wherein if one worked hard they would be rewarded in the afterlife.

[purposemen]

I am no JTP supporter either, but Sanchez was fair to ask why JTP would misrepresent his own circumstance. JTP (to Obama) could have said, "I am fundamentally opposed to the progressive tax and wonder why you are not as well" Obama 's answer would probably be the same and JTP wouldn't be such a tool. Ovaries and a uterus are preconditions of representing yourself to a politician as someone who anticipates becoming pregnant.