John McCain apparently loves workers now (except for those in Columbia who are being killed trying to form labor unions). He brought up the apocryphal demographic, "Joe the Plumber," and then accused Barack Obama of "class warfare." He was condescending to working people and to women. It's an outrage that after a Republican administration that McCain voted with 90 percent of the time has waged an unremitting class war against the working people in this country -- robbing their earnings, their retirement accounts, and their children's futures --, here's John McCain tonight denouncing the idea of "spreading the wealth around."
McCain said: "I'm proud of the people who come to our rallies" (even the ones who scream racial epithets?). And then he segued into another yawner on all his "veteran" buddies who love him so who show up. He said that ACORN is "destroying the fabric of democracy" (by registering poor people to vote?). He repeated the talk radio lie that Obama "launched his campaign" in Bill Ayers' living room. McCain was petulant (as when he cried again about how Obama forced him to go 100 percent negative because he dissed his phony "town hall" ploy). McCain said that Sarah Palin is a "role model for women" (some role model). He dismissed the equal pay for women case, Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., as if it were totally irrelevant, exposing once again his deep-seated misogyny.
John McCain tonight was facetious, smirking, sarcastic, disrespectful, brooding, dismissive, rude, mean, condescending, and wound up tight. Talking to "Joe the Plumber," he said: "Hey Joe, you're rich! Congratulations!" Coming from a guy who married into a $100 million fortune that's pretty weird. He's an elitist. His true self had shown brightly tonight and I bet most people were pretty turned off.
But most importantly, McCain is wrong on all the issues. He feigns compassion for Americans who are "hurting," but he offers only warmed over Republican "free market" policies. The corporate media have seized upon McCain telling Obama: "I'm not George Bush." But McCain's economic policies -- deregulation, tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, cutting social programs with a "spending freeze" in a time of growing poverty and unemployment -- are all George W. Bush's policies. AND THEY ALL FAILED!
We have just experienced the worst financial crisis in 70 years. The stock market lost $3 trillion in the last three weeks. Millions of baby boomers close to retirement have been forced to recalibrate their plans for their "golden years." Eight hundred thousand people have lost their jobs in recent months. And all McCain wants to talk about is Bill Ayers and ACORN?
Read more reactions to the Obama-McCain Presidential Debate from HuffPost bloggers
The facts of his life highlight his lack of knowledge on the topic. He would pay less taxes under Barack Obama. He's simply swallowed the McCain line and didn't research that before asking his question.
I saw Joe state tonight that he has been on welfare in his past....so what value do his arguments against government handouts have? Even if that were what Obama were proposing?
He's exposed himself as your typical McCain supporter....severely misguided.
- Panders to Conservative Republican Extremists - BLOWBACK
- Sneeks Around to Fundraisers with Bush - BLOWBACK
- Does Not Vet Sarah "the witch hunter" Palin - BLOWBACK
- Does Not Vet Todd "Alaska Speratist" Palin - BLOWBACK
- Fake Suspends Campaign - BLOWBACK
- Trys to Take Credit for Bailout - BLOWBACK
- Huffs, Puffs, Snorts and Blinks Through Debates - BLOWBACK
- Joe the Plumber, Relative of Charles Keating - BLOWBACK
They contacted him and asked him to come to a McCain rally, I assume that happened after the debate.
He says that he had no contact with either party before the Obama appearance, he just happened to be there.
SICK!
Joe Plummer is just an American trying to achieve the American dream, based on American principles.
My only hope is that it reaches the working class.
Teachers? Vouchers threaten their jobs while unions are in place to keep the worst of the worst employed. Little puppets for that useless union. Get your political views out of my kids face in the classroom (in our school, the band teacher said, "Obama needs to be president to show you crackas- this country is too racist") And that is the level of intelligence that will be deciding our countries future, and the influence our children have to have in schools. Boot the losers out! Give them competition- or give them a new career via a pink slip.
Plumbers and electricians are the best paid trade workers but construction trade workers and businesses are not living as high off the hog as they have in the past because new construction has nearly come to a standstill. The majority of plumbers and construction trades workers out there these days are more like hurting for work and/or unable to afford to start their own business; definitely not in the position to consider buying a successful business that will pull in over a quarter million per year.
It must be in the ballpark of 95% to 98% of Americans have a lower income than this particular "Joe" and mostly, a lot lower. McCain may be ignorant of the fact that what looks like a manual laborer representing the lower classes to him is hardly a 'fitting' representative of the wide majority of Americans who might LIKE to identify with someone in this man's position, but I doubt it and I highly doubt his campaign managers did not know exactly what they were trying to do when they pulled "Joe the Plumber" out of the hat.
He had to fabricate a hypothetical situation just to make it seem like Obama was "hurting" him.
In reality, he will pay less taxes under Obama's plan. Why do people like this Joe vote against their own self interest, especially when it puts more money into the pockets of richer people?
Joe has his own self interest in mind. He wants to do better in life.
Listening to Joe on CBS, he says that he does not earn $250 000 pa, he earns less than that...question, why ask the question if it does not affect you? He will actually get a tax cut under Obama’s plan but he prefers McCain’s plan.
He also says that Obama’s “tap dancing around like Sammy Davies Jnr”...is that code????....My experience of some Dutch people in South Africa answers that question for me!
Let have a discussion...Get this message out there!
But this is McCain...another real effective strategy. McCain has lost his way, or perhaps this is who McCain has been all along: a desperate old man.
Both Barack Obama and John McCain met the SAME dude during the course of their door-to-door campaigning!!!
Since wealthier people would pay more, isn't he mad that the rich people are paying more than HIS share?
Make up you're mind, you're contradicting yourself.
- Joe is a plumber - in the ABC interview he talked about past and current jobs he was working on.
- Let's talk about welfare. What part of Obama's plan doesn't include welfare?