Photo Essay -- Joe The Plumber At Midnight In Miami

These pictures were taken last night at the John McCain rally at the University of Miami with a Kodak Easyshare, not the recommended camera for serious photo journalists.- Stephen Elliott

There's something interesting about the continual references to socialism by the McCain camp and the Red campaign. I support the Red campaign which combats AIDS in Africa, but apparently they've spent more on marketing than they've given away, which points to some of the fundamental flaws of outsourcing.

There were roughly five thousand McCain supporters in attendance, more than half were Cuban, many wearing t-shirts that read "Cuba got change in 1959. Be careful what you wish for."








Before he arrived we listened and danced to amazing live Cuban music.
McCain didn't arrive until almost 12:30, when he gave a quick speech about redistribution and fighting. He said that if elected he wouldn't be sitting down at the table to negotiate with dictators like the Castro brothers or Hugo Chavez.

See Also:
Notes From The Swamp 1
Notes From The Swamp 2
Notes From The Swamp 3
Notes From The Swamp 1

- Stephen Elliott

Follow Stephen Elliott on Twitter: www.twitter.com/the_rumpus

Comments

[dfranz]

Too bad his name isn't Joe and he isn't a plumber. Those Joe name patches will be real collector items in a few years. By the way, what's up with "Joe" missing those campaign events?? I thought that the Republican Party was more disciplined than that. Perhaps he didn't recieve his check from
the McCain campaign in time and couldn't get an airline ticket. It's probably better that way since he already has tax issues and that would have to be counted as income only making his problem worse.

[2belinda]

So is Joe, McCain's new running mate? Despite the fact that nothing about Joe proved to be the truth, they have turned him into, as McCain said, "a hero". It is beyond all reasonable thinking.
These people are SO lost in the wilderness.

[jacobomorales]

They are a sad bunch!!!They look like lost sheep in the woods!

[portchester]

I feel sorry for these misguided Cubans at this rally. They all look like fools with this Joe stick. In 2000 they voted for change in the U.S., and we got Bushed.

[necer65]

Stupid. These people are clueless. McCain has some guy who's name isn't even Joe and who isn't even a plumber campaigning for him. This guy also owes past taxes. This is not appropriate. It just makes it look like the McCain campaign is being run by really dumb people.

[JoeSausage]

To make matter even worse, now Joe has a publicist, is going to write a book, record a country record and probably appear on Dancing With the Stars. This is his payoff for playing "Joe the Plumber", the fictional character of the Republican campaign. Pay-off for lying to the American people; pretending to be something he's not. He was just a political tool. Now he can go back to just being a tool.

[JoeSausage]

Any campaign that relies on a fictional character as it's only real selling point deserves to be laughed off the stage. I mean really! Joe the Plumber, not named Joe and not a registered plumber, is a Republican fabrication. Look at the facts folks! This "Joe" character ambushed Obama at a rally. Threw some Republican talking points at him. The NEXT DAY McCain referred to "Joe the Plumber" 21 times in the debate. Coincidence? The next day "Joe the Plumber" was in a McCain ad. Coincidence? The day after that "Joe the Plumber" was the Republican's #1 talking point. Coincidence? And then he was on the stump, giving foreign policy advice. Oh my God! Not only do the Republicans think you're really stupid! But if you've bought into this transparent stunt, YOU"RE REALLY STUPID! What does this say about the Republican base? Those people may as well be wearing Mickey Mouse or Peter Pan stickers. Joe the Plumber is a cartoon character.

[Bitsko]

Diane Arbus would have liked the one of the obese kid in the Cuba Got Change t-shirt. Great job.

[AmericasMostGangsta]

....and it has mustard stains, to boot!

[SaltySaltillo]

Wisdom of the Joe the Plumber McCain supporter (truly spoken at a McCain rally):

"Obama is a socialist. Obama wants to spread the wealth around. I can't afford that. I don't have any wealth!"

Brilliant!

[Bitsko]

lmfao!

[pilotsknob]

....and Joe, the McCain fake plumber plant, evades paying his taxes and lies for a living.

[JoeSausage]

Yes Americans! Don't let anyone spread that wealth around! Keep giving it to only multi-millionaires and corporations reaping record profits! That wealth is only for RICH PEOPLE! Average Americans don't deserve any of that wealth! Damn that Obama for looking out for you! So please please don't spread any of that wealth around. Average Americans would rather see it go to the RICH FOLKS!

[Dunelm]

Great photo' commentary. But, frightening. Joe the plumber represents the worship of mediocrity, the same worship that gave us George W.

[AmericasMostGangsta]

Exactly, we all aspire to be, and/or root for, the pathetic poor sap, ordinary Joe.

(THAT keeps us in our place, but good)/

[SeniorTour]

Yikes!

[mommadona]

So, what are all these sheep going to do November 5th?

[drsmc41]

For the life of me, I don't understand how now the McCain campaigh have "redistributed" their campaigh to "Joe." What exactly is the fascination?

-Very nice/fun pictures, though. Thanks for sharing.

[TexasDem0]

They shifted the focus to Samuel Joe because neither of their candidates had anything to offer.