Say It Isn't So, Joe! Wurzelbacher A Real $250K Plumber?

Joe The Plumber, aka Joe Wurzelbacher, the Toledo plumber who became the hot topic of the last Presidential debate due to his rope-line confrontation with Barack Obama's over the Democratic candidate's tax plan, may not be a plumber, and may not be planning to buy a plumbing business where he will be netting $250,000 a year.

He isn't in the Toledo Yellow Pages and it's more likely that his existence as a plumber buying a $250K business is as sincere as Sarah Palin asking Joe Biden if she can call him "Joe."

Isn't it interesting that Joe is buying a business that is making a profit of exactly $250K, the Obama tax break minimum. If we're talking a business that is bottom lining at $250K, a standard business acquisition falls into the 4 to 1 investment area, which would call for Joe READ THE REST OF WHAT LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF JOE CROCK HERE

Award-winning TV writer, Steve Young, is author of "Great Failures of the Extremely Successful" (www.greatfailure.com) and blogs at the appropriately named steveyoungonpolitics.com

Comments

[Michale32086]

@LeftRight

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The evidence that he's not registered in Ohio (which I found out AFTER I posted that he is, under a misspelled last name, which would invalidate his registration)
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So, that "evidence" is wrong...

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and the evidence that he's related to Charles Keating,
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And Obama is "related" to Dick Cheney. How is this "evidence"??

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and the evidence that NO regular plumber who would be in the situation that he's claiming would be in that situation....
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And your evidence to support THIS is.... what exactly??

So, out of the 3 pieces of "evidence" you claim to have, one is demonstrably false, one is completely ludicrous and the third requires substantiational evidence of it's own...

In other words, you have NOTHING to accuse this guy of ANY misrepresentation, save your own bigotry and hypocrisy...

Michale.....

[donniebnyc]

Joe the plumber is related to Keating.

http://www.eisenstadtgroup.com/2008/10/15/joe-the-plumber-wurzelbacher-related-to-charles-keating-oops/

[Thatcher]

"Joe the Plumber" is NOT registered to vote in Ohio

McCain was trying to convince a guy who isn't registered to vote.

The only Wurzelbachers registered to vote in Lucas County Ohio (the Toledo are) are:

WURZELBACHER PHYLLIS KAY
WURZELBACHER FRANK EDWARD
WURZELBACHER ROBERT LEE
WURZELBACHER KIMBERLY M

(BTW - Frank and Phyllis appear to be Joe's parents)

So "Joe the Plumber" is NOT registered to vote in Ohio. The voter registration deadline was October 6th ... and you can download the entire state voter file from Ohio Secretary of State at http://www2.sos.state.oh.us/cf_ftp/voter_ftp_home?agree_flag=Y to search for yourself.

[Michale32086]

One really has to wonder if you would have done such research on Joe if he said he SUPPORTED Obama..

Actually, one doesn't have to wonder at all..

The answer would be a resounding NO...

How is this not bigotry??

Michale.....

[Miravanguild]

We all know what plumbers charge.. But the point is, if he makes under a quarter of a mil, his taxes are not going up...

[canuckjen]

Do republicans really think the American public is so unintelligent that they could put up a fake "Joe the Plumber," have him do interviews with Katie Couric for goodness sake, and that no one would search the background history of "the Plumber" and find out his connections back to Charles Keating and John McCain? And whyon earth would McCain want to do anything to remind voters of Charles Keating?

I heard Bill Bennett on CNN talk before the debate to Anderson Cooper and touch on "Joe the Plumber"
I wonder if Bennett truly knew the fraud he was perpetrating on the American public about the inauthentic "Joe the Plumber" or was he lied to like everyone else.

Usually politicians wait until they are elected before they go in front of their public and tell lies - I guess, McCain figured, why wait for that little technicality.

[4real]

Probably a Republican plant testing Obama.

[WilliePilgrim]

The "who is joe the plumber" rhetoric aside, the notion that a well trained tradesman can make a respectable living on parr with college educated professionals is a point that is all to often lost. American education and social status is both concerned about lifetiime earnings and yet dismissive of those who have applied the concept of hard and honest work to their life's trajectory. While I hope Obama wins, I sure wish we'd see a dialogue where the fatuousness of the goal of a college education is exposed and where we point out that the wealthy are the ones who set the price for a tip quality interior trim carpenter and having more of them competing for talented and well trained artisans makes a lot of people's dreams possible. Let's end the envy of money and start looking at the reality when it comes to alternatives to the college educational ideal we're being force fed.

[Michale32086]

Very well said!

I find it disheartening that many people here would denigrate a fellow American for "menial" labor, solely based on his political beliefs.

Very sad...

Michale.....

[LeftRight]

That is very true!! My two daughters are both looking to college, and when I try to point out the possibility of some sort of trade, they always look at me like I'm crazy! I'm not a college graduate, and I AM in a trade, and I make more than most college graduates, with the exception of MBA's and many doctorate degrees.

[teaparty911]

I remember another republican invoking a similarly styled anecdote. Does anyone else remember Tricky Dick Nixon and his cocker spaniel named Checkers? What's next Senator McCain, will you be hiring your Pal, Gordon Liddy, to help you out just like he helped Richard Nixon? You did mention you wanted to create jobs during the debate; perhaps that is what you had in mind?

[jbatch]

Netting $250 K? That means a gross of better than $500K; that means it would cost him $2 million to buy his business.

In which case, he should just pay his taxes and shut up.

But my guess is the only money Joe's made that is even remotely associated with plumbing is whatever the McCain campaign paid him to act as one.

[Michale32086]

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In which case, he should just pay his taxes and shut up.
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I see...

Because he is not an Obama supporter, he should "shut up"..

Nice...

Michale.....

[LeftRight]

No, he should shut up because the evidence is mounting that he's just a plant, and not some poor plumber trying to buy up his employers company.

[LeftRight]

Taxes are not 50% at $250K. Unless you are saying that he PERSONALLY would be getting $250K out of the business, which would mean that all the deductions (employee salary, gasoline, insurance, etc.....) would take up the rest. However, even THEN if he is personally pulling down $250 K/yr then the company must be making well upwards of $2 million, because there's no way that a small business owner with a gross income of that much would be pulling all that out to pay his own salary. He'd go under in a heartbeat!

[IsaacKuo]

Whether or not Joe was exactly who he claimed to be is a distraction.

Ask yourself, "Even if so, so what?"

[theyak]

Joe is talking about buying a business "netting" $250k, as in after business expenses, you know, payroll, maintenance, inventory, etc. I guess it isn't worth it to him if he can't keep $250k a year. My best friend is a plumber and would love to net half that for other peoples work.

[MajorKong]

A plumber making $250,000? I obviously picked the wrong line on Career Day.

[allonfla]

Yes, Joe W. is going to be exposed pretty soon. Politico already found out that he isn't even registered to vote. He will regret this- i hope.

[Michale32086]

So, because someone has a politically differing opinion than you, you wish him ill will..

What kind of liberals ARE you people??

I always say that I am more of a liberal than practically anyone here on HuffPo.

It's people like you that cement that notion...

Michale.....

[melpomene1]

Wishing that a liar is exposed is wishing him ill? I guess so, but isn't it also just?

[Zenith1959]

Saying if he is a fraud he will regret it, is not wishing him ill will because someone disagrees with him. Very typical word twisting that you see quite often. Oh, and this might be slightly off topic, but isn't it interesting that the two phrases that describe "dirty tricks", "swift boat" and "...-gate", are both from things conservatives have done to liberals?