I am NOT Joe the Plumber

I've been sick for the past few days. During the day, while laying in bed, I've seen endless political ads, mostly aimed at the stay-at-home moms, and mostly done by John McCain's group of mavericks (if there is such a thing). This last one has me shaking with anger.

"I'm Joe the Plumber"

The campaign's latest ad replays his now "famous" moment with Barack Obama. Several people keep repeating the same phrase: "I'm Joe the Plumber." At the end, these uninformed mental midgets say "I'm supposed to work harder just to pay more taxes. Obama wants my sweat to pay for his trillion dollars in new spending?"

Trying to sway votes is one thing. Fabricating information until it doesn't even resemble the truth is another. I'm disappointed. I'm frustrated. I want October to end already.

Joe "the Plumber" lives not 5 miles away from my parents. Embarrassing. I put plumber in quotations because he, in fact, is not a licensed plumber.

From the NYTimes:

"An official at Local 50 of the plumber’s union, based in Toledo, said Mr. Wurzelbacher does not hold a license. He also has never served an apprenticeship and does not belong to the union. (The national plumber’s union, the United Association of Plumbers, Steamfitters, and Service Mechanics, endorsed Mr. Obama, it should be noted.)
“He’s basically playing games with the world,” Thomas Joseph, the local’s business manager, said in a telephone interview Thursday morning. "

“All contractors are licensed, and he does not have a license, either as a contractor or a plumber,” the union official said, citing a search of government records. “I can’t find that he’s ever even applied for any kind of apprenticeship, and he has never belonged to local 189 in Columbus, which is what he claims on his Facebook page.” (HIS FACEBOOK PAGE?!?)

And as if that isn't bad enough, his employer doesn't have a license either. The "company" that he works for consists of Joe "the Plumber" and his boss, Al Newell. You're telling me that this "company" makes more than $250,000 in which their taxes would be affected by Obama? He claims that they make "between $250,000 and $280,000." Come on. That's a $30,000 difference there. For a company with only 2 employees, that 30k would mean a whole lot. Smells like a steaming pile of lies to me. Joe "the Plumber" said himself that he doesn't have a good plan for how he would buy this "company." And let's say that they truly do make over $250,000. Under Obama’s plan, the tax on income above $250,000 would increase by 3 percentage points to 36 percent — which means that, if his net profits are above $250,000, Joe could see his tax bill rise between $0 - $900, hardly a debilitating blow to such a successful small business.

But all of this just makes good ole Joe look like what plumbers are known for - an ass. What makes me upset the most is that John McCain is using this man, who clearly only wanted 15 minutes of fame, as a political platform to brainwash the uninformed/uneducated/out-of-touch people with a little human interest story. Dangerous. There are a number of misleading things packed into a tight space here.

According to Politifact, which attempts to fact check all the garbage that is in the airwaves as of late:

"McCain's claim that Obama's plan will translate to higher taxes for seniors and working families is grossly misleading. As we have pointed out many times, that’s only true if a senior or a family is making more than $250,000 a year, or $200,000 for a single person. Otherwise, it’s generally not the case.
The claim that Obama will raise taxes on seniors and hardworking families? Misleading. Using the term "welfare" to describe refundable tax credits? Not by most people's definition. That the plan would give payments to people who pay no taxes? Only if you don't consider payroll taxes as taxes. That all adds up to False."

(for the whole article, http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/813/)

How can this be okay with people? How aren't people up in arms, not only with this example, but for the whole campaign that has been nothing but smear after smear, and personal attacks and rage filled speeches. How is it that someone who wants to be the leader of this country finds this an acceptable method? How can people buy it?

Sorry for the rant. I'm just so scared for this election that it's hard for me to think of anything else.