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Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2008 > October > 28 > Entry
Joe the Plumber greeted as rock star in Middletown
Below is a summary of Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher’s visit to Middletown today. My question: Do you relate to Joe the Plumber? Why or why not?
But first, here is the McCain campaign’s “I’m Joe the Plumber” commercial:
And here is a copy of the video where Wurzelbacher made his premier.
Now the story:
MIDDLETOWN — In less than a month, Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher has gone from obscurity to political rock-stardom. And he went on tour Tuesday, Oct. 28.
A crowd at S&S Pools on the edge of Middletown chanted “Joe, Joe” as he emerged from a bus as an official surrogate for Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign.
But celebrity has its curses: media scrutiny found some call excessive found Wurzelbacher is unlicensed and owes back taxes.
And as he spoke to the Middletown crowd, a state investigation started on why state computers were used to find personal information on Wurzelbacher.
“I hope they punish somebody, because I want other Americans to be able to come out and question somebody without being railroaded,” Wurzelbacher said.
Wurzelbacher walked onto the national stage when Sen. Barack Obama told him at a rally he wanted to “spread the wealth around,” and became household name when he was mentioned dozens of times during the final presidential debate.
McCain pointed to the Toledo man as an example of the middle-class worker who would be hurt economically by an Obama presidency, though Wurzelbacher likely would fare better under Obama’s tax plan because it calls for no tax increase for working couples earning less than $250,000 a year — Wurzelbacher himself earns far less — and provides for a middle-class tax cut.
His main message in Middletown was for people to get informed and vote for the American dream of small business ownership.
Wurzelbacher was followed by other business owners featured in a commercial, as well as Cathy Shepherd, owner of S&S Pools.
Shepherd said she wants to open a second store, but won’t be able to afford it under Obama’s tax plan.
“I don’t want to give a man the opportunity to take my wealth and put it where he wants to put it,” she said. “That’s not his choice, that’s my choice.”
Roughly 50 people turned out to the rally, including Joe “The Extrusion Specialist” Hall and his family from Middletowm. “We just wanted to come out here and support Joe and everything he is doing for a good cause,” Hall said.
Dorothy Colwell, also from Middletown, said the campaign owes Wurzelbacher. “He got a question answered that we all want to know,” she said.
But the controversy around Wurzelbacher continued. At Wurzelbacher’s first speaking engagement Tuesday in Columbus, he agreed with a McCain supporter who said “a vote for Obama is a vote for the death of Israel.”
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