A Tea Party hero and figure, truly representative of
the everyday American, himself being a "working stiff",
Joe Wurzelbacher entered the spotlight as such
when he boldly questioned then-candidate
Barack Obama about his questionable economic
policies in the 2008 presidential campaign, has
died.
Getting the opportunity to talk to Obama at an event
in Wurzelbacher's home state of Ohio, he took it
to Obama for his plans to raise taxes on some
individuals and businesses. Obama's response?
A reply typical of a socialist: "I think when you
spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."
This exchange sharply defined the two men, along
with drawing the contrasts between them.
Joe Wurzelbacher became a folk hero and
Barack Obama became President of the United
States, the former riding a right-populist wave
of notoriety and the latter riding a left-populist
wave.
Wurzelbacher's exchange with Obama
pointed out the yawning gap between not only
the two men and their political/economic ideas
but between the establishment elites and the
regular folk.
A Toledo, Ohio plumber, Wurzelbacher became
known as "Joe the Plumber" after his exchange
with the near-future president, which had received
considerable air time on cable news, topped off
by Obama's opponent U.S. Sen. John McCain
repeatedly referring to Joe by his "plumber"
moniker in one of their presidential debates.
Sadly, in that presidential election the
former won, but Joe Wurzelbacher became,
at least for a time, a folk hero, especially to
his side of the political spectrum.
Wurzelbacher's oldest son, Joey, announced that
his father died after a very long and painful
illness; "The only thing I have to say is that he
was a true patriot." His father had the middle
name Joseph (his actual first name was Samuel)
and was called and referred to as "Joe".
God rest you, humble yet unabashed patriot.
R.I.P.
MEM
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