Joe the Plumber, also known as Sam Wurzelbacher has announced his disillusionment with Senator John McCain. Scott Detrow of National Public Radio reported as follows on his blog.
"Wurzelbacher touched on several different points during his speech, and many of them were surprising. He said he doesn’t support Sarah Palin anymore. Why? Because she’s backing John McCain’s re-election effort. “John McCain is no public servant,” he told the room, calling the 2008 Republican nominee a career politician.
I pointed out he’d just be plain old Sam Wurzelbacher of Ohio — Joe the Plumber wouldn’t exist – without McCain. His response was blunt. “I don’t owe him s—. He really screwed my life up, is how I look at it.”
Wurzelbacher said, “McCain was trying to use me. I happened to be the face of middle Americans. It was a ploy.”
Sam the Plumber should not be surprised at John McCain for "using" him. That is what political figures do. They splice a few useful sound bites from what you say, and hit the mute button when you are no longer useful. "Bipartisans" are probably the worst of the lot. In most cases, they want to spotlight themselves instead of the issues. If McCain had won in 2008, it is quite likely that he would have given the Democrats a lot of help that they could not have gotten from their own party. His positions on immigration are not substantially different from those of the Democrats. The campaign finance reform bill that he co-sponsored with Russ Feingold was a drop kick in the gut of the constitution. He served with honour in Vietnam. But one must still look at his actual opinions and voting record.
There are people who will bend with the wind to get your vote. And there are partisans who will stake out a position or ideology and defend what they believe. A large portion of the Republican party is simply imitating the Democrats and leaving some ideological battles unfought. New York City's mayor, Mike Bloomberg is strongly in favour of gun control. He joined his Republican predecessor in Gracie Mansion in not enforcing federal immigration laws in New York City. If those issues matter to you, liberal Republicans offer no alternative.
Ronald Reagan was someone who tried to win over and persuade his opponents. Whether you agree with him or not, he was honest about his convictions. Joe the Plumber, like many Americans wants leadership that will state honestly their beliefs and defend them. He provided useful sound bites to the McCain campaign and now he feels used. Many feel that the "bipartisan Republicans" of 2008 were just going to cut a deal with the Democrats if they would have won. At least Obama was somewhat honest about his convictions.
Joe the Plumber should realise that the McCain campaign provided him with his first shot at a national platform. He was talented enough to keep the attention of the media a long time after he hit the spotlight and long after McCain's defeat in November of 2008.
Why did Joe the Plumber support McCain? Probably for the same reasons I did. What are those reasons? There is a story that explains why.
A cowboy walked into a wild west saloon. There was a card game in progress. He walked up to the table and said "Deal me in."
After a few minutes of playing, someone tapped him on the shoulder and said, "If you've got any sense in your head, you'll quit this game, because it's rigged."
The cowboy kept on playing and replied, "I know. But it's the only game in town."
Joe the Plumber and millions of other Americans knew they were playing in a rigged game in 2008. Most of those who supported the Republicans,(and a lot of independents as well) want to check the deck before the next game starts. If that is what Joe the Plumber wants, I don't blame him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F01aLeErvoU
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