Oh, This Is Just Precious

What's a sign that you have run out of things to talk about?

You do an interview with "Joe The Plumber"

The Tufts Daily ( the student paper of Tufts University ) recently did an interview with the man least likely to be plumbing anything in the near future, Sam Wurzelbacher - ne: Joe The Plumbing Afficianado.

In it, however, we get a glimpse of Joe that we knew would be coming around sooner rather than later:

Question: There has been some confusion amongst the media with regards to your name and occupation. Could you provide some clarification?


Answer: All right. Well, my name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher. I go by [my] middle name Joseph and shorten it to Joe and have gone by that since I was born and have always been called Joe. With regards to my occupation, I was a plumber in the military for the United States Air Force. I used to teach plumbing in the military. A lot of times the licenses that are obtained in the military world do not transfer over into the civilian world.

For many hardline lunatic-fringe conservatives, this just might become a bit of a stick with which to beat people with. He's not just Joe "The Plumber", he's Joe "The Fucking Military Plumbing Teacher".

Please, do continue:

Q: Why do you and so many other Americans find the words “spread the wealth around” so troubling?


A: Well, I am fairly well read and have read Karl Marx’s work, and spread the wealth around is something that he mentions quite often. If you look up the word [socialism] in [Webster’s] Dictionary, the definition may not mention “spread the wealth,” but community work and sharing of goods all plays into it. Obama’s health-care plan is a very socialist experiment. [Obama’s plans] all revolve around socialism, and that’s what scares me about it.

As I try to hold back my laughter at the thought of Joe/Sam/Plumber's Putty actually trying to conivnce the Tufts' readership that he is "well read", I would like to have Joe give a brief speech on Marxism and what he thought of struggle of the Proliteriat.

Q: How did you feel when you became such an important factor in the final presidential debate and the campaign as a whole?


A: Initially, I thought it was completely absurd. I was glad that I could be used as a focal point to possibly bandy around some ideas, and maybe people would open their eyes to Obama’s socialist ideology. However, there were so many important issues to be discussed other than the “Joe the Plumber, Joe the Plumber.” [The debate] was absolutely ridiculous. After a while, I actually got tired of it. Not so much the “Joe the Plumber” I am tired of, but there are other issues that need to be discussed.

Right.

Completely absurd until he started being asked to appear on television, make speaking engagements with McCain, a book deal. Yeah, it was absurd until he realized, "hey, I've got a publicist now"

There is so much more, but this is where the money shot comes in:

Q: The Republican Party was dealt another devastating blow [on Nov. 4]. In your opinion, what do you feel the party needs to do in order to successfully regain control of the government? Also, what should disappointed conservatives like yourself do following the election?


A: The party should remember that they are conservative Republicans — that has been forgotten. They no longer hold to their ideals. They blow with the wind on just about every public opinion poll. So they are not right-wing; they are trying to show that they’re middle or even left-of-middle sometimes. You have to remember two years ago, the Democrats loved John McCain. That is not what this is about. If you’re a party, you have to stick to your ideals. The frontrunners in the Republican Party have definitely seem to forgotten that. Governor [Bobby] Jindal of Louisiana seems to have the right idea. We have got to get back to the grassroots of the Republican Party and not apologize for being conservative.

Boby Jindal just lost the 2012 primary.