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SALT OF THE EARTH

C’mon Brother, Lay Off Joe The Plumber, Man, C’mon

This is simple enough: Joe The Plumber gets asked about the Employee Free Choice Act — the piece of legislation he is on tour rallying against, for a corporation — and does not know what it is. He tells the cameraman here, “Drop it, brother, drop it. I never said I was an expert, man.” Yeah man he’s just an average guy and stuff. But he is “for America” though, which is better than any of you dirty fucking hippies can say. [Greg Sargent]


2:50 PM on Wed April 1 2009
By Jim Newell
2417 Views

  1. Gallowglass says at 2:52 pm, April 1st, 2009

    “Just because I oppose something doesn’t mean that I know anything about it”

  2. He plays well to the anti-intellectualism of the GOP.

  3. ManchuCandidate says at 2:55 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Say it ain’t so Joe. If you aren’t a hexpurt on Tax Law, US America politicals, economicys, jornalmalism, war and HDTV then what the fuck you doing here?

  4. V572625694 says at 2:55 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Gotcha journalism at its best — imagine having the gall to ask someone who’s opposing something to actually know anything about it.

  5. Gallowglass says at 2:56 pm, April 1st, 2009

    On a side note, I find this “brother” business even more unsettling than McCain’s “my friends” jive. Probably because of the implication of biological kinship with this simian buffoon.

  6. AngryBlakGuy says at 2:57 pm, April 1st, 2009

    …can we just trade him for the 2 journalist that are being imprisoned in N.Korea? I will even throw in pack of gum and some used toilet tissue paper!

  7. Capitol Hillbilly says at 2:58 pm, April 1st, 2009

    “OK brother, you want I should go all Abner Louima on your beatnik ass?”

  8. President Beeblebrox says at 2:58 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Heh, they were surprised that he almost got tarred & feathered in Pittsburgh and didn’t even bother to show in Harrisburg? Yins don’t tahk ’bout unions that way in the Burgh and get away wid’ it, ‘nat.

  9. Mr Blifil says at 2:58 pm, April 1st, 2009

    “How can he-ee be saved? From the eternal gra-ave?”

  10. Hooray For Anything says at 2:58 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Those two minutes pretty much summed up the entire Republican Party.

  11. Hedley Lamar says at 2:59 pm, April 1st, 2009

    The Employee Free Choice Act… in what respect, Charlie?

  12. SayItWithWookies says at 3:00 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Can’t plumb pipes, can’t plumb facts. Joe the know-nothing shill is par for the course.

  13. mocowbell says at 3:01 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Yet another exhausting day for Joe the Tool, working overtime for his corporate masters.

  14. Mustang says at 3:02 pm, April 1st, 2009

    This is a shocker! Joe T. Plumber is misrepresenting himself as someone who knows something? And he got busted at it? Again? Stop the Internets!

  15. Anonymous Office Zombie says at 3:03 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Joe the Condescending Ignorant Fuck (and smugly proud of it, brother)

  16. turdsandwich says at 3:04 pm, April 1st, 2009

    I want to say that if we stop paying attention to this guy, he’ll just go away, but I clicked play just the same as all you motherfuckers.

  17. Giant Robot says at 3:06 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Thanks for lifting my mood, brother. That was funny.

  18. Fox n Fiends says at 3:06 pm, April 1st, 2009

    male models are always the stupidest

  19. Professor Proffy McProfalton, Prof. says at 3:07 pm, April 1st, 2009

    ….much too distracted by the way his whole fucking head flexes as he chews gum to pay attention….

  20. shortsshortsshorts says at 3:07 pm, April 1st, 2009

    So he leads a Republican wing-nut strategy meeting as a new-found “expert,” but he can’t answer any questions?
    GET THIS MAN INTO PUBLIC OFFICE.

  21. Colander says at 3:08 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Hedley Lamar:

    Press: “What do you hate most about this Act?”

    Joe: “Oh, all of it.”

  22. ihasasad says at 3:08 pm, April 1st, 2009

    AngryBlakGuy: Win! Fucker should be flogged mightily and with vigor!

  23. queeraselvis v 2.0 says at 3:09 pm, April 1st, 2009

    As we say down South, he ain’t crazy, he’s plumb crazy.

  24. chascates says at 3:12 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Now I realize how nuanced and wise were the pronouncements of the ‘Where’s the Beef’ lady.

  25. AngryBlakGuy says at 3:12 pm, April 1st, 2009

    …whoever it was that asking the questions, should have responded: “Do I look like I want to give you a handjob in the shower?! Then I’m not your fukkin brother!!!”

  26. Styrofoam Boots says at 3:15 pm, April 1st, 2009

    I’m calling a drunk-driving arrest. In 2 weeks.

  27. Schadenfried says at 3:16 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Did this asshole land in my state (PA) yet?

  28. Hooray For Anything says at 3:18 pm, April 1st, 2009

    I think Michael Steele and Joe the Plumber should team up and start making movies as a new comic duo. Steele will be the hip black guy cracking jokes and Joe the Plumber will be the tough-minded white guy. They could do a remake of “48 Hours” or one of those Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor movies.

  29. Fivetree says at 3:18 pm, April 1st, 2009

    It’s times like these when a little LOTR references come in handy. Look, he’s the equivalent of a Cave Troll - a big lumbering hulk sent out to wreak havoc by sinister, much smarter forces who are seeking to gain ultimate power. He shouldn’t be expected to KNOW things, that’s not his purpose. They probably don’t let him bathe very often either - if at all.

  30. Schadenfried says at 3:19 pm, April 1st, 2009

    turdsandwich: Not me, I’m resisting the urge for now, so I, like Sam the Plumber’s Assistant, can comment on something without knowing anything about it.

  31. freakishlystrong says at 3:21 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Mr. Plumber misses his days under protection of Mama Bear, when “real” Americans couldn’t talk to him…

  32. erectiledisfunction says at 3:23 pm, April 1st, 2009

    I’m lookin’ forward to a Palin/Plumber ticket in 2012. Or maybe gettin’ laid.

  33. bricks says at 3:23 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Did I fuck your pet goat after a 4 day meth binge?

    No?

    Then I’m not your fucking brother!

  34. Retard Strength says at 3:23 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Sam the Joe knows his shit.

  35. 4tehlulz says at 3:23 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Hooray For Anything: Preferably _Stir Crazy_

  36. Advocatus_Diaboli says at 3:24 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Of course J the P is against unions; he is a scab after all, plumbing without a license.

  37. Snarxon's Holler says at 3:24 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Brother, can you spare a dime?

  38. Naked Bunny with a Whip says at 3:24 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Hey now! I’m “for America”! If by “for America” you mean “for buttsecks”. And I know you do.

  39. Fivetree says at 3:27 pm, April 1st, 2009
  40. Woodwards Friend says at 3:34 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Hey Joe, eat a bag of dirty dicks brother.

  41. Fivetree says at 3:35 pm, April 1st, 2009

    bricks: I don’t know HOW I can thank you for that.

  42. Magnus Maximus says at 3:35 pm, April 1st, 2009

    “Brother”? “Man”?

    HE SO EARTHY YALL

  43. stolichnayaaa says at 3:36 pm, April 1st, 2009

    He’s like Hulk Hogan with all the “brother”s.

    “To all my little Wurzelmaniacs, say your prayers, take your vitamins, also too Ronald Reagan.”

  44. One Yield Regular says at 3:41 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Hooray For Anything: 4tehlulz: “The Thing With Two Heads,” perhaps?

  45. teebob2000 says at 3:45 pm, April 1st, 2009

    The catch-all answer.

    “Joe - what do you think about plumbing?”
    “I never said I was an expert, man.”

    “Joe - what do you think about taxes?”
    “I never said I was an expert, man.”

    “Joe - what do you think about the economy?”
    “I never said I was an expert, man.”

    “Joe - what do you think about the situation in the Middle East?”
    “I never said I was an expert, man.”

    “Joe - what do you think about being named Joe?”
    “I never said I was an expert, man.”

  46. Texan Bulldoggette says at 3:49 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Someone needs to put this in terms JTP can understand:

    Joe the Plumber=ball cock

  47. Capricatony says at 3:51 pm, April 1st, 2009

    If Mr. The Plumber had credibility he wouldn’t be necessary.

  48. norbizness says at 3:55 pm, April 1st, 2009

    I never thought I’d see the online equivalent of crackheads shambling down Telephone Road in Houston to spend their hard-earned pay at the local abandoned tenement, but I think Joe is just that to certain sites.

  49. JDHART says at 3:58 pm, April 1st, 2009

    I just don’t like all these politians who paid me to come here and pretend I represent the common man. It’s those guys I can’t stand.

    Wow, he’s so deep.

  50. nosuppertonight.com says at 4:08 pm, April 1st, 2009

    In his defense, Joe never claimed that labor relations were his speciality. He was gunning for State; Labor was promised to Billy Ray Cyrus. In any case, when the inkstained wretches are done tailing this sage, they may want to interview my cat in re normalizing relations with Cuba.

    http://www.nosuppertonight.com

  51. McDuff says at 4:12 pm, April 1st, 2009

    I’m was beginning to think that just maybe Sam the Unemployed Handyman(1)is crazy like a fox — letting Repubs and Corporate America ferry him around in airplanes/limos/black SUVs, enjoying the free food, nights in good hotels, and even, maybe, some pre-paid female companionship.

    But, after seeing this, I’m back to thinking that when Joes says “it’s about America” he really means “it’s about what the corporations and Glenn Beck tell me to believe, and I can check my brain at the door.”

    (1) Registered Trademark, Local 50 of The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry, Toledo, Ohio.

  52. NoWireHangers says at 4:25 pm, April 1st, 2009

    I love how irritated Joe looks while being asked questions about a topic that he is being paid to travel the country and rail against. The nerve!

  53. NoWireHangers says at 4:27 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Mickey Rourke’s character in The Wrestler used the address “brother” quite a bit. I believe that the term has found its way into the public lexicon in a way that does not have any racial implications, and is much more pleasant than the dreaded “bro”. Also.

  54. Custerwolf says at 4:29 pm, April 1st, 2009

    nosuppertonight.com: I did have to laugh at the union supporter who was talking about cases of intimidation and “corrosion” - er, corruption. I’m guessiing he actually IS a plumber, as opposed to Joe Blob the professional attention whore.

  55. I love that Joe’s nasal-voice inquisitor identifies himself as from an “online blog.” As opposed to the paper kind, right?

  56. Custerwolf says at 4:34 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Joe is plumb stoopid.

  57. Gallowglass says at 4:37 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Josh Fruhlinger: And I loved Joe’s sneering contempt for the blog. Sorry, Joe. We can’t all work for a prestigious outfit like PJ TV or whoever it was that sent you to Gaza to die.

  58. LunarTaffy says at 4:51 pm, April 1st, 2009

    In the screen-shot, Not-Joe has a huge crater just above his right eyebrow.

    I thought he’d been shot in the head. So I watched the clip. (SPOILER: He didn’t die!)

    The disappointment has blackened my soul..

  59. bitchincamaro says at 5:16 pm, April 1st, 2009

    The stink goes up, shit flows downhill, and Joe goes on forever. That’s my knowledge of plumbing.

  60. Bearbloke says at 5:21 pm, April 1st, 2009

    He’s not just a whore, but a dumb whore… my favorite kind, since they’re generally too stupid to anticipate the coming donkey punch

  61. mrpuma2u says at 5:22 pm, April 1st, 2009

    Ugh. Still can’t believe they trotted Joe the Plunger out as some avatar of the common man.
    Now cons bitch about people making fun of him even though they created him as an icon of small business.

  62. thebaker says at 5:28 pm, April 1st, 2009

    he is heavy

  63. stolichnayaaa says at 6:25 pm, April 1st, 2009

    thebaker: he’s not heavy, he’s (apparently) my brother.

  64. NunnaTheSOBs says at 6:31 pm, April 1st, 2009

    This man supposedly wanted to “open his own plumbing business”
    one day, and feared Obama’s “socialist” policies would make
    that impossible.

    Since McCain conceded defeat, this guy hasn’t put his hands on
    a wrench, a pipe, or on a toilet (other than to take a dump).

    Where did all that AMBITION to be his own man go? I’m not eager
    to belittle another man’s ambition, but this guy was NEVER anything
    more than a bullshit artist.

    If the Repubs had even a LITTLE bit of imagination, they would
    encourage him to follow up on his claims, follow him around as
    he tried to get his business off the ground, then record the
    travails of the stymied entrepreneur — that would require a
    man of real ambition and ability, however.

    Never mind.

  65. Custerwolf says at 8:38 pm, April 1st, 2009
  66. Keram2 says at 10:56 pm, April 1st, 2009

    This should serve as a cautionary tale for all would-be minor celebrities: If you absolutely insist on overstaying your 15 minutes of fame, expect to get called on every stupid fucking thing you say. After that 15 minutes, we’ve lost our patience with you and we won’t hesitate to throw you to the wolves… or in this case, well-informed organized labor.

  67. But didn’t Joe get famous for asking questions and perplexing others? (of course the perplexing part is how to I dumb down the answer so this guy might have a vauge clue about what is being said).

  68. lulzmonger says at 3:28 am, April 2nd, 2009

    DON’T PARSE ME, BRO!!1!11!

    Wow, Amurrikan Journalism is off the freakin’ hook, man! Come ON now.

    Asking JTP an actual question? Jesus - that’s like drop-kicking a baby. Everyone who’s awake knows damn well that he needs a step-by-step diagram on every third sheet of his toilet-paper, & he’s supposed to know labor law? LOL!

    Yeah, what the hell, go on - kick that sulky brat once or twice for me while you’re at it.

  69. monky999 says at 2:25 pm, April 12th, 2009

    joe the dumb-ass starts the “brother” crap when he feels cornered and threatened. when he’s really in a tight spot it’s “man”.

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