Joe the Plumber will make an appearance in New Jersey to endorse Steve Lonegan for governor.
What I find amazing about this is that John McCain’s campaign mascot — a man discredited with the vast majority of sentient beings — remains a part of conservative discourse, that Joe the Plumber is viewed by people like Lonegan as someone who can sway voters.
And what is funny is that Lonegan, in an e-mail to members of “Team Lonegan” that somehow found its way to my inbox (I’m on his mailing list for some reason), refers to Joe as “America’s Taxpayer Hero.” Hero? Only if taking full advantage of your brush with fame qualifies one to be a hero.
Hank Kalet 
It\’s all very simple, the GOP and the right wingnutosphere want to kill Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, unemployment insurance, anything that helps ordinary Americans and of course they want to abolish all unions of any sort. They want to enrich the rich and to destroy the middle class and sadly many of the right wing middle class buy into this garbage and feel that all respect and benefits belong to the rich. The poor are to be hated, despised, loathed and reviled in right wing world because the poor do not create jobs, so they mistakenly think. The GOP and the right wing do want more guns, less tolerance, the criminalizing of abortion and no bid contracts for their corporate buddies.
Wow, where do I start except to say that you have been spoon fed that your whole life and have been so badly misinformed that… I\’m truly at a loss… So, this reply is NOT directed at you, Anonymous (original name, BTW). It is directed at the person in the middle or any undecided person with rational thought and a hint of common sense.1) The GOP does NOT want to kill Social Security, Medicaid, SCHIP and \”anything that helps…\” How sweeping of an overgeneralization can you possibly make. They simply want to spend at a level that is sustainable. Granted, Bush made some very bad spending mistakes, however, he took the deficit to 4.1 of GDP but Obama has taken it to 13. (Those pesky facts get in the way, don\’t they?)2) \”They want to enrich the rich\”… I have yet to get a job from a poor person. Stop with the class envy already. No matter what, in a capitalist society, somebody\’s gonna have a better car than you. Get over it. It\’s those \”evil rich people\” that fuel the growth of our society. Margaret Thatcher said, \”The problem with Socialism is that you soon run out of other people\’s money\”.3) The poor are \”reviled, hated…\” My God – what did your Mother do to you? In the wild, it\’s called \”natural selection\”. I know, that sounds harsh, but having a hand out to \”get me mine\” is no way to go thru life. Here in Wisconsin, \”W2\” (called Wisconsin Works), has been PROVEN to stop the generational welfare syndrome. However, in the neighborhoods where it\’s acceptable to be a drug house lookout at the age of 14 rather than mowing lawns like I did when I was 14 is much more acceptable. However, I did not grow up with the notion that I would die by the time I was 21. BREAK THE CYCLE and you break poverty.4) \”More guns… no bid contracts\” Once again, a simple rant from a very simple mind.In closing, my Grandmother, who lived thru the Great Depression, told me: \”Never argue with an idiot. Sometimes the listeners cannot tell the difference.\”
The GOP was vehemently against Social Security during the 1930s when FDR was proposing it and they voted against it. The GOP contended then that SS was socialism, communism and would lead to soviet style totalitarianism. We have SS today, no thanks to the GOP. There\’s a whole phalanx of right wing conservatives who contend that SS is unconstitutional.The GOP was against Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s when LBJ was proposing them. The GOP voted against all these programs, SS, Medicare and Medicaid. I REPEAT, the GOP did not support these programs, they voted against them, fought them tooth and nail. The GOP is fighting against universal health care today. In the early 1960s, Ronnie Raygun said that Medicare was socialism and would lead to socialism. If Reagan had his way then, we would have no Medicare today.Thus the party of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.Case closed.
And, where in the Constitution, as if that limits what the gang in washington, R\’s and D\’s, where do you get the power to steal from me and give to others. Social Security is an inter generational Ponzi scheme. All these welfare programs are trainign people to look to the gooferment to solve their problems, take care of them cradle to grave, and do everything for them.Argh!We\’re being robbed blind by these politicians! And, you\’re being fooled into thinking it\’s the R\’s fault. The D\’s and the R\’s need each other to keep the People distracted while they steal our birthright — Liberty!