Joe the Plumber – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (//; born December 3, 1973), better known by the nickname "Joe the Plumber", is an American conservative activist and commentator. He gained national attention during the 2008 U.S. presidential election when, during a videotaped campaign stop in Ohio by then Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, Wurzelbacher asked Obama about his small business tax policy. Obama's response included the statement, "when you spread the wealth around, its good for everybody." Obama's response was seized upon by conservative media, as well as by Obama's rival, Republican nominee Senator John McCain, as an indication that Obama was interested in the redistribution of wealth, and had a socialist view of the economy. Wurzelbacher is a member of the Republican Party.[1][2]

Since he claimed he was an employee of a plumbing contractor,[3] Wurzelbacher was given the moniker "Joe the Plumber"[4] by the McCainPalin campaign. The campaign subsequently took him to make several appearances in campaign events in Ohio and McCain often referenced "Joe the Plumber" in campaign speeches and in the final presidential debate, as a metaphor for middle-class Americans.[5][6]

Wurzelbacher became a conservative activist, commentator, author and motivational speaker. In 2012, he ran on the Republican ticket to represent Ohio's 9th congressional district in the House of Representatives, losing to Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur.[7]

Wurzelbacher was born in Toledo, Ohio, to Kay and Frank Wurzelbacher. The family moved to Florida when he was young, then returned to Toledo when he was in the middle of high school. After high school, Wurzelbacher enlisted in the United States Air Force, and was stationed in Alaska and North Dakota. In the Air Force, he learned plumbing, along with other skills. Wurzelbacher left the Air Force in 1996 and worked as a plumber, but then switched careers and started working at the telecommunications company Global Crossing. He also married, had a son, and then divorced during this time. After the divorce, Wurzelbacher decided to go back into plumbing in order to spend more time with his son.[8]

On October 12, 2008, three days before the final presidential debate, Obama met residents in Wurzelbacher's Ohio neighborhood.[9] Wurzelbacher, who had been playing football with his son in his front yard at the time, asked Obama about his tax plan.[10] Wurzelbacher suggested that Obama's tax plan would be at odds with "the American dream."[11] Wurzelbacher said, "I'm getting ready to buy a company that makes 250 to 280 thousand dollars a year. Your new tax plan's going to tax me more, isn't it?"[12]

Obama responded with an explanation of how his tax plan would affect a small business in this bracket. Obama said, "If you're a small business, which you would qualify, first of all, you would get a 50 percent tax credit so you'd get a cut in taxes for your health care costs. So you would actually get a tax cut on that part. If your revenue is above 250, then from 250 down, your taxes are going to stay the same. It is true that, say for 250 up from 250 to 300 or so, so for that additional amount, youd go from 36 to 39 percent, which is what it was under Bill Clinton."[13]

Obama also said, "It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance at success, too My attitude is that if the economys good for folks from the bottom up, its gonna be good for everybody. If youve got a plumbing business, youre gonna be better off [...] if youve got a whole bunch of customers who can afford to hire you, and right now everybodys so pinched that business is bad for everybody and I think when you spread the wealth around, its good for everybody."[14][15]

During the third and final Presidential debate on October 15, 2008, at Hofstra University, many references were made to "Joe the Plumber."[16] In the debate, McCain repeatedly brought up "Joe the Plumber" and Obama and McCain then made statements aimed directly at Wurzelbacher. As a result, subsequent media attention was directed at Wurzelbacher.[17][18][19]

After the debate, Wurzelbacher did not declare his vote for either candidate. He expressed concern that Obama's plans were "one step closer to socialism."[20] Obama's running mate Joe Biden argued that 98% of small businesses take in less than $250,000 a year in income and thus wouldn't be subject to higher taxes under Obama's plan. McCain stated that Wurzelbacher would see higher taxes under Obama's plan.[21]

Wurzelbacher spoke to Katie Couric of CBS Evening News on October 15, shortly after the conclusion of the final debate. Asked whether Obama's proposed $250,000 tax threshold would affect him, Wurzelbacher replied: "Not right now at presently, but (...) he's going to do that now for people who make $250,000 a year. When's he going to decide that $100,000 is too much? (...) You're on a slippery slope here. You vote on somebody who decides that $250,000 and you're rich? And $100,000 and you're rich? (...) Where does it end?"[22] He also said, I asked the question but I still got a tap dance...almost as good as Sammy Davis, Jr.[22]

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Joe the Plumber - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia