WTF Difference does it make?

The whole point of all this is to throw people off the scent of Obama’s “I-Am-One-Major-Grade-A-Socialist-Asshole” response:
“(My Plan Is To) spread the wealth around”

So make sure you harp on this point EVERY time you discuss Joe. Not just your outrage at how Joe has been treated, but not letting it distract ANYONE from the REAL MESSAGE — Obama’s socialism.

The point of Joe’s question was that Obama was going to screw Joe (i.e, you and me) — not just “the super-rich bastards”. Yeah, it should not make a difference, but you’ll find a lot more people who wake up and get the point when you make it VERY CLEAR that this “share the wealth” crap includes THEM, too.

So remember — there are TWO messages here, not just ONE.

.

But I wouldn’t spend that much time dissing Joe, if I were you. I saw him tonight on Hannity and he is one of those guys that says what he thinks (and says it well); he knows what he doesn’t know; he knows who he is. I didn’t figure he’d be all that much like that, but he is.

You may live in a world where everyone is a plant, but the rest of us don’t. You may live in a world where the local union defines who is and isn’t a plumber; we don’t. You may live in a world where Joe Biden speaks for the “working man,” we don’t. I love the division between “businessman” and “plumber” – that must be union speak. Again, it isn’t the world of people I know.

I blame ACORN. His should have spelled, M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.

I love these hilarous attempts to rebut (or, pretend it didn’t happen?) the ’spread the wealth’ comment by the good Senator Obama, who was just trying to be helpful to Sam the non-plumber by answering his question so thoughtfully, after all. How very lucky the world is to have a Chicago politician in Washington. The corruption will clean itself right up!

*I wonder if the US will ever have brain drains in the future? You know, you can do business online, you move to the coast of Mexico where it is cheaper and follow your small business person bliss? Careful, there, redistributors. Don’t you lot watch Home and Garden television? Capital moves and it sometimes moves to a nice villa in an inexpensive country.

What do the unions have to say about the faux plumber?

* Tim Burga of the AFL-CIO says, “You can quote me as saying, ‘Joe is not a plumber he’s a businessman. If we don’t elect Barack Obama, the plumbing business and working families dreams will go down the drain.’” And yes, the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters has already endorsed Barack Obama.

And what about the other Joe? You know, “Joe the next VP”.

“John [McCain] continues to cling to the notion of this guy Joe the Plumber,” Mr. Biden said on NBC’s Today show. “I don’t have any Joe the plumbers in my neighbourhood that make $250,000 a year. The Joe the plumbers in my neighbourhood, the Joe the cops in my neighbourhood, the Joe the grocery store owners in my neighborhood, they make, like 98 per cent of the small businesses, less than $250,000 a year.”

And the final coup de grace, as if we needed one, is that Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher’s name is misspelled on his voter registration. So, I’m assuming that this horrible case of potential voter fraud means that the Republicans will see to it that he’ll be challenged at the polls on election day, right?

Riiiight.

As for regionalisms, I mean, fluffernutter? At least we in Iowa had Maid-Rite (OT: My favorite PBS series of all time is ‘Sandwiches That You May Like’. Seriously. All about regional sandwiches in the US like Maine lobster-rolls, Chicago Hot dogs, Iowa Maid-Rites, Philly cheese steaks, what have you. Excellent use of public money, much better than Annenberg Challenges and the like).

What the hell, people – really, what the hell??! Go after some private citizen who takes advantage of an opportunity – give them the full Palin treatment, hunt down and interview every family connection and friend. Nice job winning friends and influencing them into taking your side. Better hope this is not a foretaste of people in private life – and in public too, who offend against The One.

And conservative bloggers were the ones being called digital brownshirts…

But the point isn’t Joe; the point is only with something as non-scripted as that does the veil drop. and it says much about some people that they complained McCain hadn’t vetted this guy, standing in his front yard, when Obama walks down his street. The fact he wanted to engage him (even if it was critically) says something about the value the “average Joe” puts in dialogue – and the infamous if a bit silly walk through Manhatten shows something about the value the average liberal in Manhatten does. I know which is healthier for a democracy, but I also suspect which leads to a healthier psyche.

I honestly do not see what the details of Joe’s tax liabilities now, in the future, or potentially have to do with this. The issues are Obama’s response, which, there being no teleprompter, gave away his plans for higher taxation on growing businesses in order to redistribute; and the smear campaign against an ordinary guy who dared to challenge the presidential candidate or, in other words, exercised his democratic rights. Is that the sort of society you want to live in, UnaffiliatedIndie?

You’re accepting the Obama campaign’s talking points as the baseline for evaluating how one individual might fare under an Obama administration. But no one knows the details of Obama’s plan: does $250k apply to revenues or income? gross or net? married filing jointly or single? what about the impact of increased payroll and cap-gains taxes? Do you know? Does Obama know?

Any tax plan that is sold as one that cuts taxes for 95% of taxpayers, probably half of whom currently don’t pay federal income taxes, is obviously heavily redistributive. This is why Joe the Plumber’s question to Obama touched a nerve among the voting public. In the real world Obama can’t possible raise revenues without raising taxes on people who make less than $250k, and people know it.

The real issue, which is obscured by the focus on Joe, is that Obama let his guard down and admitted that he would raise taxes on people with modest incomes. Why else did he respond to Joe’s query by saying that we have to spread the wealth around? If people like Joe, who make less than $250k, aren’t going to see tax increases, why didn’t Obama say so?

And, of course, Obama’s tax increases would reduce everyone’s incentives to invest and create jobs. Who benefits from that?

“To reach a level that would be affected by Sen. Obama’s proposed tax increase, Mr. Smither said, a mom-and-pop plumbing company like Newell would have to clear $5 million in annual sales. [Joe’s company actually reports only $100,000 in sales.]

Even if Mr. Wurzelbacher reaped taxable income from his business of $280,000 a
year, he’d pay only about $900 more a year in taxes under Sen. Obama’s plan, which
would raise the tax rate on the income between $250,000 and $280,000 to 36%
from 33%.

[...]

If Mr. Wurzelbacher earns the wages of a typical Ohio plumber, $40,600, and holds a $90,000 mortgage, he would see a TAX CUT (emphasis added) under Sen. Obama’s plan of more than $1,000, compared with no tax reduction under Sen. McCain’s.

If he succeeds in buying the plumbing business where he works, he could see even more tax benefits, including Sen. Obama’s proposed elimination of capital-gains taxes for small-business investment, a 50% tax credit to purchase health insurance for employees and a $3,000 tax credit for every new hire over the next two years.”

Other issues and ‘things we wish were true’ aside, better to acknowledge facts and deal with them objectively.

I remember the fate of the Kulaks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpsdKUQ1nKA

for one person’s perspective on how you can make a decision to support Obama AND vote for John McCain. Demonizing Obama will get us a few votes (and also lose us at least a few votes) but I hope that a rational, positive thought process will persuade a few people who are still on the fence.

Regards,

Dan