McCain shines in Concord: ‘Joe the Plumber’ still the focus
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 2, 2009
By Sarah Nagem
snagem@salisburypost.com
Larry Lambert’s friends don’t call him “Joe,” and he’s not a plumber.
But Lambert, 64, of Concord, proudly carried a sign Saturday that read, “I’m Joe the Plumber” at a rally for Sen. John McCain.
Lambert, who works in the water and sewer industry, said he understands a thing or two about economic strain.
“I’m getting ready to retire,” he said. “My 401(k) took a hit.”
Joe the Plumber, who is actually Joe Wurzelbacher of Ohio, has become a sort of symbol for working-class Joes everywhere. Presidential candidates McCain and Sen. Barack Obama brought him into the national spotlight during their third debate last week.
And McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, continued to make an example out of Joe at a rally at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center on Saturday morning. McCain said Joe came out on top during the debate Wednesday.
“The real winner this week was Joe the Plumber,” McCain said, and the crowd howled.
“My friends, Joe won because he was the only person to get a straight answer out of Senator Obama,” he continued. “Congratulations, Joe, that’s an impressive achievement.”
When Wurzelbacher met Democratic nominee Obama last weekend, he explained that Obama’s tax plans would make it hard for him to buy a plumbing business.
Obama reportedly responded by saying in these tough economic times, we need to “spread the wealth.”
In Concord on Saturday, the crowd responded to McCain’s retelling of the story with boos.
McCain said his Democratic opponent believes in redistributing wealth instead of making policies that would create jobs.
McCain continued to criticize his opponent’s income-tax plans. Obama’s plans would mean the government would have to write checks called “tax credits” to people who don’t pay taxes now, McCain said.
To cover the costs, the government would have to hit people like Joe the Plumber with higher taxes, McCain said.
“It isn’t a tax cut,” McCain said. “It’s just another government giveaway.”
McCain did not mention recent media reports that indicate Wurzelbacher does not have a plumber’s license and would likely qualify for an Obama-sponsored tax cut.
The crowd ó news reports say about 7,000 people showed up to see McCain Saturday ó didn’t seem to mind those details, either.
Some people carried homemade signs that said Joe is the heart and soul of North Carolina. Other signs asked government to not take Joe’s money and to fight for Joe.
McCain said tax proposals he and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, have laid out would double the child deduction for every family and would cut taxes for small businesses.
“Raising taxes will make a bad economy much worse,” McCain said.
McCain did not refer to Obama’s spread-the-wealth plans as “socialism,” although Palin reportedly used the word in speeches last week.
And, according to media reports, Wurzelbacher told a news organization last week that he sees Obama’s tax plan as being socialist.
Even if McCain avoided the “socialism” issue during his speech, Bob Diamond, 64, of Charlotte, was more than willing to talk about it before the rally.
“There’s two things that scare me: One is socialism,” said Diamond, a Vietnam veteran who now works as a pharmacist. The other, he said, is a lack of conservative, Christian values.
The economy is not Diamond’s biggest concern.
But other McCain supporters who attended the rally Saturday said taxes and the economy are hot issues for them in the wake of a massive government bailout of the country’s financial system.
“The economy is very important right now, and I think McCain has a much better handle on the situation than Obama does,” Timothy Saunders of Charlotte said before the rally.
McCain said he would “take a hatchet” to pork barrel-spending and freeze government spending on “all but the most important programs.” Those programs, he said, include defense, veterans care, Social Security and health care.
“I’m going to make government live on a budget just like you do,” he said.
And he would begin off-shore drilling for oil immediately, McCain said.
The crowd periodically broke out in cheers of “Drill, baby, drill” ó a sort of mantra for the McCain campaign.
As of Saturday, McCain reminded his supporters, he had only 17 more days to swing the election his way. He is down six points in the polls, he told them.
“The national media has written us off,” McCain said.
Later, he added, “But they forgot to let you decide.”
Early voting is already under way. McCain said a win in North Carolina would be vital to claiming victory on Election Day. So far, polls indicate McCain and Obama are tied in North Carolina.
U.S. Sen. Richard Burr asked supporters at the rally to e-mail everyone in their address books and encourage them to vote for McCain.
Robin Hayes, who represents the eighth district in the N.C. House of Representatives, also spoke at the rally.
So did McCain’s wife, Cindy, who said her husband’s campaign stands for “reform, peace and prosperity for everyone.”
Lambert, the guy with the “I’m Joe the Plumber” sign, will certainly cast his vote for McCain. Although, he said, he’s not quite as passionate about protesting Obama’s “spread the wealth” remark.
He understands the need for taxes, Lambert said. But he doesn’t want higher taxes.
“I believe people should be able to work hard and keep their money,” he said.
And despite losing “several thousand” dollars from his retirement plan, Lambert still plans to retire at the end of the year.