Joe the Plumber: McCain was just the lesser of two evils
posted at 6:30 pm on December 9, 2008 by Allahpundit
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He’s been sold to us as an unerring proxy for conservative grassroots opinion.
GLENN: Well, okay. Let’s take them one by one. Tell me about John McCain, something that I don’t know.
JOE THE PLUMBER: Well, something you don’t know, actually it’s probably stuff that you’ve already guessed and has already been painted in the different media spotlights. Just, well, you know, the bailouts. When I was on the bus with him, I asked him a lot of questions about the bailout because most Americans did not want that to happen, yet he voted for it. At the same time he’s talking about how he’s going to make somebody famous if they even think about putting pork in the bill? We all know how much pork was in the $700 billion bailout package. And why did he vote for it? And I asked him pretty direct questions and some of the answers you guys are going to receive, you know, they appalled me, absolutely. You know, I was angry. In fact, I wanted to get off the bus after I talked to him.
GLENN: Really?
JOE THE PLUMBER: Oh, yeah.
GLENN: Why didn’t you get off the bus?
JOE THE PLUMBER: Honestly because the thought of Barack Obama becoming President scares me even more…
I mean, you know, hopefully I wasn’t too big a proponent of that, this — what do you call it — tripping post, if you will. There isn’t somebody. Neither campaign put out a — no, I’m not going to speak for the Democrats but I mean, the Republicans didn’t put out a candidate for us to really vote for. It’s the lesser of two evils.
He also adores Palin. Of course.
I can’t believe Beck didn’t set him up for the kill by asking about immigration. Exit question one: How do you suppose Joe feels about Obama’s birth certificate? Exit question two: Anyone else feel a teensy bit sorry for Maverick? Yeah, he’s a squish, and yeah, he cynically milked JTP’s working-class credentials for everything they were worth, but the guy can’t even catch a break from people he’s made famous.
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The fiscal conservatives and social moderates I know voted for Obama. Just anecdotal, I realize.
JiangxiDad on December 9, 2008 at 8:46 PM
Have you been posting lately? When I saw your name tonight it seemed like I hadn’t seen it for a while. But I will admit to the real possibility that I just wasn’t paying attention.
Cindy Munford on December 9, 2008 at 8:50 PM
LOL!
katy on December 9, 2008 at 8:55 PM
took me a while to pick my jaw up from the floor. tks for noticing :)
JiangxiDad on December 9, 2008 at 8:58 PM
I understand. Your posts are always very thoughtful. Welcome back.
Cindy Munford on December 9, 2008 at 9:04 PM
chunder, i don’t prefer their insanity over ours. i prefer sanity. it’s not a quantity issue, it’s a quality issue. the christianity/immigration litmus test has driven our movement – as any litmus trest would drive any movement – away from agile-minded innovation and towards an increasingly narrow orthodoxy. my point about malkin and vdare is that in the case of immigration, the litmus test has driven our movement so close to the dogs that we can hardly mount a credible protest when it’s noted that we’re ridden with fleas.
i don’t think michelle malkin reads stormfront either. but stormfront reads malkin, (and they are concious of the irony, saying things like, “isn’t it a pathetic state of affairs when you got this mudskin who’s more pro-white than 90% of white people?”) and they became fans through malkin’s contributions to vdare. and we in turn read malkin and hang around a website she is the proprietor of. and we’re “the base”, and we vote, and candidates seek our votes and the end result is that a substantial and growing demographic which we used to do well with now knows they are unwelcome in our movement and party.
who established that litmus test? are they the enemy or the “rinos”?
eh on December 9, 2008 at 9:06 PM
“Anyone else feel a teensy bit sorry for Maverick”
No
He gets points for being a hero.
But his stupidity has put the country in a ditch we may never be able to climb out of.
And it’s pretty obvious he’s really liberal on a lot of things, has probably misrepresented a lot of his conservative views, and enjoys being a member of the Washington club way too much.
notagool on December 9, 2008 at 9:16 PM
no biggie then. if i’m overreacting to this, then i’m the schmuck. where do i get off worrying about a little collaboration with avowed white supremacists? i need to pop a silver bullet and relax.
and that ringleader of that domestic terrorist group which killed six people robbing armored trucks and bombing state’s witnesses homes, he was just a guy in my neighborhood.
eh on December 9, 2008 at 9:17 PM
Who are you? I have been on this site since the primaries and I don’t remember you. It’s very odd how you don’t think Michelle is a racist but that other people do so maybe Republicans shouldn’t hang around this site because they might be tainted. Your logic is very convoluted and insulting in a CYA denier’s patter. You are not as subtle as you think you are.
Cindy Munford on December 9, 2008 at 9:20 PM
Sounds like JTP thought the same way a lot of us did about the McCain candidacy, only he ended up having a lot more to base his opinions on than most of the rest of us. I wish we had a few JTPs in Congress to call BS when the politicians get out of line. It’s nice to have one of us out there actually having a chance to air our opinions and our grievances.
t.ferg on December 9, 2008 at 9:21 PM
God, this whole site is filled with trolls- and worse- today.
Does no one possess a sense of humor anymore?
wccawa on December 9, 2008 at 9:32 PM
Oh for the love of God… give it up AP. Feel sorry for
MaverickMr Dem-lite?John McCain was great… when he was a prisoner of war. And I applaud him for performing his patriotic duty. But McCain has lost his bearings since then.
You actually think I should feel sorry for that sorry-ass LIAR after he said he’d call out those who voted for pork, and name names?… and then himself voted for the biggest pork project we’ve ever seen, to be administered by a single controller un-beholden to the American taxpayer, after making a big show of suspending his campaign to go
make a statementCAVE LIKE A RAT.Republicans need John McCain like they need a hole in their heads. And I voted for that fraud… never again.
dominigan on December 9, 2008 at 9:34 PM
Be safe but you need to be aware that the people here aren’t your enemy.
Cindy Munford on December 9, 2008 at 9:34 PM
Yes but how are they getting in?
katy on December 9, 2008 at 9:35 PM
i used to post as jummy, and now apparently you’re going to try to explain away my disagreement with you by accusing me of being a lefty troll. go for it.
i can’t neatly explain malkin’s association with vdare by classifying her as a racist. ithink it’s at least cynical. without running down all my thoughts as to why people who would at least not consider themselves racist have nonetheless come to associate themselves with a racism-polluted cause, i’ll have to leave it at that.
i’ve not tried to “cya” or exculpate myself as a conservative republican. i wrote clearly above that i consider myself honor bound by first principles to neither pretend the problem isn’t there nor conveniently divorse myself from it.
as for whether this site is any more or less tainted by immigration demagoguery than any other notable conservative blog is hard to say. given the prominence of the issue, i don’t know what blog i could escape it to even if i wanted to.
eh on December 9, 2008 at 9:39 PM
It good to see someone has principles…..JTP. Why the hell should he lie about Maverick when Joe had the same problems with Mav that almost every conservative had….Mav was a poser and a fake…..but he was better than BO.
David in ATL on December 9, 2008 at 9:41 PM
You quoting Mr. Savage confirms the “wacko” light already going off in my head reading your post.
Squid Shark on December 9, 2008 at 9:43 PM
for your part, i appreciate the hospitality, but i’ve been told otherwise by many, many others. that is, back when my approach was not at all combative.
eh on December 9, 2008 at 9:46 PM
I never call troll. It’s a Second Amendment thing. I just don’t think you are being as clear as you might in your explanations. This is not a monolithic site on any subject. Throw your ideas out there clearly and people will both agree and disagree. In some cases you will change some minds and in others yours might be changed. Are there people who are going to call you names? Absolutely. What do you care? You don’t really know each other. To late to make this short but what I am telling you is that your posts have left me totally confused about why you are upset and that you are willing to paint everyone with a broad brush. Give folks a chance. They aren’t going to agree with everything but that has to be okay.
Cindy Munford on December 9, 2008 at 9:49 PM
What I find interesting is how all the RINOs are bashing Joe for siding with the lesser of two evils… when a few months ago, they were begging us conservatives to do the exact same thing.
And even after many of us did do that, we are still put down.
In the story of the scorpion and the frog, moderates seem to act an awful lot like scorpions…
dominigan on December 9, 2008 at 9:50 PM
i’m supposed to not notice savage’s presence on every am talk format station in the country and not recognioze hios popularity amongst “real” conservatives?
you recognize that when i sneer-quote “real” there that i’m making a distinction, right?
eh on December 9, 2008 at 9:50 PM
its why I stayed home :(
really wanted to vote, and feared the One, but it just wasn’t enough – sorry guys, in advance of being blamed.
abobo on December 9, 2008 at 9:55 PM
“I’d rather lose an election than lose a war.”
That’s all needed to know about someone running against a Surrendercrat like Obama.
juliesa on December 9, 2008 at 10:00 PM
The party leadership should embrace the platform, and they have not. The problem is egos and hypocrisy. McCain had to try and explain away his being a sore loser in 2000 (the Bush tax cuts, for example, came back to haunt him.) Buss tarnished the GOP’s reputation as strong on national security and fiscal responsibility. As for immigration, it’s really easy: guest worker programs and end of the line status. If you are in one of our prisons, or we catch you committing a crime, get out.
chunderroad on December 9, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Feel sorry for Mav? No. But I’d be happy to kick him again (rhetorically) if he’d just lie down. Give it a few months AP. Let Amnesty 2.0 start up. You’ll remember why you hated his guts the first time. First time him, Olympia Snowe, or Grahamnesty hose us on a filibuster type vote; it’ll all come rushing back like spoiled meat in a sloppy joe.
Nice that JTP again is able to speak for so many people on an issue. He might be better off doing periodic tv spots on pulse of the nation type things, rather than a book.
austinnelly on December 9, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Yes, what kind of “foot solider” in the Reagan Revolution votes against supply side tax cuts to stimulate an economy in recession?
joey24007 on December 9, 2008 at 10:36 PM
A man has to know his limitations: Unfortunately, that means more than just clenching your jaws and saying, “I’m a maverick”, over and over. Being able to withstand torture means being able to close your mind off to the outside, sadly, that is the same technique that Juan used to run for President.
rgranger on December 9, 2008 at 10:40 PM
I second that emotion…
-Wasteland Man.
WastelandMan on December 9, 2008 at 11:15 PM
eh:
Obviously you read Stormfront, to be so up on their views on Michelle Malkin? And what have you got against capital letters?
As for JtP, he has a marvelous way of cutting through the bullsh!t. That man’s got a bright future ahead of him.
evergreen on December 9, 2008 at 11:28 PM
you too, brutus?
wise_man on December 9, 2008 at 11:29 PM
Let me think…nope, sorry, I’m not feelin’ it.
Cylor on December 10, 2008 at 1:08 AM
Wait, doesn’t Joe the Plumber know that McCain was the TRUE CONSERVATIVE?
And any who didn’t like him as the nominee are NOT FIT FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY????!!!!!!
DOESN’T HE KNOW????!!!!!!!
/wise-man
Hawkins1701 on December 10, 2008 at 1:19 AM
He never had a chance to sit and talk with him. After that conversation, we probably would have punched him in the lip.
TMK on December 10, 2008 at 3:06 AM
Who cares? He did not have to get on the bus or go with McCain/Palin or hint that he might run for office himself or anything else. I think it is reprehensible that people working for the state of Ohio investigated the man, but then again those people were Democrats, not Republicans like McCain. But what the hell.
And as for most Americans not wanting the bail outs etc, 66 million people voted for Obama and he supported a lot more than some bail outs. I think this is a mistake that too many conservatives make, they think that most Americans agree with them on these issues but when it comes to vote we see an entirely different outcome.
Terrye on December 10, 2008 at 6:47 AM
TMK:
A lot of people in the midwest like Huckabee. He was very popular here in Indiana, he probably would have done pretty well here in a general election.
Terrye on December 10, 2008 at 6:48 AM
Hawkins:
I don’t think that is fair. wiseman never said any of those things, but the truth is that a guy like Joe would have been more comfortable with someone like Huckabee, but those true conservatives out there did not like Huckabee either. Or Rudy. Or Romney. Or just about anyone. Next time come up with someone you can get behind and you might not have to complain about who you do get.
Terrye on December 10, 2008 at 6:50 AM
You make a great point, I have to admit I was Switzerland on all of our candidates. I liked all of them but just wasn’t feeling the leader thing. I just figured it was me.
Cindy Munford on December 10, 2008 at 8:44 AM
F*ck you.
wise_man on December 10, 2008 at 8:58 AM
Eh, McCain didn’t make JTP famous. Obama did.
spmat on December 10, 2008 at 10:09 AM
*snort*
spmat on December 10, 2008 at 10:11 AM
Ahh. We are listening to a sock-puppet.
pseudonominus on December 10, 2008 at 10:25 AM
McCain didn’t make him famous, Obama did.
Spirit of 1776 on December 10, 2008 at 10:27 AM
McCain was the one who kept mentioning him at the last debate. This guy would have long since faded without that.
Allahpundit on December 10, 2008 at 10:28 AM
no, brian preston banned that account for political speech. if you search back, i’ve been nothing but consistent.
eh on December 10, 2008 at 10:52 AM
You are correct. I once emailed her in a very polite way telling her that I clicked on VDARE.com from her blog roll and found their anti Semitism and nativism to be disturbing and she wrote me back a nasty email. I never forgot that.
Hilts on December 10, 2008 at 10:52 AM
No I do not feel sorry for him and I despise squishy Establishment Republicans and that includes Bushbots.
Hilts on December 10, 2008 at 10:59 AM
John McCain and George W.Bush along with his father – would have been right at home in the LBJ administration.
Hilts on December 10, 2008 at 11:04 AM
We all know that Mac was the lesser of two evils, thus anyone with a little intelligence would vote for him instead of the chosen one. As far a Bush goes, would you rather have had Gore, Kerry, or the chosen one guiding us through the last two administrations?
N4646W on December 10, 2008 at 11:38 AM
Not only NO but HELL NO! Although if Kerry won in 2004 we would not have had Obama in 2009.
Hilts on December 10, 2008 at 1:32 PM
McCain was the lesser of the two evils. He tried to paint the situation differently of course, attempting to dodge the role of the lesser evil, but in doing so became the typical liar politician (if he wasn’t one already anyway).
JTP was right, and right again. McCain may have been a hypocrite and even a liar, and certainly not my first choice for a presidential candidate, but he was miles better than the socialist scum sock puppet for the Cook County crowd that’s going to be boning us for the next 4 years.
As for those that say “never again”…don’t be foolish. Either you are a liberal that voted McCain because you can’t stand Obama, or you voted McCain as a republican. Who do you think you’re fooling? You’ll probably vote socialist next round no matter who is on the republican ticket anyway.
Trolls. Gotta hate em.
Spiritk9 on December 10, 2008 at 2:13 PM
I couldn’t stand voting for McCain. In fact, when it was clear he was going to be our nominee (ie: when all the good folks dropped out) all the ladies I work with joked that we would vote Obama over that f-tard closet lib McCain. I tried my best to get behind him but he wouldn’t quit making awful tongue pictures and being a weiner. Oh well. Preach on, JTP.
Doppleganker on December 10, 2008 at 3:41 PM
Yup, voting for the real f-tard out of the closet most liberal senator of 2007 is MUCH BETTER than McCain.
Gotta love that logic.
wise_man on December 10, 2008 at 4:07 PM
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