Joe the Plumber still on stump
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Regal Mobrey, left, of McKees Rocks, a supporter of the Employee Free Choice Act, and Dennis Badstibner, far right, of Ross, an opponent, face off at the Radisson Hotel in Green Tree yesterday. -
Guest speaker Joe Wurzelbacher, left, greets Stephen Cady of Washington after the "National Save My Ballot Tour" event at the Radisson Hotel in Green Tree yesterday.
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Waves of boos and cheers broke against one another last night as Joe Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, aimed a message of populist skepticism at unions and politicians of both parties in a packed Green Tree ballroom.
The chief target for Mr. Wurzelbacher, the Toledo, Ohio, man who became a conservative icon when U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., made him the offstage star of the final presidential debate last year, was the Employee Free Choice Act, dubbed card check by critics, a measure designed to make it easier for unions to organize.
"Forget Democrat, forget Republican. Think about America," Mr. Wurzelbacher said as he described how he'd been disillusioned on a recent trip to Washington, D.C., in the midst of the debate on the Obama administration's stimulus package.
Turning to the labor law proposal, he said he'd been encouraged in his stance against it by the reactions of union members among his neighbors in Toledo.
To call the reaction mixed would be a considerable understatement.
As Mr. Wurzelbacher characterized the labor measure as a threat to democracy, many members of the crowd of more than 100 cheered enthusiastically. But their approbation competed with calls of "liar," "pay your taxes," and a few more colorful words from the sizable union contingent that had migrated from a demonstration outside to infiltrate the audience in the Green Tree Radisson.
Mr. Wurzelbacher appeared unperturbed by the catcalls as the impromptu debates within the audience grew heated, though never violent, under the gaze of several Green Tree police officers.
Earlier, in a pre-emptive news conference denouncing the event, Thomas Bigley, the business manager of Pittsburgh Plumbers Local 27, said he was angered by the post-debate notoriety conferred on Mr. Wurzelbacher.
"It's definitely a slap in the face to every real plumber out there," he said, arguing that the he should be regarded as "Joe the imposter," as he is not a licensed plumber.
In an interview before his remarks, Mr. Wurzelbacher acknowledged that he is not a state-certified plumber in Ohio but insisted that he was a working plumber with years of experience on the job.
"The mainstream media is powerful," he said. "They'll destroy you if they can. ... I'm a plumber, brother."
The lack of a union card, or professional certification, hasn't impaired Mr. Wurzelbacher's Warholesque road to fame. Since the New York debate, he has pursued his own public policy agenda.
In recent months, he has traveled to Israel to cover the conflict in Gaza, offered his analysis of the president's stimulus package, been touted as a potential candidate for Congress and even co-authored a book, "Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream."
"A lot of people seem to respond to what I have to say," he said.
"And what I'm saying is very simple, I'm just regurgitating what my mother and father taught me."
Mr. Wurzelbacher said he had signed on for the anti-card check tour because he was a believer in the message of the organizers, Americans for Prosperity, that the labor legislation was a threat to democracy.
He acknowledged that he was receiving an appearance fee for his participation, here and tomorrow in Harrisburg and Philadelphia, and said the amount of his fee was "nobody's business."
He dismissed speculation that he would respond to a draft movement for him to run for Congress next year, saying that his real interest was in working on grass-roots organizing. His next priority, he said, is a campaign to enact the so-called Fair Tax, a plan, promoted by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, among others, to replace existing federal taxes with a flat national consumption tax.
"Too many people out there get 15 minutes of fame and want to run to the bank with it," he said reflecting on his unlikely fame. "You have to do it with a moral compass."
Turning to yesterday's headlines, he shook his head at the ouster of General Motors' CEO at the behest of the Obama administration.
"That's showing you that the government can hire and fire in a private business," he said. "If they can do that, you're well on your way to socialism."
Several members of the crowd were wearing Toomey buttons, and Pat Toomey, the former congressman who is expected to challenge U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in next year's GOP primary, is to appear with Mr. Wurzelbacher at a similar rally today.
But both Mr. Wurzelbacher and Timothy Phillips, the president of the anti-tax group, said they were not taking a position for or against the incumbent. Mr. Phillips said that his group, Americans for Prosperity, is supported by individual and corporate contributions and does not disclose its donors.
The day's political theater, while lively, was curiously timed, as many analysts pronounced the free-choice, or card-check, measure dead for this session of Congress after Mr. Specter's announcement earlier this month that he would oppose it. The veteran Republican's vote was regarded as essential for supporters to reach the 60-vote threshold needed in the Senate to overcome an anticipated filibuster against the hotly contested legislation.
But Jack Shea, president of the Allegheny County Labor Council, wasn't ready to concede that point.
"The only organization that can rebuild the middle class in this country is labor," he said during the pre-rally news conference.
"We believe, this session, it will be passed and will be signed by the president."
Mr. Phillips said he was encouraged by the Specter announcement but argued that it was important to maintain pressure on the issue.
"I think it's a little bit too early to assume it's a done deal," he said.
First Published March 31, 2009 12:00 am
