For one-time political icon Joe Wurzelbacher, reminders of his old campaign buddy Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) aren't exactly pleasant.
Some grapes turn more sour than others, it seems.
More commonly known as "Joe the Plumber" -- even though he held no such certification when McCain endowed him with the title -- Wurzelbacher has thrown a fair amount of hatred toward the Arizona politician and the Republican party as a whole since the 2008 presidential campaign ended. But it's his recent comments to Pennsylvania public radio that really take the cake.
"I don't owe John McCain shit," he said, according to reporter Scott Detrow. "He really screwed my life up, is how I look at it."
Since his star was launched during the final debate between McCain and then-Senator Obama, Wurzelbacher's fame has largely subsided in spite of his book and infrequent public endorsements of various politicians.
"Joe wants to buy the business that he's been in for all these years," McCain insisted during the debate. "Worked 10, 12 hours a day. And he wanted to buy the business, but he looked at your tax plan and he saw that he was going to pay much higher taxes."
President Obama cut taxes for what he called "95 percent of working families." According to a recent CBS poll, just 12 percent of voters knew this; among the tea parties, that percentage drops ten points.
Within days of Joe's political debut, it was revealed the non-plumber actually owed over $1,200 in back taxes and a lien had been placed against his home: an unfortunate reality that likely wouldn't have become widely known if he'd never met John McCain.
In retrospect, Wurzelbacher commented to Detrow, "McCain was trying to use me. I happened to be the face of middle Americans. It was a ploy."
Yet, when confronted with the fact that he's still trying to milk his image as that face of middle America -- even going so far as to autograph pieces of PVC pipe during a rally for Republican Sam Rohrer, who is running for governor of Pennsylvania -- Wurzelbacher seemingly bristled.
"Wurzelbacher says it's his duty to take advantage of the platform he's been given," Detrow wrote. "He wants to talk up the issues he cares about, and encourage the grassroots tea party movement."
Wurzelbacher also reportedly said that while he believes Obama's "ideaology" to be "un-American," he credits the president for being "one of the more honest politicians."
With AFP.
