The Latest GOP Defection... Joe The Plumber?!?

As if Joe "The Unlicensed Plumber" Wurzelbacher's 19 minutes of fame wasn't absurd enough last Fall, the way he's managed to stretch a single pointless question into nearly 8 months of employment is even more amazing. First dude went on the campaign trail with JohnnyMac (and bombed). Then he wrote a book (which bombed). He somehow got a gig as a "correspondent" and a free trip to Israel (where he dodged bombs). And now, with his party of choice suddenly out of power (another bomb, see a pattern here, Joe?), and those Obama stimulus funds not headed to Ohio quick enough, Joe is pulling an Arlen Specter to keep his "career" on life support until the next hustle presents itself. Cause, you know, that's sorta what hustlers do. Hustle, and whatnot.

Big Government is never popular in theory, but the disaster aid, school lunches and prescription drugs that make up Big Government have become wildly popular in practice, especially now that so many people are hurting. Samuel Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber, tells TIME he's so outraged by GOP overspending, he's quitting the party — and he's the bull's-eye of its target audience.

But he also said he wouldn't support any cuts in defense, Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid — which, along with debt payments, would put more than two-thirds of the budget off limits. It's no coincidence that many Republicans who voted against the stimulus have claimed credit for stimulus projects in their district — or that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal stopped ridiculing volcano-monitoring programs after a volcano erupted in Alaska.

So, never mind the fact that this was the same guy who was railing against "redistribution of wealth" merely months ago (never mind the fact that he was once on welfare) is now against cuts to programs that by design do that very thing. We knew this fella was no genius all along. So did he. But he, much like Miss California, saw an opening from some very desperate people willing to overlook his flaws to make their own pointless point. And he, like you and I if we gotta be serious, took advantage. I ain't mad at this dude, not one bit. I damn sure woulda gone for the free ride myself. I sure hope he saved some of those paltry book royalties though. This recession is a b*tch. I done had to cut back my Jamba Juice visits from twice a month to once a month. It's hard out here.

Anyways, not (at all) surprisingly, the very pundits who once exalted Joe as the personification of hard work, hustle, and determination to strive for the attainment of the American Dream are the first ones to dropkick him on his way out the door.

This might be funny it it all weren't so damn predictable. And sad. And pathetic.

Note to the GOP: Kill the faux populism, cancel the pizza parties, and do some soul searching. I repeat, for the 918th time: the problem ain't the message, it's the messengers. Why is that so very difficult to comprehend?

Question: Is Joe The Plumber an all-American douchebag or did he merely game the system before it gamed him? Does the GOP have some really odd addiction to choosing poor spokespersons?

GOP disaster: First Specter and now Joe the Plumber? [CSM]