Joe the Plumber Doesn't Know Jack
A recent headline from one of the bewildering array of The New Republic blogs:
In fact, The New Republic is in the middle of an all-out anti-Joe crusade right now. See here (his name's not really even Joe!), here, here (where Jonathan Chait accuses him of being a lying liar who lies), here, here, and here (Joe isn't a working man, he's management!). One problem for the TNR gang, I suspect, is that they don't quite believe that people like Joe really exist. They're skeptical that there is such a things as a small business owner who might get screwed under Obama's plan, or a non-rich person who likes McCain's. This particular Joe says he'll get screwed, so he must be a partisan hack, or a liar, or be suffering from false consciousness, or be bad at math, or something.
Elsewhere, the first article is described like this: "Hey Joe! You May Think It's 'Socialistic,' But You'll Get Better Health Care Under Obama."
To review:
Joe: I don't want your health plan, pinkos.
TNR: Yes, you do. You're just too stupid to know it.
