The man known as Joe the Plumber said in an Austin speech Friday that in his profession, if you don't do the job right, you'll get called back to fix it. So why, he asked, do Americans allow politicians to "mess up the job?"
The political celebrity — whose real name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher and who doesn't work as a plumber anymore — spoke at a Zilker Park picnic area, where several hundred people gathered for an anti-government "tea party," one of many being held around the country over the Fourth of July weekend. Attendees, many wearing red, white and blue, came to express their frustration with big government, taxes and illegal immigration and their desire to fight for that which they say they hold dear: freedom.
They held signs that touted secession, criticized President Barack Obama and said such things as "Climate change for Congress: Go to Hell." There were T-shirts for sale that said, "You can't fix stupid ... but you can vote it out."
"I'm just tired of what they're doing to our country — spending us into bankruptcy, taxing us to death," Austinite Cherri Trahan, a pharmacist who was attending her first tea party, said of politicians.
Unlike another tea party scheduled for 2 p.m. today at the state Capitol — which Gov. Rick Perry is scheduled to attend — Friday's rally didn't feature politicians. Wurzelbacher, who came from his home in Ohio to speak at several rallies in Texas, was the big draw. He gained his nickname last year after his exchange with Obama about tax policy was celebrated by Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.
Wurzelbacher, wearing cowboy boots, jeans and a T-shirt, said that he's not going to change his mind over time on what he believes — and he believes that abortion and same-sex marriage are wrong, that owning guns is an important right and that torturing terrorists isn't wrong.
"You know what?" Wurzelbacher asked. "I will stand in line and torture every damn terrorist if it's going to protect one of our military members."
The crowd cheered.
Wurzelbacher's speech capped nearly two hours of remarks and some prayers led by local activists during the hot morning. The event's master of ceremonies, "Sergeant" Sam Cox of KLBJ-AM, spoke against illegal immigration.
"We've got to take our country back — we really do," Cox said.
Poster Comment:
"I'm ashamed that this guy was in Texas." /dixie chick