Joe is my new hero!

Earlier this morning (or I guess yesterday morning, since it’s past midnight now), Joe the Plumber – aka Joe Wurzelbacher – appeared on Good Morning America, where he was interviewed by Diane Sawyer. And holy crap, can you believe it? Someone actually had the nerve to say something smart, intelligent, and reasonable on national television! On a channel that’s infamous part of the dreaded mainstream media, no less!
Oh Joe the Plumber, why can’t you run for president?
You have to see this video, it’s just too good! Not because Diane Sawyer did any kind of brilliant interview (in fact, I think she comes off as rather condescending, honestly), but simply because Joe the Plumber freaking rocks. Check it out!

Isn’t he just awesome? Don’t you wanna just rub that bright shiny head of his so that some of his calm, reasonable, logical mojo will rub off on you or something? I sure do!
Dear ole’ Joe said practically everything I’ve been thinking and trying to write about since starting this blog. He acknowledges that taxing those who are “wealthy” more exorbitantly than others is not only unfair, but completely contrary to the American Dream. People in this country should be encouraged to succeed! Taxing them unfairly once they reach that hard-earned success isn’t encouragement, it’s punishment. Who in their right mind would want to punish success?! Educate yourself, work hard, be frugal, be successful! I’ll be cheering for you all the way, because there’s room enough in this country for everybody to succeed if we’d all truly put our minds to it.
And Joe’s absolutely right, it is indeed a slippery slope each time some new politician takes it upon themselves to repeatedly lower that threshold of what qualifies as “rich enough” to pay unfair taxes. It’s class warfare at its absolute worst! Taxing people unfairly based on their level of success doesn’t make life any better for the middle class, because it will only keep people stuck in their own tax brackets, making it harder and harder for people to climb that ladder of success and secure their own futures based on their own ability and desire to succeed. We all know what it’s like to complain about how our taxes go up whenever we reach a new tax bracket, so why would we support somebody who would make that even worse? It just makes no sense to me.

But that isn’t even the best thing that Joe had to say. No, as great as that was, Joe went on to say something even better. For once, somebody finally had the nerve to stand up to the mainstream media – on their own turf, no less! – and remind America that we have the priceless right & privilege of voting. Those votes are important, so important that we should cast them based on our own research, our own decisions, and not on the opinions that others may attempt to force upon us (yes, I’m looking at you, msm!) Of course, listen to the opinions of others, engage in an open exchange of ideas. But don’t just adopt opinions willy-nilly because you think they sound okay, or because they sound warm and fuzzy! Dig for the truth, look at the facts, listen to both sides; be an adult, make your own educated decision, and vote accordingly.

Joe, for that, I love you. You’re my new hero. America needed to hear that so, so badly. And I love – LOVE – that it took an average American guy from a small town to finally work up the guts to say it. Small towns simply don’t get the credit they deserve anymore, Joe, in this world that favors elitism over substance, panache over the honest truth. God bless you, Joe! God bless you for standing up for everything that so many of us silenced Americans believe in – being reasonable, honest, direct, classy, and educated.
Joe, I know that it took guts to stand up to Diane Sawyer the way you did. It took such nerve to stand up to the entire overbearing, condescending nature of the mainsteam media. And on top of all that, on top of delivering that all-important message, you managed to do it with true class and dignity. Thank you. You have millions of fans right now and you deserve it.

As for everybody else, I really, really, really hope that Joe’s message will ring true with more people. I sincerely hope that more people will honestly look into the policies and backgrounds of both candidates in a fair, open, and reasonable manner. I hope they’ll choose to base their votes on research rather than an ad, substance over a hunch; truth over manipulation. No matter which way you decide to vote, that’s fine by me, so long as you do your absolute best to learn everything you can about the candidates, both who they are and where they want to take this country. Because that matters so much more than anything else right now. We’re facing tough times ahead, we need to elect a President because we believe in him, not because he had clever advertising, cute campaign slogans, or warm and fuzzy rhetoric. Don’t sell yourself, your country, or the power of your vote short. Live up to the great privilege and honor that it is to have a say in the leadership of your country.
A vote is a truly, truly previous thing. Please, don’t waste it, don’t ever take it for granted. Use your power wisely, judiciously, and responsibly: cast an educated vote!