Michelle Malkin » Best response to the Joe The Plumber license frenzy

Best response to the Joe The Plumber license frenzy

By Michelle Malkin • October 17, 2008 10:39 AM

He’s not “unlicensed.” He’s “undocumented.”

Hat tip: Commenter Maine Yankee.

***

Joe The Plumbers are everywhere. They’re speaking up in Tennessee:

Joe Schwark, owner of JMS Plumbing in Spring Hill, said he has a general distrust of politicians, but appreciated the recognition of his craft.

“Personally, I don’t think either of them is what the country needs,” he said. “But it is what it is.”

Schwark said he agrees with the original Joe the plumber’s problem with raising taxes for people who earn more than $250,000 a year. Taxes are the plight of the small-business owner, he said.

“I work for every penny,” he said. “Taxes are what kills me, and if either of them raise taxes, it hurts people like me. You know, we jump though hoops as business owners. There is liability and vehicle insurance, and there are gas prices. For every dollar that comes in, it’s going out.”

ArMatey at STACLU dissects the controversy:

Now let me tell you that many news outlets are getting the story right, that Joe’s boss, Mr. Newell (in business since 1974, God bless you sir, I’m sure you could never have imagined all this happening to you in America), is in fact licensed in Lucas County. How do I know? Because the State of Ohio’s computers told me so, and they would tell the media the same if they looked…like I did.

Mr. Newell is licensed. He is licensed in Lucas County. His license number starts with the digits 329 and then has two more digits. I don’t see any need to post more identifying information about innocent people. Search here, plug in the right parameters, and you can download the list of all licensed plumbers in Lucas County, Ohio. It is not difficult, though you have to provide information about yourself as the requester of the information.

So I got this list of licensees.

Mr. Newell is on that list. And if I read the rules of apprenticeship correctly (I am not an Ohio attorney, and yes I could be reading it wrong), the reported date of November 2003 as the date of filing of Joe’s apprenticeship papers seems to be just fine. According to this,

“The Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board (O.C.I.L.B.), Department of Commerce, Division of Industrial Compliance, issues state commercial licenses to the following contractors: electrical, HVAC, hydronics, plumbing, and refrigeration. To receive a state license, an applicant must meet the following requirements: 1) be at least 18 years of age; 2) be a United States citizen or a legal alien-must provide proof of being a legal alien; 3) either have been a tradesperson in the type of licensed trade for which the application is filed for not less than five years immediately prior to the date the application is filed, currently be a registered engineer in this state with three years of business experience in the construction industry in the trade for which the engineer is applying to take the examination, or have other experience acceptable to the appropriate section of the board; 4) not have been convicted of or plead guilty to a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or of any felony; 5) pass the examination in the trade; 6) carry minimum $500,000 contractor liability coverage; 7) pay the applicable fees”

So here’s the point. Many news outlets have gotten it correct, but some have not and that needs to be corrected. Mr. Newell is licensed, and Joe the Plumber is just short of his five years before he can apply for licensure, but as supervised by Newell, he’s o.k.. You can look at screen captures of the entire list of Lucas County licensed plumbers here (part 1) and here (part 2). And as we read the news stories about local officials mobilizing to put Joe out of work, (quote: “A staff person with the Toledo Division of Building Inspection told On Call this afternoon that her division will contact Wurzelbacher to notify him that he can’t work without a license. “We’re trying to track him down,” she said”), consider the following:

Not one of the officers of Local 50 of the union shop of plumbers is on the list of licensees. Disclaimer: I don’t care that none of them are on the list, and I know that not necessarily every one of the union officers are plumbers at all, as they also represent other trades. That said, their spokesman is on record slamming Joe about licensure.

To their credit, an ACORN spokesman has weighed in that, “There is no such thing as an undocumented plumbing person.”

I made that last part up. Now I’m going to go watch some football.

Posted in: Joe The Plumber

Printer Friendly

comments (111)

trackbacks (11)

See what others have said

Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.

Trackbacks

Trackback URL

Comments

« Older Comments

#505406

On October 17th, 2008 at 6:39 pm, flenser said:

On October 17th, 2008 at 10:52 am, chapoutier said:

1) setting this guy up as some paragon of the “everyman” and exploiting that image for political gain;

The people making Joe the focus of attention are on your side. How did that slip your notice? We’re simply trying to defend him from the smear job from the left.

2) dragging this guy through the mud by digging up every detail of his personal life no matter how trite or irrelevant.

Then perhaps your side needs to stop doing that.

What’s a fair-minded person like you doing supporting a party of crooks and thugs? Are you simply young and unfamilar with what the Dems really are?
#505417

On October 17th, 2008 at 6:54 pm, TooMuchTime said:

Thank GOD we still get to close a curtain when we actually vote.

BobonStatenIsland, don’t get too comfortable in there. If Obamessiah says he’s for non-secret voting, you can bet the socialist shills in the media will back him, because they have to.

Freedom for me, but not for thee.

Isn’t socialism wonderful?
#505574

On October 17th, 2008 at 9:58 pm, publiuswarmac9999 said:

Socialism is the equal sharing of the misery — thus spoke Winston Churchill. He was right then, and in looking around today’s world at socialist regimes, he is still right.
#505596

On October 17th, 2008 at 10:48 pm, jangar said:

The next time a “Joe the plumber” gets a call to work on some socialist’s pipes, he should route the waste water to the cold tap so the sucker gets a mouthful of filth when he brushes his teeth.
#505636

On October 18th, 2008 at 12:31 am, Republicanvet said:

On October 17th, 2008 at 10:48 pm, jangar said:

The next time a “Joe the plumber” gets a call to work on some socialist’s pipes, he should route the waste water to the cold tap so the sucker gets a mouthful of filth when he brushes his teeth.

Those socialists on the left supporting ObamAcorn wouldn’t have to turn on the tap to have a mouth full of filth…it’s there naturally.
#505705

On October 18th, 2008 at 8:09 am, Omu said:

People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, Ms. Malkin.
#505713

On October 18th, 2008 at 8:36 am, Dimsdale said:

On October 18th, 2008 at 8:09 am, Omu said:

People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, Ms. Malkin.

The obvious difference is that the Democrats CREATED the Graeme Frost issue, falsely portraying the family as poor in a scripted event, whereas Joe the Plumber was simply on a rope line in his own neighborhood, and deigned to ask a question of the ONE, who proceeded to reveal his Marxist plans for us in a typically unscripted moment.

Conservatives were digging for the truth, while Democrats are digging for revenge, to punish Joe for allowing Obama to put his own foot in his mouth.

Just a small sample of the type of world Obama has planned for us. Great.
#505764

On October 18th, 2008 at 10:47 am, DogBreath said:

Off topic but somewhat related.

State Workers Sue to End Forced Union Dues.
#505765

On October 18th, 2008 at 10:48 am, DogBreath said:

Here’s the link.

http://soundpolitics.com/public/2008/10/state_workers_sue_to_end_force.htm
#505776

On October 18th, 2008 at 11:16 am, travlinman said:

Omu, you are a dumba$$.
#505788

On October 18th, 2008 at 11:40 am, wayiwalk said:

Terrific response, Dimsdale (#104), sums it up nicely.

I’ve heard of the Bradley effect.

Don’t know if it’s real, or made up.

I only hope there’s a large MSM effect. People pissed off at the biased and deceptive news coverage habitually voting for the opposite side of any issue or candidate the media is supporting.
#515084

On October 25th, 2008 at 11:16 pm, ITookTheRedPill said:

Best response to the Joe The Plumber license frenzy:

He’s not “unlicensed.” He’s “undocumented.”

… just like Barack Obama!

Obama, the “undocumented” candidate.

There is a good reason why Obama would rather pay big bucks to lawyers than produce a certified birth certificate.

His paternal grandmother says she was present at Barack Hussein Obama II’s birth…IN KENYA!!!
#515088

On October 25th, 2008 at 11:24 pm, ITookTheRedPill said:

On October 17th, 2008 at 10:50 am, James Felix said:

I am really really sick of hearing about Joe the Plumber.

From both sides, actually.

Joe the Plumber isn’t the issue.

The issue is Obama’s mask slipping and his open endorsement of socialism.

Exactly. The focus should be on Obama’s answer!

Joe is only relevant in that, as a “common man” Joe elicited a very telling response from Obama, and as a “common man” he did something no one in politics was willing to do…

Call Obama out as a Socialist.

It appears that Obama is not just a Socialist…

In my opinion, it appears that Barack Hussein Obama is Bill Ayers’ “Chosen One” to overthrow the United States Government from within.
#515111

On October 25th, 2008 at 11:44 pm, ITookTheRedPill said:

Not only has Obama failed to prove he is a “Natural Born Citizen”
(sorry libs, the forged “Certificate of Live Birth doesn’t cut it),

Obama’s working relationship with Ayers means that it is time to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.