John the Panderer

Every time I hear the McCain campaign say "Joe the Plumber", I want to punch my television. It's such stupid, hokey, pandering bullshit. The McCain campaign doesn't like to talk to us like we're adults. Bob the Builder, anyone? They're actually trying to get tens of millions of people, 98-99% of whom will never make more than 250k a year, to get riled up about Obama's plans to raise taxes on those who make 250k or more and they're using populist rhetoric to do it. It's very much like how the GOP got so many people who will never, ever have to pay it to get upset about the estate tax.

Most of the poor and middle class Republicans getting mad about the estate tax and Obama's plans to tax the wealthy aren't upset because they don't think it's fair to tax rich people even though they themselves will never be rich. No. The problem is that so many people think that some day they will be that rich and they don't want to pay higher taxes then. It's a fantasy much like people who's retirement plan is to win the lottery. So as they've done in other recent elections, they will vote against their own self-interest because of this fantasy that they will be wealthy one day. Obviously for the vast majority, that day will never come.

The Republicans have successfully gotten people to vote against their own self-interest for several election cycles recently and the gap between rich and poor continues to grow. It's now at Roaring '20s and Gilded Age levels. Their efforts are less successful this year though because the economy is hurting so badly. It's harder for people to believe they will one day be one of those upper tax bracket wage earners when they're having trouble putting food on the table today.

It's too bad it takes a massive financial crisis to wake people up.