Maynard wants your opinion

Like all real Americans, I proudly fly Old Glory. This is the entrance to my domicile:

Long may it wave!

Other than a bit of flag-waving, I tend to be circumspect in my “controversial” exhibitions. My neighbors already know I’m a kook, because they see me riding a bike or walking when any normal person would drive. (You may recall that I actually buy into some of Al Gore’s shtick. And unlike most true believers (such as Gore himself), I actually try to incorporate these principles into my own lifestyle, instead of just imposing restrictions on everyone but me.) So the bottom line is I try to keep a low profile when I can.

However, I occasionally feel compelled to make a statement. The result is sometimes regrettable, and I should know better. But I do it anyway. I seem to be lacking a certain aspect of judgment.

When Joe the Plumber had the audacity to question Senator Government®’s plan to confiscate his meager assets and transfer them to his political allies, Joe discovered that not only was his wealth to be spread around, but also his life. (Senator Government® differs from a previous Messiah, the one who famously told his people, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.”) The public pillory of Joe the Plumber is meant as a clear warning to us all.

Tammy urged us all to have one of those “I am Spartacus!” moments. So now my doorway looks like this:

I am Joe!

I am Joe!

And my question to you, and I’m serious in asking, is: Is this stupid? I mean, yeah, it’s cute and everything, and makes for a clever blog entry, but do I actually want to leave it this way? This is my life, and not just a big goof. So have I made my point in posting this picture, and now I should put the big flag back where it belongs? Or is there a statement to be made in leaving this absurd display in the public view?

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18 Comments | Leave a comment
  1. Miss Kathy says:

    All of us here in Flyover Country are Joe, and all of us are Sarah–both of them speak to OUR concerns, OUR values, what WE would like for our lives and our country. We see ourselves in them–Joe just trying to support himself and his family, trying to better himself by buying into the business he’s working for. Sarah because she’s a working mom, balancing a demanding job and a family. There are a lot of women out there who faced the same decision she did with Trig–some may have opted not to have the baby, some opted to have the baby. Both decisions are heartrending, and you really have to know your capabilities and your limits and be realistic about them. How many families out here are dealing with teenage daughters and sons having a baby? It’s happened since the dawn of time, no matter how parents try to keep it from happening. She buys diapers at WalMart, for heaven’s sake! Both reasonate with us because of what they do, what they believe.

    They also resonate because of the completely socialistic, hypocritical way the Other Party has treated them. The Other Party CLAIMS to be for the working man, but how do they and their mouthpieces treat a working man?? The Other Party CLAIMS to support feminism and choice, but how do they treat a woman who has exercised her right to choose?? Exactly as the old socialist regimes treat those whom they deem to be dissenters. Total discredit and anhiliation. Sarah and Joe are lucky they have not been sent to a gulag by now.

    Sorry–I just got on a rant, and didn’t really answer Maynard’s question–which is the option he did not include, to proudly and audaciously display BOTH!

  2. ashleymatt says:

    I love the plunger as a sign post! Leave it up there (maybe try to display Old Glory a little more prominently in the meantime) until after election day. Then you can return to ‘normal’.

  3. Talkin Horse says:

    To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln: If you’re not FOR the people, maybe you can BUY the people.

  4. Mwalimu Daudi says:

    On the question of whether Maynard should display Old Glory or “I am Joe” at his front door, I vote “Present”.

  5. marleed says:

    I like it, Maynard. I’d leave it until election day. And I found another suggestion for displaying solidarity with Joe on lucianne.com. Perhaps now would be a good time to buy stock in a company that makes plungers?

  6. smihut says:

    I think the plunger and sign schtick is a bit much. Just having a flag posted right-side up sans peace signs & God knows what else outside your home already conveys your political leanings. Sad but true.

  7. Floyd R. Turbo says:

    Good job, Maynard! Right on! The toilet plunger is quite appropriate with all the, um, poop we’ve been asked to endure from the “left” these many months! And that reminds me of the often needed plunger because of the “government mandated non functioning” toilet design we are forced to use! Geez!

  8. eigafan says:

    I am outraged at the treatment Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher has received from the MSM. He can’t go to work with several “journalists” camped out in front of his residence. He recently gained custody of his son which probably explains why he owes back taxes. He has served his country. He doesn’t even hold a grudge towards either presidential candidate. I would really like to see Obama/Biden lose this election due to Joe the Plumber.

  9. jerocat says:

    Hey Maynard, you’re great. Keep up the good work.

    I wanted to vote, “both,”
    but chose “I am Joe.”
    Between now and the election Joe works best.

    Here’s a YouTube video by one Joe like “bro” I’d like to have in my neighborhood. He calls it
    “BTW I’m Voting For Mccain / Palin” .
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KxhYampIl7A&feature=related

    And if you’re in a twitch and need to laugh,
    Official Missouri Truth Squad Incident Report
    http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2008/09/official-missouri-truth-squad-incident.html

  10. brutepcm says:

    Like Miss Kathy- I didn’t want to choose.
    Like Jerocat- I went with Joe for the same reason.
    I printed up that sign and put it in the back window of my pickup. I’ll probably get it keyed today.
    How come we are already starting to feel like members of the underground resistance?

  11. Nonnie says:

    I flew the Flag since the 9/11 and thru 2 hurricanes, and only tookit it down because it was so tattered, which is LONG after everybody took theirs down.

    The flag is a symbol of our country but Joe is a symbol of a particular time of our country. I voted for Old Glory.

  12. Ripper says:

    Believe me there are many Joe the Plumbers who live in Liberal voting states as well. Yes it can be tough being a conservative in an overwhelmingly left wing city (well do I know it) and we often are forced to keep a low profile. That is why meeting a fellow ‘heretic’ in a Blue state or city is so thrilling.

  13. Ripper says:

    Why not do both?
    And yes it does feel at times as if we are an underground movement.

  14. Deenie says:

    I agree with Ashley — leave the ‘I am Joe’ display up for now. The plunger says something very specific and timely to neighbors and for all who may catch a glimpse of it. It’s important to use this symbol that has so illuminated the true bottom line of BHO’s plan to lead America further into socialism. I think we need to do everything (within reason) that our own hearts and minds compel us to do in the short time we have remaining before the election. We still have the precious freedom to do so.

    That plunger may be the one that unclogs the mucked-up thinking of someone that needs to be reminded of how necessary the free-flow of liberty is.

  15. HALEY says:

    I like it too, Maynard!

    And I agree with the comments above – it is like we are an underground movement for sure.

  16. RichRo says:

    If I had to choose one or the other, I’d choose “I am Joe”. The reason is that the flag has become such a subjective symbol (similar to the way “patriotism” has been redefined by many). If America can return to being a more objective, *thinking* country then bring back the flag.

  17. Shawmut says:

    I’ve been putting my US Flag out for years. I rent a third floor bow-front.
    Of course, in Leftist Boston it’s akin to heresy and considered down right rude to illegal immigrants, the homeless, extremist believers and extremist non-believers. In fact, some of my fellow-tenants receive some sort of subsidy. They seem to be most offended.
    Some folks wonder how I, at 67, manage to get it out there.

  18. echo says:

    Our poster boy is Joe the Plumber, Obama’s is Bill Ayers the unrepentant domestic terrorist. Celebrate JOE-ness!

    P.S. Apparently B.O. thinks guys like Ayers can be rehabilitated, (contrary to Ayers’ own words), and he will probably appoint Supreme Court judges that feel the same way.

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