Joe The Plumber Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, Dies at 49

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, or “Joe the Plumber” as he grew to become recognized after asking then-Sen. Barack Obama, about his tax insurance policies through the 2008 presidential marketing campaign, has died at 49.

His spouse, Katie Wurzelbacher, introduced her husband’s demise on Monday (August 28) and paid tribute to the person often called Joe the Plumber, saying: “After I met Joe, he was already recognized by everybody else as ‘Joe the Plumber’ however he wrote one thing to me that stood out and confirmed me who he really was: ‘simply Joe.’ He was a median, honorable man attempting to do nice issues for the nation he beloved so deeply after being thrust into the general public eye for asking a query,” she mentioned.

“My coronary heart goes out to everybody whose lives are impacted by most cancers. There are such a lot of ups and downs, however we attempt to discover pleasure in every single day. He fought lengthy and arduous however is now free from ache.”

His oldest son, Joey Wurzelbacher, added: “He wished a united America. After all, he had his views on that. However look, you recognize, we stay in an exquisite republic the place, you recognize, these views helped domesticate one thing wonderful,” he mentioned Monday.

In July, in an interview with Glenn Beck, Wurzelbacher mirrored on his pancreatic most cancers prognosis, saying, “You’ll be able to take power from God and know that there are much more good folks on the market than dangerous. You understand, we now have some variations on the market, however in the end, folks wish to do good issues, and that is been unimaginable to see.”

Who Is Joe The Plumber?

Wurzelbacher was thrust into the highlight because the face of struggling center America after confronting the long run President whereas he was campaigning door-to-door in Holland, Ohio, asking: “I am on the brink of purchase an organization that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a 12 months — your new tax plan’s going to tax me extra, is not it?”
President Obama mentioned his plans aimed to “unfold the wealth round.”

Leaping on the altercation, Republican presidential candidate John McCain invited Wurzelbacher to marketing campaign with him; this led to “Joe the Plumber” being talked about greater than two dozen occasions through the ultimate presidential debate.

Requested on the time about his function in McCain’s marketing campaign, Wurzelbacher instructed CNN: “Effectively, I do not know a lot as John McCain’s secret weapon; there was no interplay between us; I simply occurred to be tossing a soccer with my son, I wished to purchase a enterprise and when it got here all the way down to the precept of the matter I do not assume the federal authorities will get to determine who’s wealthy and who’s not.”

In 2012, the Toledo native ran for the US Home of Representatives in Ohio’s ninth District, clinching the Republican nomination, earlier than shedding in a landslide to Democrat Marcy Kaptur after calling for a US-Mexico border wall to be constructed and that US brokers ought to begin taking pictures immigrants suspected of illegally getting into the US.

In 2014, Joe the Plumber would court docket additional controversy after he wrote an open letter to the dad and mom of college college students who died in a mass taking pictures calling for stricter gun laws, stating he was “sorry you misplaced your baby” however “as harsh as this sounds – your useless youngsters do not trump my Constitutional rights.”

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher is survived by his spouse, Katie, and their 4 kids.