There’s one line from today’s open letter by Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher to the parents of Elliot Rodger’s victims that’s grabbing all the attention today: “your dead kids don’t trump my Constitutional rights.”
Sound harsh? Wurzelbacher himself prefaces the remark by saying “As harsh as this sounds.” “I am sorry you lost your child,” he writes. “I myself have a son and daughter and the one thing I never want to go through, is what you are going through now.”
So why write an open letter in the first place? Wurzelbacher cites Richard Martinez, father of one of Rodger’s victims, and his comments to the press that “craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA” were to blame for Rodger’s killing spree. Wurzelbacher claims that remarks like that one “will be exploited by gun-grab extremists as are all tragedies involving gun violence and the mentally ill by the anti-Second Amendment Left.” He continues:
Mr. Martinez and anyone calling for more restrictions on American’s rights need to back off and stop playing into the hands of the folks who merely capitalize on these horrific events for their own political ends.
They don’t care about your family or your dead children at all. They sound like they do, whereas I sound uncaring and like I say, harsh. Don’t be fooled – I care about your family and mine. The future of our very liberty lies in the balance of this fight.
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To soon? Too harsh? Many believe so.
If you think you said something horrible today, thank Joe the Plumber for "trumping" you. http://t.co/DSgInAQqfQ
— Sarah Colonna (@sarahcolonna) May 27, 2014
Do actual plumbers hate Joe the Plumber more than the average person hates Joe the Plumber? Get on it, @pewresearch.
— Dan Savage (@fakedansavage) May 27, 2014
Damn Joe the Plumber, you're acting more like Osama Bin Laden than Jesus: self at all cost, whatever the cost. #violenceagainstwomen
— BR3 (@DUNBAR83) May 27, 2014
Dear Joe The Plumber: When you start a sentence with "Your dead kids don’t trump my…" it really can't end well.
— ???????? (@ToThrive) May 27, 2014
Just when I think Joe the Plumber has reached the apex of dickbag ignorance, he opens his mouth again… http://t.co/C1QLNKnpZY
— Mike Sweeney (@Courier12) May 27, 2014
What. A. Prick. “@Salon: Joe the Plumber to grieving parents: “Your dead kids don’t trump my Constitutional rights” http://t.co/LD7rM56rST”
— Tim Richards (@Aerohaveno) May 27, 2014
https://twitter.com/agaboury/status/471418103092764672
Ok that joe the plumber statement. Thats fake right? Nobody is that heartless and cruel right?
— lara o. ??? (@larao68) May 27, 2014
Dear "Joe" the "Plumber": Yes. They do.
— Jeff Cohen (@JeffCohenwriter) May 27, 2014
#JoeThePlumber is worse than Sarah Palin
— Krissy (@__Krisssyy) May 27, 2014
Joe The Plumber has rocketed past Minute 15, now coming up on Minute 99
— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) May 27, 2014
Joe the plumber is an ignorant pig and a horrible human being. Nuff said. http://t.co/SXyzvRVKpa
— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) May 27, 2014
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/471323109476540416
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