Joe The Plumber, Free At Last!
Skittish cops let him off with a warning, when they could have whacked him with a $123 speeding ticket. Toledo Blade:
Samuel “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher’s notoriety may have saved him a $123 speeding ticket last week.
According to a report submitted Sunday by a Toledo Police Department patrol officer, Mr. Wurzelbacher 34, of Springfield Township was pulled over on Dorr Street at Smead Avenue about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday after his black Dodge Durango was clocked with a laser device at 50 mph in a 35 mph zone.
But Officer Scott Bailey recognized Mr. Wurzelbacher’s name and informed patrol partner Charles Leroux, who then gave Joe the Plumber a verbal warning before releasing him.
In the written report, Officer Bailey cited an ongoing investigation of a Toledo police clerk’s alleged improper check of Mr. Wurzelbacher’s records in a state database as the reason a warning was issued.
“This unit gave warning because of ongoing investigation of the Toledo Police Department involving Mr. Wurzelbacher and felt issuing a citation could have negative repercussions to the department and the city as a whole,” the officer wrote.
Gotta smart when a cop can’t write a ticket …. because the TPD was playing fast and loose with someone’s freedom of speech. After the hosing Joe the Plumber got …. Boston Herald editorial:
Joe the Plumber has learned more than he ever expected to about how the media and campaigns operate. Sadly, he has also learned more than he ever wanted to about how far partisan bureaucrats will go to see their guy elected.
According to a report in the Columbus Dispatch last week the effort by some government officials in Ohio to dig up dirt on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher was not limited to child-support records, as originally believed.
No, it turns out that once his name started getting tossed about in the presidential campaign, four state computer systems were searched for Wurzelbacher’s records – including checks to see if he was receiving welfare benefits or owed unemployment taxes. And wouldn’t that be handy information for someone to have!
The head of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said the checks were routine.
“Given our understanding that Mr. Wurzelbacher had publicly indicated that he had the means to purchase a substantial business enterprise . . . [the agency] checked confidential databases,” said ODJFS director Helen Jones-Kelly, according to the Dispatch.
Of course, there was no such understanding. In that notorious rope-line conversation about taxes with Sen. Barack Obama he said he would like to buy the business that he works for, but has since acknowledged it might be beyond his means.
Jones-Kelly, meanwhile, must be doing quite well in her government job. This year, the Dispatch reported, she gave $2,500, the maximum permitted, to . . . Barack Obama.
It’s one thing for reporters to pick through Joe’s trash for dirt. But for government employees to abuse their access to a private citizen’s records for political purposes is appalling.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:40 am Comments (4) on Tuesday, November 4, 2008
4 Responses to “Joe The Plumber, Free At Last!”
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November 4th, 2008 at 9:05 am
But for government employees to abuse their access to a private citizen’s records for political purposes is appalling.
Oh, you mean like the Bush administration did to Cindy Sheehan?
Sop whining….
November 4th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Oh, you mean like the Bush administration did to Cindy Sheehan?
BUAWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! Heh, who would bother with a loser like her?
Besides, no linky, actor, so your assertion falls flat on its face. Ta ta!
November 4th, 2008 at 11:39 am
If Obama wins, people who don’t agree with his agenda might as well get used to having their lives dissected by the government.
Cindy Sheehan’s notoriety was self-inflicted, friend. She wanted the attention, and she got it. All JTP did was ask an honest question of a political candidate who doesn’t like that kind of question.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
“Cindy Sheehan’s notoriety was self-inflicted, friend. She wanted the attention, and she got it.”
But RebeccaH, if we acknowledged things like intent then we wouldn’t be able to tailor situations to bolster our argument. /lib