In an interview with Christianity Today, Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher said that calling gay people “queer” “is not like a slur” because homosexuality is “strange and unusual.” He also declared that he would never let his gay “friends” “anywhere near my children:”

Q: In the last month, same-sex marriage has become legal in Iowa and Vermont. What do you think about same-sex marriage at a state level?

JTP: At a state level, it’s up to them. I don’t want it to be a federal thing. I personally still think it’s wrong. People don’t understand the dictionary—it’s called queer. Queer means strange and unusual. It’s not like a slur, like you would call a white person a honky or something like that. You know, God is pretty explicit in what we’re supposed to do—what man and woman are for. Now, at the same time, we’re supposed to love everybody and accept people, and preach against the sins. I’ve had some friends that are actually homosexual. And, I mean, they know where I stand, and they know that I wouldn’t have them anywhere near my children. But at the same time, they’re people, and they’re going to do their thing.

When asked if he had planned to run for public office, Wurzelbacher said he didn’t have any “right now.” “God hasn’t said, ‘Joe, I want you to run.’ I feel more important to just encourage people to get involved, one way or another. If I can inspire some leaders, that would be great. I don’t know if I want to be a leader,” he said.

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, better known as “Joe the Plumber,” is currently in Pennsylvania shilling against the Employee Free Choice Act on behalf of the anti-labor group Americans for Prosperity. As ThinkProgress reported, Wurzelbacher faced a tough crowd near Pittsburgh on Monday, where union members rallied against him. He faced a similarly critical audience in Harrisburg yesterday, and then “skipped a subsequent rally in Philadelphia.” Keystone Progress caught up with Wurzelbacher in Harrisburg and asked him about why he opposes the Employee Free Choice Act. The fake plumber was stumped, admitting that he only knows “a little” on most issues. “I don’t know everything about everything,” he added. Watch it:

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber,” was recently tapped by the anti-labor group Americans for Prosperity to shill against the Employee Free Choice Act. Americans for Prosperity spokesperson Mary Ellen Burke said that Wurzelbacher was chosen because “he represents the American worker” and is a “role model.” At a rally yesterday near Pittsburgh, PA, Wurzelbacher received a chilly welcome from many residents — especially union members:

Two Green Tree police officers broke up several arguments to prevent fights in the midst of a crowd of about 150 packed inside a Radisson ballroom. The crowd was divided about evenly between union members and opponents of the so-called “card check” bill. No one was arrested.

Wurzelbacher, in a flannel shirt, T-shirt and jeans, drew some of the loudest rebukes from union members, who booed and jeered him for not having a plumber’s license in his native Ohio.

Watch a report from local CBS affiliate KDKA:

As the union members noted, Wurzelbacher never had a plumbing license. Many of the people in that profession are members of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry (UA), which supports the Employee Free Choice Act.

Transcript: Read more

Greg Sargent reports that Joe the Plumber has been tapped by the anti-labor Americans for Prosperity to do “a series of events throughout Pennsylvania rallying opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act.” Here’s why Americans for Prosperity spokesperson Mary Ellen Burke said Joe was chosen:

“The public loves Joe the Plumber,” the spokesperson, Mary Ellen Burke, claimed to me. “They see him as a role model.”

Asked whether Joe the Plumber had any particular knowledge or expertise about EFCA that might explain the decision to enlist him, Burke said that he was being enlisted to provide a “grassroots perspective” and “the working perspective” on the measure.

Pressed on whether Joe the Plumber has any particular claim to being a spokesperson on the issue, Burke replied that “he represents the American worker.”

Joe the Plumber may not represent the average worker — or at least not the average plumber. Remember that Joe never had a plumbing license, and many of the people in that profession are members of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry (UA). UA political and legislative director Rick Terven responded to the latest news, saying, “Real plumbers want and need the Employee Free Choice Act as a way to empower themselves to join a union, without fear of intimidation or losing their jobs. Joe the Plumber doesn’t speak for real plumbers.”

On Wednesday, Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher said that if he were in Congress, he would “probably be in jail” because he’d be charged with “slapping some member.” He added, “And that’s not [bull] either.” ThinkProgress asked Joe at CPAC yesterday which members he would most like to slap. “Pretty much anybody that’s stood there and said anything bad about our troops, pretty much anybody who sat there and talked treasonous talk about America,” Joe said. He then implied that some members of Congress should be shot:

Back in the day, really, when people would talk about our military in a poor way, somebody would shoot ‘em. And there’d be nothing said about that, because they knew it was wrong. You don’t talk about our troops. You support our troops. Especially when our congressmen and senators sit there and say bad things in an ongoing conflict.

Watch it:

Of course, politicians aren’t the only ones Joe thinks should be banned from speaking about war. Last month, he said that journalists shouldn’t “be anywhere allowed war.” “I think media should be abolished from, uh, you know, reporting,” he said.

Yesterday, the ubiquitous Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher — aka “Joe the Plumber” and “Joe the War Correspondent” — became “Joe the Economist” when he went and spoke to a House GOP breakfast on the economic recovery package. The New York Daily News caught with Wurzelbacher and asked about the meeting:

“It’s not politically incorrect to say you’re Republican or conservative,” Joe said. “They need to dig their heels in and fight for what needs to be done.” [...]

One thing that needs to be done, he said, is killing this stimulus package, because it’s just another example of “American government” — Republicans and Democrats — “kicking our butts left and right.” He also called it welfare.

When asked if he has a career in politics, Wurzelbacher said, “I don’t know if the American public deserve me, but my son definitely deserves my time now.”

The ubiquitous Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber” and “Joe the War Correspondent,” will soon add a new moniker to his profile — “Joe the Economist.” Politico reports that House GOP congressional aides decided to invite Wurzelbacher to a meeting on the stimulus in hopes that it will attract some media attention:

Wurzelbacher, who became a household name during the presidential election, will be focusing his talk on the proposed stimulus package. He’s apparently not a fan of the economic rescue package, according to members of the group.

If nothing else, GOP aides are using the appearance to get staffers to attend the 9 a.m meeting.

“In case you weren’t planning to attend CWG tomorrow morning, you might want to reconsider because Joe the Plumber will be joining us!” Kimberly Wallner, an aide to South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, wrote in a message to her e-mail list this afternoon.

Steve Benen comments, “This is what it’s come to for Republican staffers in Congress. In the midst of an economic crisis, and after balking at a stimulus package, the GOP is turning to an unlicensed plumber/campaign prop to discuss legislative strategy on economic policy.”

At a rally today in Ohio, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) accused Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) of wanting to “spread the wealth.” McCain then summoned Joe the Plumber, who wasn’t even in the audience:

McCAIN: That’s only because Joe the Plumber asked [Obama] the right questions right here in Ohio. … Joe’s with us today. Joe, where are you? Where is Joe? Is Joe here with us today? Joe, I thought you were here today.

[CROSSTALK]

McCAIN: All right, well you’re all Joe the Plumbers, so all of you stand up!

Watch it:

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