Gobsmacked

I really hope this story didn't come from the alternate universe Politico.

Fresh off his stint as a war correspondent in Gaza, Joe the Plumber is now doing political strategy with Republicans.

When GOP congressional aides gather Tuesday morning for a meeting of the Conservative Working Group, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher – more commonly known as Joe the Plumber — will be their featured guest. This group is an organization of conservative Capitol Hill staffers who meet regularly to chart GOP strategy for the week.

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.

That Joe the Plumber is advising elected officials anywhere in the United States, let alone the House of Representatives, is enough to make you burst out laughing. And yet, my sense is that Republicans are winning on the media fight over the stimulus. It will pass, but not without being filleted, painted as a Democratic wish list while simultaneously being stuffed with tax cuts. How House Republicans could possibly be winning any spin war with Joe the Frickin' Plumber as their guru either speaks to the failures of the Obama press operation or the general malaise of the Democratic Party, and their inability to govern.