Desperate House GOPers

Scripps Howard: Under the “what were they thinking?” category we would have to file the decision of an organization of Republican congressional staffers to invite Joe the Plumber to address them on political and economic policy.

According to the capital newspaper Politico, “Fresh off his stint as a war correspondent in Gaza, Joe the Plumber is now doing political strategy with Republicans.”

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher — more commonly known as Joe the Plumber — was to be the featured guest of the Conservative Working Group’s meeting this week. This group is an organization of conservative GOP Capitol Hill staffers who meet regularly to chart GOP strategy.

War correspondent

Joe’s very brief stint as a war correspondent was marked by his assertion that journalists, presumably himself excluded, should be barred from covering wars because they “report what’s happening day to day.” And then he took that thought a step further: “I think media should be abolished from, uh, you know, reporting.”

The Republican aides’ foray into blue-collar chic prompted Political Animal, the blog of The Washington Monthly, to observe:

“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.

“The line between Republicans’ approach to governing and satirical performance art blurs just a little more.”