# Fuck Joe the Plumber. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 31, 2014, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669 "2014-05-31T00:45:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669/21 "2014-06-01T19:33:05Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > I just don’t get how gun ownership has become such an “all or nothing” proposition. Yes, it’s enshrined in the Constitution, but so are other rights that we habitually and legally regulate - speech is regulated at the point that it presents a danger to others, the press is “regulated” in the sense that journalists don’t have the right to libel others, etc. If we can happily accept regulations on these inalienable rights, as a condition of the safety and well-being of our fellow citizens, then why can’t we require background checks on private gun sales? Or a temporary gun restraining order for the Adam Lanzas and Elliott Rodgers of our nation? Or a law allowing police to temporarily remove guns from the homes of domestic violence suspects? Take away the very guns the victims of domestic violence could use to defend themselves? You monster! ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669/22 "2014-06-01T19:34:08Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > They want to push the idea that the Bill of Rights is something that can’t be rewritten even to get guns out of the hands of madmen. (An inalienable personal right to a firearm is not even remotely what the Second Amendment actually says, but we’re talking about public perception here.) Apparently Madison pushed for it to ensure the right to form independent slave patrols. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2014, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669/23 "2014-06-02T09:34:37Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Guns are a “Look over here!” issue for both parties, So is abortion. So is gay marriage. Oooh yeah. [QUOTE=Larry Norman] The politicians all make speeches while the newsmen all take notes and they exaggerate the issues as they shove it down our throats [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669/24 "2014-06-04T08:37:14Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Why can’t we go back to the days of the 50s and the 60s when there was no political extremism, half the country didn’t hate the President and people didn’t complain about the country being ripped apart! Probably because Cable “News” is entertainment and brings in _big bucks_. [Bill O’Reilly annual salary](http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/authors/bill-oreilly-net-worth/) [Rachel Maddow annual salary](http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/rachel-maddow-net-worth/) [Sean Hannity annual salary](http://celebnetwealth.com/sean-hannity-annual-salary-and-net-worth/) [Chris Matthew annual salary](http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/chris-matthews-net-worth/) ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669/25 "2014-06-04T08:54:26Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Why can’t we go back to the days of the 50s and the 60s when there was no political extremism […] and people didn’t complain about the country being ripped apart! Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party of the United States ? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669/26 "2014-06-04T15:12:21Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Agreed! > > Before the cable TV explosion there were no whacko loudmouths in American politics! > > Why can’t we go back to the days of the 50s and the 60s when there was no political extremism, half the country didn’t hate the President and people didn’t complain about the country being ripped apart! i pine for Pyne. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669/27 "2014-06-04T17:16:42Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Guns are a “Look over here!” issue for both parties, So is abortion. So is gay marriage. But guns are a vote-loser for the Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669/28 "2014-06-04T18:09:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > But guns are a vote-loser for the Democrats. They have a group to which their gun control rhetoric plays well. The people in that group allow themselves to be distracted from things like the 4th amendment being gutted by the drama of the gun control “debate.” The same can be said about the pro-gun group who allow themselves to be distracted by Republican rhetoric on the topic. In the meantime, the bi-partisan effort to destroy meaningful personal and political freedoms continues. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669/29 "2014-06-04T18:11:18Z")
Fair point. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669/30 "2014-06-04T23:40:41Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > > [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > > > Why can’t we go back to the days of the 50s and the 60s when there was no political extremism, half the country didn’t hate the President and people didn’t complain about the country being ripped apart! > > Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party of the United States ? Mort Sahl on the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC): “For every American the Russians throw in jail, HUAC throws in one to get even” I have no doubt that there is a sizable constituency — largely but by no means exclusively Republican — who would love to resurrect the rotting corpse of the HUAC and turn it loose on Mooslims and other "them"s. MHO, it’s an artifact of the aforementioned era that is best forgotten (except as a cautionary tale). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-joe-the-plumber/689669.md?page=1)