Joe The Plumber Checks More Extensive
From Ohio’s Columbus Dispatch:
Checks on ‘Joe’ more extensive than first acknowledged
Tax, welfare info also sought on McCain ally
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
By Randy LudlowA state agency has revealed that its checks of computer systems for potential information on “Joe the Plumber” were more extensive than it first acknowledged.
Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, disclosed today that computer inquiries on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher were not restricted to a child-support system.
The agency also checked Wurzelbacher in its computer systems to determine whether he was receiving welfare assistance or owed unemployment compensation taxes, she wrote.
Jones-Kelley made the revelations in a letter to Ohio Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, who demanded answers on why state officials checked out Wurzelbacher.
Harris called the multiple records checks “questionable” and said he awaits more answers. “It’s kind of like Big Brother is looking in your pocket,” he said.
If state employees run checks on every person listed in newspaper stories as buying a business, “it must take a lot of people a lot of time to run these checks,” he said. “Where do you draw the line?”
The checks were run after the news media reported that Wurzelbacher was considering buying a plumbing business with more than $250,000 in annual income, Jones-Kelley wrote.
“Given our understanding that Mr. Wurzelbacher had publicly indicated that he had the means to purchase a substantial business enterprise, ODJFS, consistent with past departmental practice, checked confidential databases ,” she wrote.
“Not surprisingly, when a person behind in child support payments or receiving public assistance is receiving significant media attention which suggests that the person appears to have available financial resources, the Department risks justifiable criticism if it fails to take note and respond,” Jones-Kelley wrote.
The results of the searches were not publicly released and remain confidential, she wrote. Wurzelbacher has said he is not involved in a child-support case and has not purchased any business.
Jones-Kelley wrote that the checks were “well-meaning,” but misinterpreted amid the heated final weeks of a presidential election…
Republicans have painted the checks on Wurzelbacher as a politically motivated bid by Democrats to dig up dirt and discredit the McCain ally. The Obama campaign has said it has no ties to the checks and supports investigations.
The administration of Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland has said the information was not improperly shared and that there were no political motives behind the checks.
The Dispatch has uncovered four uses of state computer systems to access personal information on Wurzelbacher, including the child-support check authorized by Jones-Kelley.
She said on Monday that her department frequently runs checks for any unpaid child support obligations “when someone is thrust quickly into the public spotlight.”
Republican legislators have challenged Jones-Kelley’s reason for checking on Wurzelbacher as “frightening” and flimsy.
Jones-Kelly also has denied any connections between the computer checks on Wurzelbacher and her support for Obama. She donated the maximum $2,500 this year to the Obama campaign.
Ohio Inspector General Thomas P. Charles is investigating whether the child-support check on Wurzelbacher was legal.
Where is the outrage?
Alas, we may have to get used to this.
This is unbelievably outrageous.
It just dawned on me. This is Watergate. Let’s not drop the ball on this.
Latinos,
Nice call, but I’m tired of people “gating” everything nowadays, especially this election. First there was troopergate, then clothinggate, now plumbergate.
Of course, see if you can guess which one doesn’t belong in the MSM.
Sir Corky, I mention Watergate because this sounds like Obama’s version of the original sin Nixon committed, when he used government resources to orchestrate the break-in at the Watergate Hotel. Nixon’s goal was to make sure there would be no sabotage of his 1972 election. In this case Obama’s friends in Ohio seem to have abused their powers in a paranoid attempt to thwart the power of Joe the Plumber. So I wouldn’t call it Plumbergate, but it definitely is of the Watergate genre, not as a general controversy but rather for the specifics involved.
As a native of Ashland, OH I’m proud that Bill Harris is pushing this.
The Plumbergate break in. LOL A pathetic excuse by the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. If Samuel Joeseph Wurzelbacher was on the radar for child support and an ongoing investigation beforehand was in play.. well that is their Job. However, it is/was/and shall remain suspect, and anyone who’s login was used to perform the checks should be fired. Yesterday.
Latinos,
Ah, I apologize. That was a much better analogy than I first gave you credit for. I wasn’t thinking of it in those terms.
Regardless, I agree with everyone in thinking that it’s ridiculous that organizations like the ACLU get more worked up about protecting the privacy of suspected terrorists than they do Ohio plumbers.
Corky, I not only agree, I feel frustrated that conservatives aren’t willing to go for the kill on this one. Richard Nixon, one of the greatest statesmen America has ever known, was crucified for doing exactly this, violating the privacy of the Democratic headquarters using government employees. The “plumbers” who worked on the Watergate hotel didn’t hurt anyone or steal anything, they just bugged the place and looked for dirt — exactly the same situation as the Ohio democratic machine!
We should be writing mad letters all over the place over this. And to think, Nixon took the hit for this, even though he helped end the draft and finally got us out of Vietnam — the place Kennedy got us into! Revisionist history at its worst!
Oh, for what it’s worth, I’ve been blogging heatedly about all this; I’m only getting a few dozen hits per day, but hey, maybe I changed a couple minds. http://www.bronzepage.com
Latino, You do good work, but if you check it out I believe you will find that Pres. Nixon did not organize the Watergate break-in. This was the act of a few over-eager supporters. The President did not get involved until after they were caught and was only responsible for an ill-considered attempt to protect his people from the consequences of their actions and the genesis of the over-worked Liberal mantra, “How much did he know, and when did he know it”. Nothing was ever proved but the wailing of the Dems finally got so loud nothing else was being done in Washington at a time when a lot needed doing, so Pres. Nixon resigned, hoping the government could get on with doing what it should be doing. It didn’t, as I recall. That other Dem mantra, “can’t we all just get along?” would come much later. In my opinion, Pres. Nixon showed more “cajones” and honor than any other politician in living memory, with the exception of Pres. Reagan. Don’t buy the Dem Liberal version of history, it keeps changing on a daily basis. The only thing I know that remains constant is that Liberals still think Senator Joe McCarthy was somehow involved with the House Committee on Unamerican Activities. Nobody ever explained the meaning of “bi-cameral” to them.
Latinos, You should update your profile here to reflect your blog site. You shouldn’t be ashamed to use every opportunity reasonable to expand your readership. While it is unlikely you or I will ever achieve the success of Coulter or Malkin, we too can help expand the dialog and sometimes even break national news ..IF the right people are reading.. (sometime local news has major national implications)
I would recommend getting Wordpress installed, and finding a template that allows you to maximize your capability there as well. I cannot believe how easy it is to maintain and post and monitor activity with the simplest template and addons. (which wordpress has plenty of.)
Latinos, I also enjoy your blog. I was making calls at a McCain victory center and Fox news was on. This was being discussed and the Nixon comparison came up. However, unlike the “plumbers” I think the Dims and by association-Obama-do want to hurt Joe and everyone else like him. I know it sounds kooky but (and this also came up yesterday) many of us there yesterday wonder if the dims aren’t trolling sites like this and finding IP addresses. I wouldn’t put anything past obama and his crew and the aclu will do nothing proving once again they care only about the terrorists.