The Cain Train Gains A New Icon: Joe the Plumber - East Idaho News
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The Cain Train Gains A New Icon: Joe the Plumber

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GETTY P 101011 JoeThePlumberSamWurzelbacher?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1329868500209Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — It’s a match made in tax reform heaven. The diehard promoter of tax code simplicity has teamed up with the Main Street icon of small-business tax plans to promote what is perhaps the most well-known tax reform plan in history: 9-9-9.

Herman Cain announced Tuesday that he’s partnered with Joe Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber” of 2008 election campaign fame, who is now running for the U.S. House in Ohio, to continue the fight for a tax code based on a 9-percent personal income tax, 9-percent corporate income tax and a 9-percent national sales tax.

“Joe the Plumber agrees that ‘blowing up’ the current federal tax code is paramount to the success of this nation,” Cain said in a statement. “And we have seen firsthand he’s not afraid to tell the president so.”

Wurzelbacher reached national notoriety during the 2008 general election for asking then-candidate Obama during a campaign sweep through Ohio whether he would have to pay more taxes if he bought a plumbing business that made $250,000 to $280,000 a year.

Obama’s general election rival John McCain seized the moment and often cited “Joe the Plumber” as an everyday American who would be adversely affected by his opponent’s tax plan, even though analysts offered varying opinions as to whether Wurzelbacher would have received a tax increase or a tax cut under Obama’s plan.

Four years and a heavy dose of frustration with elected officials later, Wurzelbacher is taking matters into his own hands and pledging to promote Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan if elected to Congress.

Wurzelbacher is hopping on the Cain Train, or rather the “Cain Revolution” bus, for a three-event swing through Ohio this week. The two will appear together at two rallies and a Lincoln Day dinner.

“Joe is an unconventional candidate, just like I was,” Cain said. “He shows a true workingman’s appreciation for what it is to be a good steward of the hard-earned money the government takes from us in the form of taxes.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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