Writing at her blog at the News's website Thursday, Erbe joined the rest of the mainstream media's attacks on Joe the Plumber, the Ohio man who recently challenged Barack Obama about his socialist tax plan.
As she cited far-left leaning websites including Daily Kos, Erbe sought to make the case that Joe is a Republican plant (emphasis added):
Joe Wurzelbacher, the plumber so often referred to by Sen. John McCain in the third and final debate had better learn to shut his mouth. The more he speaks publicly, the more he looks like the GOP plant liberal blogs are starting to claim that he is.
To support this premise, Erbe actually cited Daily Kos:
Other blogs say Wurzelbacher may be related to Charles Keating of the Keating Five and that his father is a major Republican donor:
Joe the Plumber, the star of tonight's debate, may have a very interesting connection to John McCain. In fact, Joe the Plumber (Joe Wurzelbacher) of Cincinnati, Ohio may be related to one Robert Wurzelbacher of Cincinnati, Ohio, who happens to be Charles Keating's son-in-law. Robert Wurzelbacher was implicated in the Keating 5 scandal, and sentenced to 40 months in prison in 1993. Wurzelbacher is also a huge Republican donor.
That's some impeccable source there, Bonnie. After all, the poster in question, BlueGA, has written a total of thirteen "articles" for DK, and judging by the low number of comments they get, it's possible none of them has ever reached the website's "coveted" Recommended Diaries list.
Yet, a reporter from U.S. News & World Report is actually citing this virtual unknown author.
Imagine that.
But, it gets worse:
Keep watching this story because if it proves true that "Joe the Plumber" is the wealthy, Republican regular the liberal blogs are claiming he is, the McCain campaign could go down as the most corrupt and inept in history.
Yes, Bonnie, and whether or not it turns out that Joe is a plant, the fact that you would use rumor-mongering at a far-left leaning website to reach this conclusion puts you in the unenviable position of possibly being one of the most inept journalists in history.
Keep up the good work!
