Samuel Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, is in Israel. (Getty Images/Israeli GPO)
(CNN) – ‘Joe the Plumber’ Wurzelbacher told a group of journalists covering the conflict in Israel and Gaza that he didn’t think the media should be allowed to report on war.
“I think media should be abolished from, you know, reporting,” Wurzelbacher said. “You know, war is hell. And if you’re gonna sit there and say, ‘well, look at this atrocity,’ well you don’t know the whole story behind it half the time, so I think the media should have no business in it.”
Wurzelbacher arrived in Israel on Sunday to start a 10-day assignment for pjtv.com, a Web site run by the conservative media outlet Pajamas Media. The plumber-turned-foreign correspondent said he wanted to cover Israel’s side of the conflict, because he thought the media was slanting the story to make it look like “Israel’s being bad.”
In his first day as a reporter, Wurzelbacher described the hardships of daily life in the southern Israeli town of Sderot.
“I’m sure they’re taking quick showers, I know I would,” Wurzelbacher said. “So you can’t plan your day, you can’t take a picnic.“
Wurzelbacher said he thought Israel should have attacked Gaza sooner. He told a group of reporters that he was a “peace-loving man,” but that "when someone hits me, I'm going to unload on the boy.”
He got a first-hand taste of reality in Sderot, when his group heard sirens warning of a rocket attack. With cameras rolling, Wurzelbacher and his group ran into a shelter.
“I’m in the bunker, I’m sitting there angry, outright furious, that I’m letting this terrorist dictate what I’m going to do because they’re firing missiles,” Wurzelbacher said. “It was fear at first, then outright anger, and then me wanting some kind of retribution. I’m not a person that runs from things, but when it’s a missile, you run.”
From CNN Politics
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Wurzelbacher should've studied up or at least read the Cliff Notes on the conflict before he landed...
Bet he wouldn't like living as a Palestinian under occupation either – constant checkpoints – can't move... His wife getting felt up by Israeli soldiers if she dares to grocery shop...
Completely simplistic and one sided – like Wurzelbacher himself!
The moron that won't shut up!
OMG this fraud is trying to tell us what to do? We need reporting so that Israel isnt the only side that is heard. They are the ones destroying family and family homes of people they have no reason to bomb. Israel needs to stop and America needs to stop providing weapons to them until they come to their senses and stop the bloodshed.
The moron that won't shut up!
Who exactly is this guy supposed to represent and why is he still in the news?
Maybe "Joe" has found his niche!
A reporter – which he says we don't need and should not be allowed.
He's furious...well Joe join the club – there are a lot of furious people "on both sides" – doesn't seem to help the innocent does it!
I don't understand. If the media should not cover war, why is Joe there? Does this man hear himself talk?
How care what this liar thinks. Aren't his 15 minute way past. Go away Joe or whatever your real name is. Just Go Away! We don't care what you think. Loser!
What a moron.
Sounds like he's taking his ques from that blowhard Bill O'Reilly.
Seriously, this guy is now a journalist? So if I show up at the Mayo Clinic you think they'll let me operate on someone?
This guy is past his pull date.
This guy is such a moron. People are dying on both sides of the fence and particularly palestinians and all he can think about is how to plan his day or take a shower? GIVE ME A BREAK!!
Go away! You have no idea what you're talking about and you don't know what danger some journalists put themselves in just to show the world what is going on in these turbulent countries.
Maybe the media should be banned from covering Joe the Plumber.
The only sane response to this guy's comments is hysterical laughter. I think nut cases should be abolished from, you know, reporting.
I do not condone war, and can't take sides on this issue. If Mr. Wurzelbacher is going to be a foreign correspondent, maybe he should first recognize that Hamas is a democratically elected party. You know, like republican and democrat here in the US. If he's calling the Gaza government "terrorists", he's calling the Gaza people terrorists. Right?
Joe is really cashing in on his 15 minutes of fame huh? I wish Obama walked down my street, maybe I can quit my job and be a reporter.
I totally agree, reporters should stop reporting and.... plumbers should stop plumbing... its a brilliant logic. Joe the Plumber for Congress
The first casualty of war is the truth. I suppose Joe the Plumber wants to keep it that way.
what a deuche
Looks like the Gay Old Party (GOP) put John McCain's front man to use, since it became patently clear he isn't a plumber, owes back taxes, doesn't make the money he told Obama he made, and is related to the Mr. Keating (from the Keating Five) who started the S&L scandal from the 80s and tried to bribe John McCain to get them off the hook. He's probably over there to dodge his taxes again–not to mention put the Reich-Wing "spin" on everything Israel does. Down with the GOP.
This guy represents so much of what is wrong with Neo-Conservatism. I think idiots like him should be banned from the media.
Q: What do Joe the Plumber and Alexander the Great have in common?
A: They have the same middle name!
Wurzelbacher said he thought Israel should have attacked Gaza sooner. He told a group of reporters that he was a “peace-loving man,” but that "when someone hits me, I'm going to unload on the boy.”
~~~~~~~~
Yes, Joe, that's what we want. On behalf of the Conservative media outlet that sent you there, disregard the historical and religious context of the conflict, but instead marginalize the current situation to the intellectual equivalence of a college football game so 'Country First' bigots, who hate all Arabs and Muslims anyway, can best comprehend the present state of affairs.
Bravo!!
OMG this fraud is trying to tell us what to do? We need reporting so that Israel isnt the only side that is heard. They are the ones destroying family and family homes of people they have no reason to bomb. Israel needs to stop and America needs to stop providing weapons to them until they come to their senses and stop the bloodshed.
Wow, there really should be a law that could have him arrested for being stupid. Where to begin? Wow!! Pajama Media? Does that mean they will go back to sleep soon?