Joe the Plumber--Worth $1,000 for a Meeting?

By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

The economy may be down, but the rate for a meeting with a plumber looks like it's going way up. "Joe the Plumber" (aka Samuel Wurzelbacher) is going to appear at a campaign rally next month with New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Lonegan. In order to make the rally, supporters will have to plunk down $50. But the special privilege of actually meeting the plumber-turned-"war correspondent" will run you $1,000. Seriously.

I suppose this is a logical evolution of our celebrity culture and politics. Bringing in a high-profile pol or even a plain old celebrity for a fundraising event is standard operating procedure: Supporters pay a big chunk of money and you can say that they got to discuss energy with Sarah Palin or healthcare with Newt Gingrich or liberals with Rush Limbaugh. And as importantly, they get a vanity pic for their power wall. But Wurzelbacher is the political equivalent of Paris Hilton—famous for being famous. His main accomplishment seems to be having asked Barack Obama about taxes and then having the entrepreneurial sense to cash in on his 15 minutes of fame. I guess that's worth something. But $1,000?

Exit question: What's Joe's cut of each $1,000 Lonegan pulls in?

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