ROSWELL, N.M.—Joe the Plumber, meet Ed the Dairyman.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin spoke to a crowd of about 10,000 supporters Sunday in a Roswell airplane hangar, not only making a reference to Joe the Plumber, but alluding several times to “Ed the Dairyman” after seeing someone in the crowd holding a sign identifying himself that way.
She challenged the tax plan advocated by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, which she warned would expand government and “destroy jobs” by redistributing wealth.
“Barack Obama calls it spreading the wealth. Joe Biden calls higher taxes patriotic,” Palin said. “But Joe the Plumber and Ed the Dairyman, I believe they think it sounds more like socialism.
“Friends, now is no time to experiment with socialism,” she told the cheering crowd.
Joe Wurzelbacher, a plumber from Holland, Ohio, became a media sensation last week when Republican presidential candidate John McCain referred to “Joe the Plumber” several times during a debate with Obama.
The Alaska governor, appearing near a big American flag and a large sign that read “Victory in New Mexico,” hammered on energy policy, saying New Mexico shares a lot with her state when it comes to energy.
She called for drilling in the United States to reduce dependence on foreign oil and said all energy possibilities should be considered, including solar, wind, clean coal and offshore oil and gas drilling.
“Our opponents keep saying, ‘No, no, no,’ to sound and responsible domestic energy solutions,” she said. “Here again, Americans will have a clear choice on Nov. 4. To meet America’s great energy challenge, John and I will adopt the ‘All-of-the-above’ approach.”
Drilling in New Mexico and elsewhere can be an economic engine to provide jobs, Palin said. She drew cheers from the crowd when she said, “We’ll drill here, we’ll drill now.”
She warned voters about Democratic plans to raise taxes. McCain, she said, would cut business taxes, double child tax deductions for families and cut capital gains taxes.
Palin said McCain wants her to take the lead on helping families with special needs children. She was carrying her special needs son, Trig, when she landed in Roswell to cheers from the crowd.
Some people waited inside the hangar as long as four hours as the temperature soared to 80 degrees to see her.
Debbie Doss of Hagerman, a 49-year-old widow, mother of six and substitute teacher, attended the rally with her youngest son, 15-year-old Jon.
“I like her. I think she’s got a lot of energy. I think she’s got some good ideas. It sounds like she’s done a good job in Alaska,” said Doss, a Republican.
Palin began her remarks with a reference to her appearance on Saturday Night Live hours earlier, saying there was no place she would rather be than “live from Roswell on Sunday afternoon.”
Palin’s visit to southeastern New Mexico came two days after Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden appeared at a rally at the Mesilla plaza near Las Cruces, also in the state’s south.
Palin took a page from President Bush’s successful re-election campaign. Bush visited Hobbs in October 2004 to boost GOP voter turnout in southeastern New Mexico, which proved critical to his victory in the state.
Vice President Dick Cheney also staged a rally in Roswell in September 2004, accompanied by McCain.
Palin was last in New Mexico in September, a few days after the Republican convention. She and McCain attracted more than 6,000 supporters to an Albuquerque rally and, after an overnight stay, visited El Pinto Restaurant.
Obama has appeared in the predominantly Democratic northern New Mexico, and the Republicans are trying to offset any votes lost in the north to Obama with the southern New Mexico appearance.
Palin signed autographs for nearly an hour before boarding her plane and heading for Colorado.
