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What Jimmy Kimmel gets wrong about ‘plumbers’ like Markwayne Mullin

Why rescuing Christopher Columbus redeems America, too

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There are many things in American life that deserve our suspicion and contempt, but plumbers aren’t among them.

Evidently, Jimmy Kimmel disagrees. The late-night host took a shot at newly confirmed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who used to run a plumbing business, by saying, “We have a plumber now protecting us from terrorism.”

The gibe was a setup for a line about Super Mario — the Italian plumber starring in the Nintendo game — but the premise was that there was something inherently ridiculous about a plumber ascending to a position of major responsibility in Washington, DC.

Yes, why couldn’t Markwayne Mullin have made something of himself by getting, say, a law degree rather than devoting himself to a family business involving nasty little things like pipes and joints?

One problem with calling Mullin a plumber is that........

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