Kimmel gets it backward on blue-collar America

Jimmy Kimmel is a fool. Last week, Kimmel mocked DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin for beginning his career as a plumber, rather than being, say, a lawyer, like most of the double-talking charlatans holding political posts. Kimmel's logic is backward. Blue-collar sensibility is the key to our country's success. Benjamin Franklin left school at about age 10. He started off as a printer's apprentice, a messy job. His trade helped him master communication, business management, politics and human nature. Thomas Paine lacked formal education, as well. He left school at age 13 and became a corset maker and laborer. When he made the case for American independence in his legendary "Common Sense" pamphlet, he didn't write like a lawyer. His simple, powerful words resonated with ordinary Americans and helped spark the American Revolution. George Washington left school around age 11. As a farmer, he was forever getting his hands dirty as he tried new ways to cultivate and harvest his crops and cross-breed hemp to make durable rope. Many of our Founders were farmers, humbled by the unforgiving realities of nature. Blue-collar work made them sensible and innovative. Their good sense is evident in the practicality of the U.S. Constitution. Blue-collar workers have no choice but to develop horse sense — to develop efficient ways to solve real problems. An electrician mixes up the hot wire and ground wire only once. A carpenter is kept honest by his level — he measures twice, cuts once. A plumber's skill is evident when the water valve is opened and the pipes don't leak. That's exactly why Markwayne Mullin matters. When his father got sick, Mullin, at age 20, dropped out of college and took over the family's struggling plumbing business. He turned that small operation into a successful company that grew to become one of the largest home services firms in the region, providing good-paying jobs for hundreds of people before he and his wife sold it. He and his wife co-founded Rowan's Steakhouse in Stilwell, turning it into a thriving local staple for country-style comfort food and fresh bakery goods that employed additional staff and drew steady crowds for years before selling the property. Fed up with inane government policies that were hindering his businesses, he ran for Congress and won. In Congress, he built a reputation as a guy who approached issues the same way he approached a broken pipe — he figured out what was wrong and fixed it. He focused on small-business realities, energy and cutting through regulatory nonsense that people in the real world have to deal with every day. Then he was elected to the Senate and kept the same approach — direct, practical and not especially interested in impressing the cocktail circuit. He fought for small-business relief, energy independence, practical border security measures and stopping the flow of deadly drugs. President Trump chose him as DHS secretary because he embodies the common-sense spirit of our founders better than most in Washington — and he will get things done. Surely, we can agree that Mullin's blue-collar horse sense is something we need more of in Washington. And, surely, most of us can agree there's one other thing we could use a lot less of: The foolhardy bile that comes out of Jimmy Kimmel's mouth. – Copyright 2026 Tom Purcell, distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. See Tom Purcell's syndicated column, humor books and funny videos featuring his dog, Thurber, at TomPurcell.com. Email him at Tom@TomPurcell.com.