VIDEO/TRANSCRIPT: "Obama is an Arab" McCain fan is a hatemonger, not some sweet misguided soul.

[Bluebear]

http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=U8XmerZEyHE


Gayle Quinnel, a John McCain supporter says at a McCain Rally that "Obama is an Arab". She is quickly corrected by John McCain who takes away her microphone.

This is an interview with her done by a live streaming cell phone. Interviewers include Noah Kunin, Senior Political Correspondent from The UpTake, Adam Aigner of NBC News and Dana Bash of CNN.

Quinnel says she obtained the information on Obama being an Arab at "her local library" and from a pamphlet obtained at a local McCain campaign office (provided by a fellow volunteer not the campaign itself). She has taken it upon herself to redistribute the information as widely as possible by making copies of the pamphlet and sending it to random names in the phone book.

TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW
(It is a little hard to hear in parts)

Gayle Quinnell: I went to the library in Shakopee and I got lots of … three pages of information about Obama

Adam Aigner of NBC News: And what kind of information did you get?

Quinnell :I got to tell you, you call me. It’s a long story. I’m afraid of what’s going to happen to this country!

Aigner: What would you think would happen? Do you think it would become Muslim country and what would that mean?

Quinnell :It would be bad.

Aigner: So even though Senator McCain told you that he didn’t feel that was true and you ought to be more respectful, you still fear that?

Quinnell I still do. Yeah. I’m not alone. I go to Burnsville, the main Republican headquarters and I do a lot of work over there. A lot of sending out mail and talking to people. And all the people agree with what I’m saying to you about Obama.

Aigner :Then do you feel there are a lot of volunteers for McCain who feel that way?

Quinnell Yes. A lot of them. In fact I got a letter from another woman that goes over there to Burnsville and she sent me more things about Obama.

Aigner:What was on the letter?

Quinnell Oh all kinds of bad things about him and how, I mean I have to tell you to call me. It’s all bad.

Reporter: Are a lot of people getting this letter and are a lot of people believeing it and is that turning a lot of votes or support for McCain?

Quinnell Yeah I sent out 400 letters. I went to Kinkos and I got them all printed out. And I sent about 400 letters. I went in the telephone book and sent them out to people. So they can decide if they would want Obama.

Aigner :Can you give me your name again?

Quinnell: Gayle Quinnell and I honestly think that these people hear about this Obama, they wouldn’t want him.

Aigner: Because they would know what you know in the letter?

Quinnell Yeah, he read that letter. In fact when I was standing in line , there were about eight girls, young girls standing in line. And they said “what have you got”. I had one of the letters and they said “Give it to me. I want to read it. I want to read it” And they read it. And they just went (shakes head) . They hadn’t read it before and they didn’t (unintelligible) all that information. To me it’s bad news.

Aigner : So maybe if I call you you’ll give me one of the letters maybe?

Quinnell I sure can!

Aigner: You don’t have another one on you now?

Quinnell No I don’t. But I can give you what I got and I can give you what she sent me in the mail.

Aigner: I’d be interested to read it.

Quinnell OK

Aigner:: and can you spell your name for me?

Quinnell Q-U-I-N-N-E-L-L

Aigner: E-L-L? And Gayle is just…

Quinnell G-A-Y-L-E

Aigner: And where you from?

Quinnell I’m from Shakopee.

Aigner: Shakopee?

Quinnell Shakopee, Minnesota

Aigner: And and I’m sorry how old are you ma’am?

Quinnell: I’m 75.

Aigner : 75?

Quinnell (Nods yes) And I got a lot of grandkids and a lot of kids, I’ve got five kids. I got seven grandkids and they all think the same way.

(PHONE NUMBER EDITED OUT OF CONVERSATION)

Noah Kunin(The UpTake): Do you volunteer at the Republican Party Headquarters or the McCain Campaign office over in Burnsville?

Quinnell McCain. McCain Headquarters in Burnsville.

Noah: The McCain headquarters.

Quinnell It’s out over by , over by that post station there.

Noah: Yeah, I know which one you’re talking about. And just to be sure to make sure we got your quote OK, you called Obama and Arab terrorist?

Quinnell: Pardon?

Noah: You called him an Arab terrorist? Is that correct? Why do you think he is an Arab?

Quinnell Because his dad is. If you… I’ll send you the paper.

Female reporter: His dad is Muslim His dad was Muslim. Barack Obama has never been a Muslim.

Quinnell: No but he’s….

Dana Bash of CNN :he’s a Christian.

Quinnell He’s not an Arab either, he’s a....

Bush: His father was Muslim, and he’s a Christian.

Quinnell: Yeah , but he’s still got Muslim in him. So that’s still part of him. I got all the stuff from the library and I could send you all kinds of stuff on him. In fact….

Bush: What did you think about McCain said. He said he’s a decent person.

Quinnell: Well he did have didn’t have (unintelligible) I think McCain wanted to (unintelligible) I don’t think he wanted to say anything against him. You know he didn’t want to cut him down. That was my way of thinking. I don’t think he wanted to cut him down. So he just kind of brushed me off.

Reporter: Plus he criticizes Barack Obama plenty himself, so why wouldn’t he do it now?

Quinnell: Well I probably brought up something that he didn’t want to talk about.

Reporter: Do you think John McCain thinks that he’s Arab? Do you think he knows this stuff that you’re saying you know is fact?

Quinnell I don’t know! I don’t know! Maybe he doesn’t want to bring it up then. I don’t know why. Is there some way I can get to you more information?

Bush: Can you wait for me for like five more minutes?

Quinnell Yeah.

Bush:: I want to an interview on camera. Our camera team is occupied right now. What’s your name?

Quinnell Gayle Quinnell (Spells name again)

Bush: In case I lose you, you don’t have a cell phone do you?

Quinnell No I wish I had it on me but I don’t.

Bush: See the pretty lady over there with red hair? That’s our camera. As soon as she’s done , we’ll be over there Ok?

Reporter: What was your reaction when Senator McCain backed away

Quinnell What was my reaction? Well he didn’t want to talk about it...

[Raschel]

1. Ignorant McCain supporters. They don't know about the internet either.

Welcome to the 21st century lady. You are now worldwide.

[stillcool]

2. she is an old fool...

I wonder what she is thinking now..if she has gotten the chance to see herself, and how she is being perceived. I wonder is she gets it at all.

[Bluebear]

3. Naw, she's still at McCain headquarters mailing out her "letters" I'm sure. nt

[roguevalley]

23. she will, when she dies, be ashamed of this. too bad she can't

be made to fix it. She is a crank and a fool and some day she will regret this when its too late to fix it.

[mascarax]

14. No, she doesn't get it

I couldn't bring myself to actually watch the video...the transcript is bad enough. I don't want to see her say this stuff.

[ikojo]

4. Must be nice to have enough money to mail 400

fairy tale filled letters to unsuspecting people in the phone book. I wonder if she includes her return address? Me, if I get anything from someone I don't know, it remains unopened and eventually ends up on the garbage. I hope others are like that.

What happened to Minnesota nice?

Guess this lady views "Muslim" the way Germans viewed "Jewishness" 70 years ago..regardless of how assimilated one's family was, if there was a Jewish grandparent one was "tainted" with Jewish blood, even if one had been baptized and raised a Lutheran; as many people with Jewish ancestry discovered.

[Raschel]

5. She probably grabs her purse when she sees somebody Black n/t

[tavalon]

7. You don't need to guess

She clearly feels that way and she's been as manipulated as the Germans were before and during WW2. This started after 9/11 up to and after the run up to the Iraq War. They also conflated Middle Easterner with Muslim and made both the bogey man.

[Strelnikov_]

6. "Yeah , but he’s still got Muslim in him"

"Yeah , but he’s still got Jew in him"

"Yeah , but he’s still got Tutsi in him"

"Yeah , but he’s still got Armenian in him"

"Yeah , but he’s still got Kurd in him"

And on and on and on . . .

[tavalon]

8. Boy, she made that one easy didn't she

Incite the angry nationalists to be nationalistic and see what happens. The ovens can't be that far behind.

[ulysses]

13. yeah, that one kind of jumps out at you, doesn't it?

Yow.

[elshiva]

20. Yes, same old shit.

Seriously, I've got a Jewish father and a Christian mother. I am an atheist, but I'VE STILL GOT JEW IN ME!!!!

[Leopolds Ghost]

24. "Oh, I've got' YEW... under my skin..."

:evilfrown:

i still say she is misguided and going on senile... if she were one of the core hatemongers she would know better than to say these things in public, in front of the camera. Much less promise to reveal the campaign flyers (imagine if they say anything about Obama being a Muslim as she claims, what that would do to the campaign.) No, she is a particularly vulnerable part of the target audience... the 29%. I imagine she was just an ordinary, moderately racist American before she began having problems. Don't forget, many Americans suffer from this sort of paranoia and depression as they get older and run into dementia. Accounts here are rife of formerly liberal parents who became table-thumping Fox news watchers in the nursing home, driven by a sense of powerlessness in their old age.

[Solly Mack]

21. Yep

[scarface2004]

9. he s not an arab...he s a klingon...

sheesh...we need to put these kooks together in one state, maybe alaska, so they don t continue blowing up the electoral system!!

[Swamp Rat]

10. LOL! McLoser cannot win with, or without the bigots.

:D

[ferrferr]

11. Hooray for passing the idiocy to future generations, bitch.

[CitizenPatriot]

12. shame on the McCain campaign

I volunteer for Obama, and let me tell you what!!!! They do NOT tolerate ANY crap talk about mcCain, Palin, their families, etc. NONE.

Talk, emails, phone calls -- we are told in no uncertain terms what the expectations are. We are representing as volunteers the campaign and expected to act with respect, honor and integrity.

We take that very seriously.

If they found out one of us was copying lies about McCain and mailing them out, they'd ask us nicely to take a hike.

Water seeks its own level.

McCain, meet your only base: fringe element, mean, suspicious, uninformed, racist, no integrity, no intelligence, no honor.

[Bluebear]

17. Thank you for that. As I suspected, the McCain headquarters must LIKE this sort of thing.

[CitizenPatriot]

19. exactly. It sucks to be a fringe element psychopath spewing lies.

in other words, it sucks to be a mccain/palin fringie.

[Raine]

15. What a sad pathetic human being...

If her stupidity hadn't given use 8 years of Bush and wants to give us more of the same with McINSANE I would actually feel sorry for her but...I don't! To HELL with her and her kind!

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

16. Old fucking nut

Random letters in the mail are scary when you are a kid. We'd get them occasionaly from some guy convinced the Jews were taking over the world and the church was molesting ever child they could. You could tell by the writing and the publications the stuff came from that the person was very sick.

[elshiva]

22. Who is that woman in your sig line?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

28. Shirley Manson

...lead singer of Garbage, actress.....

[JBoy]

18. Very sad. This woman is doomed to live her remaining days in fear and ignorance.

[TankLV]

25. The GOOD NEWS is she's 75 - she'll be dead soon, hopefully...

The BAD NEWS is that there are a lot of younger people who think exactly just like her...

[Dems4me]

26. I don't have money to mail out 400 letters and I wouldnt walk my highly repug , highly ..

redneck area, so how can we stop and correct information that is
sent out to the masses like this. If we could..would they
even believe the truth is they saw it?

I think some believe what they want to believe.

[bigtree]

27. kick

:kick:

[malaise]

29. See the NYT link here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4227182&mesg_id=4227182

I think you should send your links to KO and Rachel.

[SammyWinstonJack]

30. No specifics on the *bad things* about Obama. Typical non thinking repuke.

She is bad news!