"I can't vote for Obama - he's Muslim!"

[Bunny]

Said my daughter's babysitter to me, at 6:15 this morning. It all began when she asked me what I thought about what happened in Iowa. I replied that Obama probably isn't my first choice, but I think he'd be fine. That's when she said she didn't like him because he's Muslim. I said he is NOT Muslim, he's Christian. And she said "no he's not, and he won't salute the flag either". To my befuddled look, she added "he won't wear a flag pin on his lapel".

Then she said that if he gets the nomination, she'd vote Republican for the first time in her life. This is someone who truly is a lifelong Dem, very strongly pro-union and etc. For years she has watched Fox News, though, and maybe it's taking its toll. :eyes:

I realize that this subject has been discussed here ad nauseum, it was just striking to me to hear it coming from someone like her. Especially while standing on her front porch at 6:15 on a Monday morning.

[Emit]

1. It's shocking, isn't it?

Knocking door to door, I encounter that sh*t all the time.

[rox63]

2. Print out the debunking of that lie, and hand it to her tomorrow morning

It shouldn't be that hard to find on the internets. Sounds like she's getting her information from Faux Spews.

[YOY]

3. Bunny, please tell your babysitter that a complete stranger on the internet

Called her "a gigantic f***ing idiot of colossal magnitude." Not your words.

[truebrit71]

5. Which was then given an enthusiastic nod of approval from another complete stranger...

...Why any "Democrat" watches Fixed Noise is beyond me...and highly suspect...

[madaboutharry]

10. I second that

She is ignorant. I have no patience for people like her.

[SammyWinstonJack]

4. Tell her to stop watching faux snooze. That's her first problem.

:shrug:

[thesubstanceofdreams]

6. Link to thorough debunking

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

[TahitiNut]

7. I rather doubt I'd entrust my child to a TOTAL FUCKING MORAN!

But YMMV. :shrug:

[featherman]

8. No candidate needs 100% of the vote in the GE

I'm not too worried about these easily deluded people. Many people believe the earth is flat and was created 6000 years ago. Some people will believe any canard handed to them. Really not much you can do if they wish to believe an untruth

[BuyingThyme]

9. You should put a lock on the liquor cabinet.

[patrice]

11. I can't "vote" for Obama, because John McCain will destroy him. nt

[The Stranger]

12. Fire her and find a babysitter that isn't an imbecile.

And, if you must, slap the living shit out of her and see if some sense takes hold.

[sunonmars]

13. Look past the person

TBH, I really don't think it will be the black thing that will sink Obama it will be the Hussein middle name and muslim thing. Mud sticks unfortunately and with so many dumb people about, well you get my meaning, if they can do what they did to Kerry in 2004 with the war hero swiftboating, they will do this to Obama easier. They have already started. When they start mentioning that our kids are being killed by muslims in iraq and afghanistan and Obama has muslim blood then he won't stand a chance. I know its terrible but unfortunately thats the crappy world of politics and before you jump all over me, perception is everything and you aint seen nothing yet. Have none of you wondered why the republicans are not saying anything because they are salivating Obama getting the nomination. They don't have to say anything, a whispering campaign and implication will be all thats needed.

Seriously picking someone who has no real vetting into everything is really not a good idea. You need to look past the person.

[cboy4]

14. Ann Coulter babysits your daughter?

[BlueJazz]

50. LOL! Good One !!

:rofl:

[dkofos]

15. Tell your friend for her own good that watching faux news is making

her STUPID!!

[Alexander]

16. Sounds like she's a closet racist.

Those are pathetic reasons to oppose Obama.

[book_worm]

17. I think you need a smarter babysitter.

[DUyellow]

22. yeah, i would get on that asap

[spanone]

18. there are dumbfucks everywhere you go....the price of democracy

[Crunchy Frog]

19. If I were in that position, I might be inclined

to fire her on the basis that I think she is a Muslim, and that I don't want a Muslim babysitting my kid. I would tell her that I have every bit as much basis for caller her a Muslim as she has for Calling Obama a Muslim. I'd tell her that if we're going to play the game of everybody gets to invent their own reality regardless of the facts, that everybody and not just a select few gets to play the game.

[driver8]

20. I got a stupid fucking e-mail on Friday saying the same thing.

Jesus...people are fucking stupid.

[BenDavid]

21. I will not support obama until he answers the questions on why

his mentor Jeremiah Wright is well known being anti-Israel, anti-Jew. Until I receive something saying this is un-true then I hold my support and if proven true then will be as against obama as I am pro hrc.....

shalom
ben david

[pop goes the weasel]

26. he's anti-Jew?

If you are going to say someone is a bigot or a racist, you have to give reason why or, otherwise, you'll be assumed to engage in baseless slander.

[sakabatou]

27. You have evidence?

A link of some sort?

[Critters2]

77. It's odd to be hearing crickets this time of year, isn't it? nt

[sakabatou]

87. Sure is

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

32. Parody, right?

You're a funny guy.

[theredpen]

43. I had to browse WINGNUT blogs to find this

From Rev. Wright:

The Israelis have illegally occupied Palestinian territories for over 40 years now. Divestment has now hit the table again as a strategy to wake the business community and wake up Americans concerning the injustice and the racism under which the Palestinians have lived because of Zionism.

anti-Jew (adj): possessing the opinion that Palestinians are human beings. :eyes:

The Wingnuts also excoriate Wright for comparing the bifurcation of Israel and Palestinian society to South African Apartheid — a crime that puts him in with notorious anti-Semites such as Jimmy Carter.

Quick! Someone contact Carlson and Hannity! We need to launch an all-points...
ANGRY BLACK MAN ALERT
Hide the white women and vote Republican before it's too late!
(:sarcasm: <-- Just to make sure)

[Hutzpa]

72. Is that you Penn?

thats the best you can do, you guys are really fishing.

[Critters2]

76. I know Jerry Wright. What makes you think he's anti-Israel?

I've never heard him say so.

[WittyUsername]

84. prove a negative?

[Blue_In_AK]

23. More to the point

even if he WAS a Muslim, so what? Aren't we supposed to have religious freedom in this country, and no religious tests to run for office? My son-in-law's a Muslim and there's absolutely nothing threatening about him. He's kind, gentle, well-informed, and a Democrat, or at least would be if he could vote here (he's Australian). These Muslim-haters need to get a grip.

This use of the word "Muslim" as an all-purpose epithet has got to stop. Muslims make up a large part of the world and the sooner we all learn to stop insulting them, the better off we'll be.

[1620rock]

24. Yeah, listening to Fux Youz will make you a dumb-shit like that.

[gateley]

25. They can't get past the fact that Romney is Morman. People have such

fear of things they don't understand...

[Blue_In_AK]

33. I agree. It's just crazy.

Any time they get going on that "global caliphate" thing, I want to just scream. What the hell have Christians been trying to do for the last 2000 years? Convert the whole world to Christianity, if I am to believe the "Christian mandate." Where's the difference?

[DutchLiberal]

63. Hear hear!

[Warpy]

28. Print out the Snopes page on Obama

and hand it to her tonight. Tomorrow morning, ask her if she read it. If she has, tell her that Snopes is one of the web sites that researches propaganda from both parties and publishes the findings, whatever they are.

You can try to get her to switch to MSNBC later. It's not great, but it's not Pox, at least, and she won't be exposing your kid to trash.

[JerseygirlCT]

29. No accounting for ignorance

And those little stupid tidbits are awfully easy to drop out there, and since it's hard to imagine anyone taking them seriously, hard to successfully refute.

[KansDem]

30. I knew it! I KNEW IT!!! I knew the lack of an American flag lapel pin would be his downfall!

he won't wear a flag pin on his lapel.

DAMN! What kind of campaign advisers does Obama have???

:sarcasm:

[LibraLiz1973]

46. Son of a bitch!!! This is HUGH!!11!

[Arugula Latte]

47. For want of a pin, a presidency was lost ...

:cry:

[AlCzervik]

31. as the aunt of 2 muslims i wouldn't let her babysit but of course she probably wouldn't

too because "OMG they're muslims!!!"

[Johonny]

34. Does she

wear a flag pin on her lapel?

[treestar]

35. People that dumb are usually Republicans

What would it take to convince her that Obama is a Christian? Ask her what proof she would need, it would probably be easy to prove it and save one idiot's vote, at least.

Even Faux Noise doesn't claim he's a Muslim, do they? Maybe she is just concluding that from the name. Maybe she thinks he and Osama are one and the same? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Or that he's related to Saddam Hussein?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

36. As if being ignorant isn't enough

She decided to pepper it with bigotry. Nice touch.

I heard a person saying he was a Saudi. I have no idea where that one came from.

[RedCappedBandit]

37. Christian.. Muslim...

same shit

[theredpen]

52. So you're not voting for him because he's a Christian?

I don't get it.

[RedCappedBandit]

60. Heh.. that was not my point at all..

I'm saying its pretty damn stupid for a christian to hate a person simply because theyre muslim, when the two religions are so similiar

[guitar man]

38. two words for your babysitter

"You're Fired" :D

[Ishoutandscream2]

39. Oh, boy. She's getting her info from Fox, alright

[NMMNG]

40. With all due respect,

Your baby-sitter is a colossal idiot.

1. If somebody's refusal to wear a flag pin on their lapel is a major concern they've got major issues. A flag pin, typically, is nothing more than a symbol of faux patriotism. People who wrap themselves in the flag while taking a steaming dump on the USA are our worst enemies.
2. That "He's a Muslim" nonsense is a bunch of BS, and shouldn't even be an issue. What part of "no religious test for office" don't these people understand? A candidate's religion, or lack thereof, should not be part of his campaign or his politics.



I don't like Obama, but your babysitter needs real reasons to not vote for him. A flag pin and his alleged religion are not those reasons.

[Disturbed]

42. If Obama garners the Dem Nomination this sort of Dis-Info

if merely the start of a deluge of similar crap.

[Geek_Girl]

41. My Mom who lives with me started watching fox News

during the day when I'm at work. She watches other cable news channels as well, and she seems somewhat addicted to cable news. Unfortunately she's starting to sound a little like your baby sitter.

[dysfunctional press]

66. you should block it using the parental controls...

we have directv, and i don't even know what channel faux is on.

[Geek_Girl]

92. LOL!

:rofl: I really should

[Vinca]

44. Some dingbat called WJ this morning and mentioned

the Obama is a Muslim baloney and, fortunately, the moderator corrected her and told her he's a Presbyterian. Are the sheeple incapable of researching candidates on their own?

[slackmaster]

45. I call that a "negative name-recognition problem"

The only known cure is education.

[Didereaux]

48. are you sure? My neighbor said he was one of those Ethiopian jews!

[HughMoran]

49. Did you take her out of our misery?

People like that ought to be shot.

[LibraLiz1973]

51. I'd seriously get on finding another babysitter

Because this one doesn't seem to have much in the way of brainpower.

He's fucking American whether he wears a fucking pin or not.

A TRUE lifelong Dem would not get their news from Fox, nor would they have bought that Obama story hook, line & sinker.
And IF a lifelong dem with a real clue heard that & pondered whether or not it were true, THEY WOULD HAVE DONE RESEARCH instead
of passing ridiculous propaganda like that on.

Seriously, I hope she isn't teaching your daughter anything because if she is, it is all wrong.

[RL3AO]

53. A good friend, maybe the most liberal guy I know said he wouldn't vote for a muslim

and he said Obama has gone on TV and said he was a muslim. It is unbelievable.

[NoGOPZone]

54. How about a premptive strike?

Send the snopes link about Obama to everyone you have an email for.

[question everything]

55. Why should you be surprised?

If he is the nominee, get ready to many "hints" like that from Karl Rove and company. And, get ready for them to refer to him in his full name: Barack Hussein Obama. And growing Muslim as a child in Indonesia.

This is just the beginning.

[Dukkha]

56. her title needs to lose the "sitter" suffix

then it will accurately describe her

[ieoeja]

57. Does it not worry you that your babysitter is a bigot?

"So you're a bigot. And misinformed. Obama has been a life-long Christian.

"But so what? All you're saying is that you are too much of a bigot to vote for someone who isn't the same religion as you."


That would have been my response. That, or....

"You're fired."

[greenbriar]

58. Mitt, Huckleberry and McCain did not wear a flag pin either

at the debate

in fact...Fred and rudi 9/11i were the only ones that ddi


besides the flag pins were made in China

[DutchLiberal]

59. Instead of emphasizing his Christianity, you should have said: "So what???"

Even if he had been a muslim: who cares?

Not voting for him because he has a different religion or not voting for him because he won't wear a flag pin... I don't know what's dumber.

Sounds like a lady *here on DU* who said she won't be voting for Kucinich because his wife has a stud!!!

[Mr_Monday]

73. I wasn't going to vote Kucinish

but because he's too short to be president.

[Catherine Vincent]

61. You do realize a lot of people that say that are masking.

Saying Obama is a muslim is nicer than saying Obama is black. In their eyes, it's more acceptable to say that.

[Warren DeMontague]

62. Anyone who won't vote for someone who isn't Christian can go fuck themselves.

It's hard to find good child care, so you probably shouldn't say it in so many words. Still, I'd have a hard time biting my tongue.

[iamthebandfanman]

64. theres alot of her kind of stupidity going around

about Obama...
its unfortunate that we still live in a country capable of such bigotry

[nadinbrzezinski]

65. My mom (for whom this is a spectator sport) told me that he worried her since

he went to a school managed by the Taliban (yes propaganda is damn effective)

So I explained to her that Madrasa means SCHOOL and that the one in Indonesia he attended while dad was serving this country, was a private secular school.

But that my dear is the power of propaganda.

[aikoaiko]

67. Its interesting how the untruth was backed up with a half truth and a truth.

1. Being muslim - untrue

2. Not saluting the flag during an anthem -- half true in that it happened once, but not a position AFAIK

3. Will not wear the flag lapel anymore -- true

[TheUniverse]

68. How dare you worship an invisible guy in the sky with a different name than mine...

[Booster]

69. My mother, who has a little touch of dementia, told me today that

she doesn't like him because he's a Mexican. I stopped arguing with my mother a long time ago.

[bitchkitty]

70. It's surreal.

Some perfectly intelligent people just shut down critical thought. They hear what they hear on the news and that's it, they're not interested in knowing more. I admire your restraint, I probably would have yelled at her.

Edited for brain spasm

[Hutzpa]

71. You...know, I really don't think its your

babysitter saying that, sounds alot like something you will say,

question is can your babysitter vote? isn't that the same babysitter your fellow folks are trying to drive out the country, does she knows that...I wonder.

These type of meme robs me off the wrong way, they really do

Just say "I'm not voting for Obama because he is not part of the status quo" period.

:evilfrown:

[never_get_over_it]

74. Oh just wait until he gets the nomination

they will make turning Kerry from War Hero to war zero look like child's play.

I'm telling you this will be so EFFING UGLY and thanks to having these stupid primaries so FRIGGIN early this is going to go on for 10 friggin months

Remember how everyone thought Hillary was inevitable early last year - and now a lot of people think Obams is inevitable in November -

All I can say is what my grandmother use to tell me don't count your chickens before they're hatched.

50% of why I'm supporting Edwards is I think he is more electable - and the other 50% is I like his message more than I like Clinton's or Obama's

[Critters2]

75. Tell her that Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ,

of Trinity UCC on 95th St. in Chicago. Maybe if people hear the name of the specific denomination and congregation to which he belongs, they'll start to get it.

[RamboLiberal]

80. They're also spreading crap about his church

Little wonder that his enemies have tried to turn that strength into a liability. Right-wing bloggers and TV pundits have been targeting Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, and its pastor, Jeremiah Wright, complaining that its self-proclaimed Africentric Christianity is separatist or even racist. Obama's campaign has itself pulled back a bit from being identified with Wright. In February it revoked an invitation to have him give the opening prayer when Obama announced his run for the presidency.

-----

Critics have pounced especially on the church's "Black Value System," by which members affirm their commitment to God, the "black community," the "black family" and the "black work ethic," and disavow "the pursuit of 'middle-classness.'" One hatchet-job report in Investor's Business Daily, pointing to the Black Value System (a statement written not by Wright but by church members in the early 1980s), concluded that there is "little room for white Christians at Obama's church." Black conservative pundit Erik Rush said the church has embraced "things African above things American," and he claimed that this should be as alarming as a Republican presidential candidate "belonging to the Aryan Brethren Church of Christ." Tucker Carlson of MSNBC described Trinity as having a "racially exclusive theology" that "contradicts the basic tenets of Christianity." Sean Hannity of Fox News confronted Wright on TV and asked how a black value system is any more acceptable than a white value system. Hannity also suggested that Trinity's emphasis on black values contradicts Martin Luther King's famous hope that people would be judged "not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

Such charges are really aimed at Obama, rather than Wright or Trinity. By trying to link Obama to black radicals, they attack one of Obama's political assets: his seeming ability—shared by Colin Powell, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan—to "transcend" race. Because Obama is able to do this, he invites the white support that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson lack (which perhaps explains the decided coolness of some black leaders toward Obama's candidacy).

http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=3392

[KathieG]

78. It's scary really...

I frequently post on a horse oriented message board here in Florida, and just today someone posted the infamous "Who is Barack Obama?" right wing propaganda spam email. Several people posted additional garbage information, while tossing in a few digs at democrats in general. I promptly posted the debunking link to Snopes, and the response I got was..."I'm sorry, but I still believe it". WOW...just WOW. It's impossible to reason with people like this...I'd have better luck reasoning with my dog!

[Elspeth]

79. No wonder FAUX wants Obama. They figure they'll tell the independents he's Osama

and get their stupid little brains all muddled.

[RamboLiberal]

81. Local liberal talk host Lynn Cullen was talking about this today

Told how one of her college educated Democratic friends said she couldn't vote for Obama because he was Muslim and was "indoctrinated" in a Muslim school. When Lynn pointed out he was Christian then his "black-racist" church was used as the excuse!

That's some of the swiftboating that is already happening.

[David Zephyr]

82. A lady who substituted for my stylist told me she heard it in her fundie church.

This is being spread through the fundie churches faster than most lies they tell.

[Elspeth]

85. Nice to know the fundie churches care so much about the truth

:grr:

[David Zephyr]

86. It is breathtaking how the "people of God" relish spreading lies.

"Thou shalt not bear false witness."

[WittyUsername]

83. She sounds like a republican....

I mean, those are the same things you hear republicans say... Any chance of smacking common sense back into her?

[idgiehkt]

88. I'm actually still trying to get my blood-pressure down over this

I just got into a huge argument with my parents over this "did you know Obama is a muslim" crap. So I ask my mother if she heard that in an e-mail and she said no, the guy that led our bible study at church told us. I freaked the f*ck OUT. I of course don't expect dems to fully anticipate the power that this meme is going to have in destroying the candidacy of Barack Obama until it is far too late. These people sicken me, they never miss a trick. I said I might not care so much if we hadn't just killed a million innocent people and created 5 million new orphans in this war but there is a war going on and when I learn about churches violating tax law to try to turn people away from a candidate so this admin can continue his illegal war & etc, etc, etc.Also the church they go to is humongous, has it's own christian school and daycare and is televised during it's services, so this is no backwater they are spreading propaganda out of. Oy vey.

[DawgHouse]

89. I've heard this from several people as well.

You can't argue with crazy.

Now, be good and find another babysitter! :)

[GreenPartyVoter]

90. Yikes! Set her up with a DU account, stat!

[Heidi]

91. Bunny, I know child care is hard to find, but do you want your child babysat by a bigot?

I'd have to wonder what kind of crap she's exposing the child to. (Thank you for taking a moment to try to educate the woman. :hug: )