MSM Remains Incurious About Obama Volunteer With Che Guevara Flag

NewsBusters ^ | February 14, 2008 | P.J. Gladnick

[PJ-Comix]

Imagine the uproar in the mainstream media if it had been discovered that a supporter of a Republican presidential candidate had a picture of Augusto Pinochet in his campaign office. Chris Matthews would feel a bolt of outrage running up his leg as he called upon the candidate to denounce his supporter. So what happens when a Barack Obama supporter hangs a Cuban flag with the image of Che Guevara superimposed upon it? A collective yawn from the MSM. However, this video showing a clip from a Fox News 26 report of the opening on an Obama campaign office in the Houston area has stirred up quite a bit of controversy because of that Che Guevara flag hanging on the wall.

The woman in the red pants and in the photo above is Maria Isabel who was later questioned about that Che Guevara flag. Here is the transcript of the interview but to fully appreciate her incredible squirming under pressure you need to see the video:

REPORTER: ...flag or aware of that...

ISABEL: I don't listen to the internet. I don't watch the news. I'm sorry. I'm just on the news. I just don't watch the news.

REPORTER: Do you think it is something that has been blown out of proportion?

ISABEL: Uh, what is it?

REPORTER: The Cuban flag. Having a Cuban flag out of the office.

ISABEL: It's a distraction. I don't have time to talk about the Cuban flag. There is so much going on. This whole town is just bursting at the seams. My phone won't stop ringing. America wants a change and they really trust Obama and everyone seems to think, that I'm talking to, that Obama can bring that change and it's just awesome. It's just...I am so proud of the people of ...um, everywhere. That people are voting for...

REPORTER: In order to give yourself a chance to respond because there has been a lot of criticism out there...

ISABEL (interrupting): I don't have time to talk about the flag...

REPORTER: What is your connection to Cuba?

ISABEL: I am Cuban. I was born there. Cuban-American.

REPORTER: So do you see a problem with...

ISABEL (interrupting): I don't to talk about...I am so busy really. You want to talk about the Cuban flag? Uh...(nervous laughter)...and I am really busy. I have an appointment in about a half an hour. And I got to talk to these people here. My posse.

REPORTER: But do you realize that there are over 2000 blogs angry at you right now?

ISABEL: Uh, I don't have time to talk about that right now. And I don't pay any attention to that. I'm sorry. You know what? You need to call my publicist. There is someone in charge at cammes (?) that can talk to you about that. Okay? Got to go!

REPORTER: Do you want to apologize though?

ISABEL: Apologize about what?

REPORTER: Do you think it was a poor judgement?

ISABEL: I think this is a waste of time. That this is a...

At this point Isabel took off her mike and walked off the interview. A bit of investigation online of Maria Isabel shows her to be no mere obscure Obama volunteer who made an "error" in hanging that Che Guevara flag on the office wall. In fact, Isabel has been flying (at least until this controversy) a larger version of that Che Guevara flag from the balcony of her apartment according to the Houston-based Rice Crispy Blog:

The Che Guevara flag that is flying in the Barak Obama Houston Headquarters is no doubt the work of Maria Isabel, who I have talked alot about in this blog. She and her husband Barry Norman fought the historic preservation regulations that Old Sixth Ward residents were pushing hard for. They demolished the historic 1890 Valentine house.

...I have seen the flag flying over their apartment on Washington Avenue. You can see it from Center street.

It turns out that Maria Isabel is a real piece of work. Here is a video revealing her as a complete hypocrite in her rationale for opposing local historic preservation zoning efforts including this money quote by Isabel:

It’s wrong to try to implement restrictions in my private property. I own this piece of land. This is America. I should be able to do anything I want with it.

One wonders if Maria Isabel ever considered just how much property rights she would have had she remained in the Cuba of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro.

Although the MSM continues to ignore the controversy stirred up by Maria Isabel, you can find in-depth coverage of this issue at the Babalu Blog. Once again, the blogosphere leads where the MSM fears to tread.

[PJ-Comix]

On Babalu Blog Radio last night they were speculating that Maria Isabel is not her full maiden name. They still haven't found her full maiden name but are investigating. Perhaps Maria Isabel has something in her past that she is trying to hide. If she is, the Babalu Blog will be sure to find it.

[purpleraine]

Most of them have Che T-shirts at home.

[pissant]

And incurious about the claims and lawsuit of Larry Sinclair.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1970232/posts

[purpleraine]

If she doesn’t understand what folks are saying, she’s very ignorant. If she does, she’s very arrogant. Either way, it’s hard to believe that the candidate or at least a senior campaign advisor doesn’t already know about this.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

The MSM?

Their offices look the same...or worse.

[OKSooner]

Yeah, and they're gonna remain incurious.

Can't hold the black guy up to any more scrutiny than the girl, y'know.

[The South Texan]

Most of the young punks that wear Che garb don’t know who he was. In away that is scary because that should tell us that alot of idiots in this country haven’t been taught the evils of Communism. They’ve only heard how great it is Cubans get free health care. And they see China looking like an America with all the commerce and stuff happening, but they aren’t told their system is as totalitarian as it was when Chairman Mao took over.

The thing is alot of them are falling, hook, line and sinker for Obama. That’s scary.

[ClearCase_guy]

It would be far too risky to actually do ... but wouldn't it be fascinating to be a Republican candidate and hang a poster of Hitler (who, by the way, I consider left-wing) in a GOP campaign office.

You KNOW the MSM would be all over that -- murderous rightwing nazi dictator is a hero to the Republicans, blah, blah, blah.

[MrB]

Here’s what you do with the next Obama supporter you meet:

Hey, did you hear about the McCain campaign office that had a Confederate flag hanging up in it? What an outrage!

(wait for a response from the Obama supporter)

Oh... wait, it wasn’t McCain’s campaign office, nor was it the Confederate flag.

It was Obama’s office, with a Communist Cuban Flag, and a huge picture of the murdering communist Che Guevera.

Never mind.

[BallyBill]

Good thing Cheney or some Republican isn’t seen near a Confederate Flag. That would be NEWS!

[quack]

Hell,Obama himself is chanting Che Guevara’s “si se puede” all over and nobody is saying anything about that either.

[quack]

I can’t believe that our nation would be doing business with communist countries.It’s disgraceful.Anything for a buck,I guess.

[jaydubya2]

Che Guevara? You mean it’s not Jim Morrison?

[Kevmo]

Found a good place to bump this thread.

[no dems]

I said this once before on another thread but I’ll say it again.

Hold onto all of this campaign fodder for the General Election.