MSNBC Interview - Transcript

Interview

MS. HALL: Twenty million: that is the unprecedented amount of money the DNC and the Obama campaign are spending to win over Hispanic voters for the fall election; twenty million dollars. Now, the effort is nationwide, but Hispanic voters in critical swing states like Florida, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico are the main focus here.

Congresswoman Linda Sanchez is a Democrat from California. She's also an Obama supporter. Thank you so much for joining us, Congresswoman.

Got to talk to you a little about this dust up this morning concerning a meeting, I think you were attending, where Obama yesterday, according to a witness or source there, said that he, quote, "I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions." Folks are talking about this morning, spinning it was Obama arrogance, assuming that he's won here. You were there. What can you tell me happened?

REP. SANCHEZ: Well, I don't remember those words, exactly, and now I'm going to have to qualify that because I was sitting in the back of a very large room, filled with lots of people, but I seem to recall Senator Obama being very humble and talking about his trip abroad and basically saying, you know, he couldn't claim credit for, you know, the 200,000 people in Germany that came to see him. He talked more about America being a beacon for the rest of the world and, you know, our traditions and values. When we're at our best, you know, the world sits up and pays attention.

So, I don't seem to recall it the way that it's being reported.

MS. HALL: Right.

REP. SANCHEZ: That's not to say that he might not have said that.

MS. HALL: Well, his campaign is saying it was taken out of context.

REP. SANCHEZ: It probably was. He spoke for about an hour at the caucus and there was a lot of give and take with Members of Congress. So, you know, I imagine that it was probably misquoted or didn't recall exactly what was said at the meeting.

MS. HALL: Well, what we do know as fact is that the DNC and the Obama campaign plan to spend $20 million to court Hispanic voters. That voting block has been described as a sleeping giant. What do you think it takes to wake this giant? Is it all about spending and getting the word out?

REP. SANCHEZ: I think it's more about empowering Hispanic communities by getting them active and getting them involved and that's a big part of this plan and this push: is to empower people to organize their own communities and make them a part of this democratic process.

I think we've seen Hispanic community aroused at certain points in our electoral history to come out and vote and, increasingly, every cycle, you are seeing more and more participation. It is a growing vote with a huge, huge impact with what will happen in the November election -

MS. HALL: Well, let me ask you -

REP. SANCHEZ: - and they're not taking it for granted.

MS. HALL: Well, you've got a new poll out, the recent poll from the Pew Hispanic Center, and they found that Obama leads Senator McCain; forty points within the Hispanic community.

I'm sure you well remember back in the primary, when there were the headlines: Obama's Hispanic problem; that Latino voters did not want to vote for Senator Obama for various reasons. Is that now behind him? Does he need to spend this kind of money to secure that voting bloc?

REP. SANCHEZ: Let me tell you: you can't take any vote for granted. And I'll tell you, back in the primary, when I was out helping him on the campaign trail, I saw that there was a lot of interest in the Hispanic community for his candidacy. I think the headlines then were invented as a way to create this friction among the primary. But, I think that any time you talk to Hispanic voters, you talk about Barack Obama's record and what he's done for American working class families.

I think the Pew numbers show that and I think, you know - the fact is that you can't take that vote for granted. You've got to be constantly communicating with this community, helping them, you know, organize themselves and making the big push in November to get them out to vote. And I think it's a very smart strategy and I think it's a very smart strategy and I think that this is something that Hispanic Members of Congress have been arguing for a long time: don't neglect our community; make the investments; you know, keep the conversation ongoing so that they really become this, you know, integral part of the American fabric that, you know, they really are. I mean, they're growing in influence and their vote is a very powerful vote and you need to earn every single vote in the November election and I think Barack Obama understands that. I think the DNC understands that and that's why they're making this unprecedented investment because they want to see that come to fruition.

MS. HALL: Alright, Congresswoman, thank you so much for your time this morning. I certainly appreciate it.

REP. SANCHEZ: My pleasure.

END.

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