VIDEO: DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE FOR TEXAS GOVERNOR

With so much attention being paid to the Texas gubernatorial debate on the Republican side, featuring Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and Debra Medina I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the Democratic side. There are seven candidates registered for the March primary but it's basically a two-horse race, with the favorite being former Houston mayor Bill White and his challenger an extremely wealthy businessman named Farouk Shami.

HERE is more on the Democratic primary race.

Two things trouble me about Shami. First, he actually has a TRUTH SQUAD page on his campaign website. On that page is the following explanation about his faith:

Farouk's Official Statement On His Personal Religious Beliefs 1/11/2010

"I want to clarify what has been reported in the press concerning my religion. I was born in the land of Abraham, believing in Moses, Jesus and Mohammad, and believing in one God. I grew up with members of my family and friends practicing multiple faiths: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. I was also educated at a Quaker school. All of these things contributes to my relationship with God. To say simply ‘I'm a Muslim’ or ‘I'm a Quaker’ is to ignore major parts of my faith. I know it seems complicated that I do not have a pat answer to questions about what religion I am, but without my exposure to many different cultures and religious beliefs I wouldn't be the person I am today.

Although I'm not a member of any specific religious tradition, I do begin every day with prayer and meditation and have a strong personal relationship with God. I respect those who practice all faiths because I believe God gave us life to help one another, the poor, the sick and the oppressed. It is through God we can achieve peace, freedom and bring justice to the world. As Governor, I know, with God's help and guidance, I will be able to help every Texan have access to the American Dream just like I did—a good job, access to healthcare, and an excellent education for their children. That's why I feel called to run for office."

That sounds similar to how Kay Bailey Hutchison addressed the Abortion question during the January 14th debate. I know less about Shami after reading that than I did before doing so.

The second thing that disturbs me is this ad, which is entirely in spanish. With some very real concerns nationally that congress is going to try to register everyone in this country, regardless of legal status, I wonder what demographic Shami is targeting with the use of language that is NOT the national language.

To be fair, Shami has an english version of this ad but the one in espanol has 10 times more views, probably because at this time, it's the one featured prominently on his site. You have to click "other videos" to get to the english version.