Candidate Farouk Shami airs first Democratic ad in gubernatorial race - Texas

WFAA ^ | 11/27/2009 | Brad Watson

[BuckeyeTexan]

Farouk Shami of Houston, who made a fortune in the hair care business, is the first Democrat running for governor to start airing TV ads.

And he plans to air a lot of them so voters can get to know the relatively unknown candidate.

It's not surprising, then, that his first ad is long on image and short on details.

The ad describes Shami's early business career this way: "Arriving with $71 in his pocket, a man came to Texas and turned a dream into a reality."

Shami made millions by founding Farouk Systems in Houston that makes hair care products. His ad claims his entrepreneurial skill would also create jobs as a politician.

"He just brought 1,200 jobs to Texas by moving his factories here from China," according to the ad.

But it doesn't mention any policy he'd back as governor to create new jobs.

And there are no solutions listed for his top issues: to improve schools, reform health care and protect the environment.

His campaign said details will come later.

But the ad also noticeably lacks two other factors.

One is that he doesn't speak -- an announcer does the talking.

Shami is Palestinian by birth and talks with an accent.

Will that be a factor with voters?

And secondly, the ad doesn't show he's running as a Democrat.

His campaign said the omission is because the ad's purpose is to introduce him to all voters.

But core Democratic voters may question his true colors when they learn that, in addition to Democrats, he's given money to Republican candidates and the Republican National Committee.

Shami says he's now a Democrat "to the bone," and criticizes Gov. Rick Perry for not taking stimulus money for jobless benefits, although he happily appeared with Perry in July when Shami announced the new manufacturing jobs.

Shami is expected to spend millions of dollars on campaign ads in Texas' roughly 20 media markets to spread his name to voters before the primary March 2.

[RipSawyer]

i NEVER thought there were enough STUPID people to elect someone named BARACK OBAMA....so Gov. Farouk it will be.
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Actually there weren’t quite enough, they made up the difference by letting dead people vote twice.

[BuckeyeTexan]

That’s funny right there.

[rabidralph]

That’s what I was thinking when I saw Farouk’s picture.

[Vigilanteman]

17% is very impressive, but still not as good as Alaska (22%), Idaho (25%), Utah (28%), Oklahoma (31%) or, my all-time favorite and birthplace, Wyoming (32%). So if you are a genius at a 17% difference, what would that make my people at 32%?

[scottiemom]

"Will that be a factor with voters?

Well let's do the math shall we? Last time I divided a zero by a zero I got nutthin'.

[TheThinker]

There’s like what, 20 people in Wyoming? Just kidding. Smart people if you ask me.

[Non-Sequitur]

Candidate Farouk Shami

With a name like that he should be a big hit in Texas.

[patriot08]

REMEMBER THIS, TEXANS:

Feds Have Built Only 32 Miles of 700 Mile Double-Border Fence Originally Mandated by Congress

“One reason DHS has been able to do this is an amendment that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.-Texas) slipped into an omnibus appropriations bill that Congress passed on December 18, 2007. Hutchison’s amendment put a loophole in the fence law that allowed the secretary of Homeland Security not to build the fence Congress had mandated the year before.”

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/43422

REMEMBER THIS WHEN YOU VOTE FOR GOVERNOR

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