Do Texas Dems Have Racist County Chair ?

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I always thought it was improper for party officials to publicly support or disparage any legal candidate running in the party's primary. It is my opinion that party officials should remain impartial (although they may vote as they wish) and let the party's voters study the candidates and make their own choice on primary day.

But evidently that view is not shared by Democrats in Anderson County, Texas (located about 100 miles southeast of Dallas) -- at least it is not shared by the Democratic County Chairman of that county. It seems that county chair has made his preference very clear, and sadly, it smacks of more than a tinge of ethnic bigotry.

It seems that Democratic candidate for governor in the upcoming primary, Farouk Shami, sent a mailing to many of the state's Democrats touting his job creation proposals. Anderson County Chair J. Larry Davis took it upon himself to e-mail the Shami campaign with some unsolicited and rather racist advice.

Davis told the campaign, "You are wasting your time and your money in this absurd run for governor. In today's paranoid political climate, nobody is going to vote for anybody named Farouk for any elected office. That is just a fact of post 9/11 life." When questioned about his improper e-mail, Davis tried to cover by saying, "That was just the benefit of my expertise as a political observer out here in East Texas."

He then jammed his foot even further down his throat by saying East Texas voters are "not going to vote for a black, Hispanic or anybody with an Arab name. That's their bias." Davis obviously has a very low opinion of his fellow Anderson County Democrats. I think Davis would do good to keep his mouth shut and let his fellow Democrats vote without being pigeon-holed -- he might be surprised at who they would support.

Meanwhile Shami's campaign director, Vince Leibowitz, said, "We find it hurtful that our party -- the party of inclusion -- would find its own leadership making statements like this. It makes me wonder how much of the party establishment shares these racist views."

State Party Chair Boyd Richie also signaled his disappointment with Davis' statement by saying, "Texans of all backgrounds contribute to our great state and to the Texas Democratic Party. We trust that Texas Democrats and all Texans will judge our candidates on the issues and their qualifications -- not their names. Chairman Davis speaks for himself, not for the Texas Democratic Party."

Although I usually vote in the Democratic primary, it is precisely attitudes like Davis' that make me hesitate to identify myself as a Democrat. Although there are many good progressives in the party, sadly there are many others who still live in our state's racist past.