So this is what a campaign based on a "battle of ideas" looks like. I'd always wondered about that.

Ray McMurrey, 42, is a government and history teacher at a Gates Foundation Early College High School on the Del Mar College campus. He joins Houston state Rep. Rick Noriega in the race for the Democratic nomination to take on Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the general election.

McMurrey admitted his campaign is short on cash and lacks the backing of the Democratic Party establishment. But he said he plans to crisscross the state meeting with county chairs and Democratic groups.

"Why should a teacher who is educated and qualified be excluded from the process because of a financial situation and money?" McMurrey said.

He wasted no time in openly criticizing Noriega.

"We do not win by replacing a corporate Republican with a corporate Democrat," he said.

McMurrey noted that Noriega has been a government affairs specialist for CenterPoint Energy Inc. in Houston. Noriega currently is on leave from that job.

"Why is the Democratic establishment endorsing my opponent, a big energy, natural gas, fossil fuel representative while you are asked to pay $3 a gallon for gasoline," he asked.

McMurrey also criticized Noriega, a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard, for once supporting the war in Iraq. He also criticized Noriega for taking $7,000 in campaign funds from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, who helped pay for attack ads against Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry in 2004.

Just curious here, but who exactly is excluding whom from anything? Last I checked, if your check for the filing fee clears, you can enter the primary. Or, you can gather the 5000 signatures (as Rick Noriega is doing) and save yourself the money. I admit, being aggrieved about the fact that nobody loves you is cheaper and easier. As a strategy, it's pretty limited. But good luck with it anyway.