Kinky, Cigar Chomping, Jewish Cowboy, Might Soon Be Running Texas

[callady]

Kinky, a good ol' cigar-chomping, Jewish cowboy, might soon be running Texas

It may have started as a joke but now the state, appalled by its political leaders, is taking Friedman seriously

By Andrew Gumbel in Wimberley, Texas

Published: 23 October 2005

Some people run for high political office because it appeals to their vanity. Some run because they believe they can really win. When Kinky Friedman, hitherto known as an eccentric Jewish cowboy singer turned mystery novelist, is asked why he is campaigning as an independent in next year's Texas governor's race, he likes to respond with a question: "How hard can it be?"

<snip>

His team has produced a hilarious campaign cartoon making fun of Texas politicians as they speak broken Spanish on the campaign trail and invoke Jesus at every turn. One valuable fundraising asset is a Kinky talking doll. One of the 25 lines it spouts: "Friedman is just another word for nothing left to lose."

By now, though, it is clear the campaign is much more than a joke. Kinky has been earning himself both attention and warm praise in the Texas media for his witty articulation of a commonly felt disgust at the state's political leadership. He's running at a more than respectable 18 per cent in the latest opinion poll Ð with more than a year to go before election day.

<snip>

What Friedman is launching is a classic American populist campaign. At a time when the Bush presidency is hitting the rocks, there's probably no better state to try it than the spiritual home of George W and his entourage. Friedman's modest celebrity doesn't do any harm, either. Celebrity, after all, worked for Jesse Ventura, the wrestler who became governor of Minnesota in 1998, and for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Terminator turned Governator of California.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article321606.ece

[Red State Lib]

1. Me, too

He's my kind of candidate. But I thank God I am not a registered voter of Tex-ASS. Believe me, Bama is bad enough!

[madrchsod]

2. he`s Laura`s favorite singer/band

---maybe it`s the "dime bag" thing?

[0007]

32. Another pretender, a one trick pony. Not a progressive.

[ellenfl]

3. really?

I'd vote for him.

i've seen a couple of interviews and he is pretty right wing.

ellen fl

[BillZBubb]

5. really?

For a Texan, the Kinkster is very liberal. I don't know what you saw him say in the interviews, but he's no fan of the right wing.

[jayctravis]

25. Even if he's a Republican or right wing, it's good to see that

he recognizes what's going on. That's a good quality in a leader.

[callady]

7. Really

Shows what I know. Guess I'd know more about him if I lived in Tejas.

My vote was based just on political theatrical absurdities. Maybe we could get all 'rasslers-body builders and other cartoon characters in the Halls of Congress. Wait a minute...

[Ilsa]

43. Great. All we need is another big fucking joke here in TX.

It's hard enough living down all the Bushit. Now here's another one that doesn't know shit about anything. He won't get my vote.

[Midnight Rambler]

9. I've heard he didn't like Clinton

Otherwise, from what I've seen, he's pretty much on the left. He's a big supporter of biodeisel and no fan of the Axis of Oil. On Bill Maher he was talking about how him and Willie Nelson are gonna sell the nation on biodiesel. So I say, he ain't Kinky, he's my governor!

[jayctravis]

26. If he can at least be comprehensible when he speaks he sounds great.

[acmejack]

4. Good you can have him.

[silverweb]

6. I don't know much about his politics...

...but he sounds like a real colorful character.

A lifelong animal lover, he founded Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, saving more than 1,000 dogs from euthanasia.

A recent collection of autobiographical essays is entitled: Texas Hold 'Em: How I Was Born In a Manger, Died in the Saddle, and Came Back a Horny Toad. In it he writes how "I made it a point in my adult life never to get married, never to have a home, and never to have a job."

His website is a kick, too: http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/

At the very least, it looks like he's going to liven things up in the Texas governor's race!

:D

[Cha]

8. Better than scotty mcclellen's

ma, carole strayhorn or rick perry.

Course, most folks would be.

[silverweb]

14. No shit.

From what I've seen so far, he looks decent even beyond that.

[Kralizec]

45. He hangs out with a bunch of hippies, he can't be that bad. n/t

[Hissyspit]

10. Texans should elect one of the Democrats who fled to Okla when Delay

and cronies pulled their redistricting shit. Reward them for doing the right thing.

[amber dog democrat]

22. nah. not this time.

I am sorry for Chris Bell. He seems pretty decent, but I am voting for Kinky too.
He's my kind of candidate.

[NoPasaran]

11. Fuck Kinky and the horse he pretends he rode in on

Kinky is a clown, not a progressive. He boasts of his friendship with the Bush clan and his campaign advisor is Dick DeGuerin, TOM DELAY'S ATTORNEY.
http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=27

[Lithos]

29. He's out for himself

No more, no less. He's also extremely inexperienced when what we need is someone with experience. Yes, the Texas Governorship lacks a lot of power, but what there is requires someone with a bit more tact that what Kinky has shown in his books and in his musical career.

Essentially he'd make an even bigger joke out of the State than what it already is. Worse, is that the Dems have an actual chance to make headway this next election cycle and having Kinky on the ballot is going to undermine this effort immensely.

I'd hate to see the efforts of people like Van Os ruined just so Kinky can strut around and pretend to be something he's not. Talk about your all hat, no cow, cowboys. We've already had one and you saw where that went.

L-

[silverweb]

12. OK, I've decided I love this guy!

If you haven't yet, you MUST watch the "First KinkyToon" here:
http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=102

:7

[callady]

13. More from the Kinkster

“The fact is that we’re in the toilet as far as education is concerned,” he says. “We can’t even say, ‘Thank God for Mississippi!’ anymore, ’cause we’re behind them. We’re 50th. That’s the problem; that’s what’s got to be solved.”

He continues to explain his unique educational funding system in a three-step process. First, he wants to set up a Trust for Texas Heroes to increase the salaries of teachers, police officers and firefighters. This money will be acquired through a 1 percent tax on oil and gas and a 1 percent tax on Texas’ big corporations.

<snip>


“We’ve got to get rid of the TAKS test,” he pointedly says. “We’ve got to get rid of it. It’s not educating our children. It’s turning our teachers into Stepford Wives – all the good ones are quitting. The special-ed kids are treated like lepers. No one wants them in their class ’cause they drag the scores down. And the kids know about nothing but bubbling and using No. 2 pencils.”

<snip>

“When George W. (Bush) was the governor, we executed a man every two weeks; and believe me, once you’re in that system, on Death Row, nobody cares whether you are innocent or not, the system doesn’t,” he argues. “We just kill ’em and let the Lord sort it out. I always like to say that 2,000 years ago, we executed an innocent man named Jesus Christ. So what have we learned in 2,000 years? The people have learned something, but the government hasn’t learned a damn thing.”

http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=130&Itemid=27

[DaveColorado]

16. Yeah I'll probably vote for him

If he's against capitol punishment, and the Taks, he's better than some rethug fundie nutjob.

[NoPasaran]

36. Well, get on his mailing list

So you'll know when he runs for governor of Colorado

[Kailassa]

35. I'm angry.

"the special-ed kids ... know about nothing but bubbling and using No. 2 pencils.”

What an asshole! Two of my kids were special-ed kids. One now is a gardener and artist, the other is a computer programmer.Neither of them ever "bubbled". Anyone who will insultingly categorize a whole section of the community in this manner is seriously suspect when it comes to intelligence or morals.

[bos1]

39. bubbling and no.2 pencils

refers to filling out the bubbles on standardized tests with the pencils I think.

[Kailassa]

Ahh, that sounds better.

For the sake of Texas, I'd like him to be a good guy, though it would take a lot to stop me being sceptical. So thanks for taking time to explain.

[Kailassa]

40. Ahh, that sounds better.

For the sake of Texas, I'd like him to be a good guy, though it would take a lot to stop me being sceptical. So thanks for taking time to explain.

[alcibiades_mystery]

44. You completely misread his assertions

Let me clear it up for you.

He is saying

1) The TAKS test hurt special education. Why? Because everything is indexed to the TAKS test grades, nobody wants to deal with the special ed kids, whose grades will usually be LOWER. That's POINT A, and seems especially PRO-special ed, not against it, as you imply.

2) The TAKS tests only teach test taking for ALL kids. The "bubbling and using No. 2 pencils" does not refer specifically to special ed kids, but to all kids. The point is that the tests only measure your capacity to take the test, designated metonomyically here with the specific action of taking the test (filling in answer bubles with a number 2 pencil). This point has nothing to do with special education.

If you're going to critique a set of positions, perhaps you should read more carefully and understand that position first?

[leQ]

48. he's a favorite on the imus in the morning show

i think he's a snob myself. but anything's better than W politics.

[silverweb]

15. A radical thought.

Maybe he's not even in the race to win, but to make people think!

:wow:

As he points out in his KinkyToon, 75% of voters didn't even vote in the 2002 governor's race and the choice is usually "between paper and plastic."

Sounds to me like maybe he just wants to shake things up a bit and make people pay attention.

[Demoiselle]

17. Remember Jessie Ventura, folks. Kinky is smarter and a Dem.

Hell, he might even get reelected! (So he's Laura's favorite. So what?)

[NoPasaran]

37. Kinky is NOT a Dem!

He once ran for some minor position; constable or justice of the peace, I can't remember which; in red, red, red Kerr county as a republican. And lost.

Wasn't Ventura's popularity pretty much zero by the end of his term?

[Demoiselle]

49. You're right. I don't know where I got that! But from what I've seen of

him...he seems pretty shrewd, a lot sharper than Ventura. And although he may have run as a Republican somewhere, he sure doesn't talk like one, Sorry for my error.

[BlueStateBlue]

18. I met him briefly at the Fancy Food Show in NYC a couple of years ago

My first impression was that he was pretty obnoxious.

[smirkymonkey]

42. Also, I wonder what chance a Jewish person would have

in a state filled with rabid Christian fundamentalists. To them, his people are "Christ Killers."

I personally don't agree with this, and as far as I know he's not running on a religious platform (which is GOOD!) but I wonder if the secular vote is enough to cancel out the fundies.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

19. What does he believe in anyway?

His website doesn't say a thing.

[NoPasaran]

34. Bingo!

[smirkymonkey]

41. Here you go....

From the website:

"WHY NOT KINKY?
About Kinky
One of the great political stories in generations is about to unfold, as Richard 'Kinky' Friedman, humorist, performer, mystery writer and Texas Monthly columnist, has announced his run for the governorship of the state of Texas in 2006. Friedman certainly will bring a whole new ballgame into Austin 's capitol building, and he will do so as an Independent candidate and political amateur.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT KINKY
THE STATE OF POLITICS
Today, Texans have no choice for their leadership except paper or plastic. Political parties are for sale to the highest bidder, and lobbyists control the Texas Legislative agenda.
"A fool and his money are soon elected. " - Kinky Friedman

Current Texas election laws make it nearly impossible for a non-party candidate to get on the ballot. Perhaps this explains why only 25 percent of eligible Texas voters participated in the last gubernatorial election. Texans need real representation, and they’re not getting it. "The career politicians are keeping the elevator at the penthouse floor and not sending it down for the rest of us." - Kinky Friedman

The two major parties spent $100 million in the last gubernatorial election for a job that pays $100,000. Do the math. Nope - it doesn’t add up. "I’m running this campaign on the coin of the spirit. I need your help." - Kinky Friedman

Texas was founded by independent, courageous, honorable citizens. The last great Independent elected governor of Texas was Sam Houston, over a hundred and fifty years ago. Texas needs a strong independent voice, if it is ever to regain its greatness. "If you elect me, I’ll be the first Governor in Texas history with a listed phone number." - Kinky Friedman

EDUCATION REFORM: Priority One
The young people of Texas are our future, and we must treat them as such. They are our number one resource for that future. The current government seems to prefer band-aids over solid planning for the next generations of Texas. A Texas revolution is needed in our school systems. "No teacher left behind" - Kinky Friedman

Texas is #1 in drop out rates and #48 in education spending. Our children deserve so much more. Texas is also 48th in per capita child protection expenditures, as well as 49th in general, 46th in mental health, 45th in public health, 49th in state arts agency, 44th in highway, and 49th in water quality expenditures. The Austin American-Statesman is correct: "It’s Texas vs. Mississippi in a race to the bottom."

Teachers are Kinky's heroes, along with police, soldiers, firefighters, and cowboys. Each of us remembers a teacher who made an impact on and changed our lives for the better. Kinky intends to identify these special people and seek their advice in creating a vibrant, responsive and forward-looking education system for Texas. "Politicans appear to be more interested in French cuffs than solving our problems." - Kinky Friedman

TEXAS PEACE CORPS
Kinky will create an in-state volunteer agency, modeled after the Peace Corps, in which he served, to promote the arts and life skills in Texas schools. Musicians and artists, along with retired teachers, business executives, and police, will join us in teaching our kids how to act, play music, paint, write a check, keep accounts, and stay out of trouble. Kinky will ask his friends, including Laura Bush, Willie Nelson, Richard ‘Racehorse’ Haynes, and former UT Coach Darrell Royal, to lead this effort. "Never say **** in front of a c-h-i-l-d." - Kinky Friedman

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
Kinky is not anti-death penalty, just opposed to executing the wrong person! DNA has released dozens of improperly convicted people from death rows all over America. We’ve learned that juries and testimony are not infallible. There are cases in which the death penalty is warranted, but there is no disputing the obvious: Texas executes people who may be innocent. Taking a life is a grave responsibility - no pun intended. Two thousand years ago an innocent man named Jesus Christ, was executed; Kinky’s question is: "What have we learned in two thousand years?"

NEW ENERGY: Kinky To Make Texas #1 Again
For decades, Texas was #1 in US oil and gas exploration. It once even led the world! Texas can reclaim its role as world leader in new energy production with alternative solutions. Kinky is our ‘energizer’ candidate.

WILLIE AND KINKY: Bio-Diesel Buddies
Bio-diesel fuel powers Willie Nelson’s famous bus, the Honeysuckle Rose. Bio-diesel, eco-friendly and produced from agricultural products - even reclaimed frying grease - is a first step in the right direction. Willie will work with Kinky in promoting and developing bio-diesel and all of Texas’ vast, untapped, environmentally friendly resources. Currently, we’re using this fuel source for landfill. Surely, pulling a rutabaga out of the ground is more cost-effective than drilling a two-mile-deep hole in the sand. "How hard could it be?" - Kinky Friedman.

ABOLISH POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
Political correctness must be abolished. Texans need to be told the truth. Texans do not need opaque, carefully scripted press releases.. "A man oughtta be able to light his cigar once in a while." - Kinky Friedman

DE-WUSSIFICATION
Our icons are being demeaned. Cowboys are no longer heroes for our children, but subject to derision. We are being laughed at instead of respected in the rest of the country. What has happened to our glorious heritage? This is the great state of Texas! We are not wusses, we are Texans. "We will beat back the wussification of Texas if we have to do it one wuss at a time." - Kinky Friedman.

IN SUMMARY
KINKY MAY BE THE ONLY PERSON IN TEXAS WHO CAN MAKE REAL CHANGES IN HOW TEXANS ARE GOVERNED, PROTECTED AND SUPPORTED BY THEIR LEADERS. TEXAS NEEDS HELP. WE NEED TO PUT A REAL GOVERNOR ON HER. VOTE KINKY. YOU’LL LIKE IT.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

46. Sounds like some kind of Libertarian to me

Plus Kinky doesn't give enough info.

[kentuck]

20. Kinky is just the type to win in Texas....

We should not be so quick to dismiss his campaign. If he could beat the Republicans in Texas, that would be quite an achievement. Maybe we should start a Kinky for Governor fanclub on DU? If that would help defeat the Repubs in TX, I would be for it.

[Maddy McCall]

21. I hope he wins. I can't stand Chris Bell.

[WatchWhatISay]

23. Why is that?

[NoPasaran]

38. Enjoy four more years of Goodhair

Because that's the real choise we have to make.

[kurth]

24. Kinky is a self-promoting opportunist

Very similar to a famous Jewish character and deli owner named Katz who (unsuccessfully) ran for mayor in Austin.

[jayctravis]

27. Independent Texans get Kinky

Written by Kinky Friedman News
Wednesday, 05 October 2005
Kinky Friedman, independent gubernatorial iconoclast, will accept an honorary membership in Independent Texans, the state’s political reform organization seeking recognition for the 4.2 million Texas voters who do not identify with either the Democrats or Republicans. Independent Texans’ founder, Linda Curtis, Austin’s own political iconoclast, will speak to why Kinky, in building such an alliance for political reform, stands to shake up an already shaken gubernatorial election. Kinky will talk about why he’ll accept his honorary membership in an organization whose name, he believes, is redundant. Don’t miss this.

[Bloodblister Bob]

28. Kinky is a Great American! n/t

[Voltaire99]

30. He came off quite well in the New Yorker profile.

In any case, our politics could use more independents. The corrupt duopoly is probably beyond redemption.

[Hekate]

31. What a hoot! Way to go, Kinky

:kick:

[dmr]

33. Gov. Kinky of Texas: What a classic name!

"60 Minutes" did a story on him a while back, I enjoyed watching it.

Though I don't know much about Kinky, I think that after Bush*, Perry, Delay & other stinky politicans, Texas could use a little kinky ...

[Gingergal]

47. Kinky is great friends with George W. Bush!!

In the last month, Tim Russert did an interview with Friedman. Kinky Friedman talked of his friendship with George W.Bush. Friedman actually said "I love George W. Bush." He talked about how he has visited Bush in the White House several times, and he and g w bush sit out on the Truman Balcony and smoke Cuban cigars.
The only one that benefits from his running for governor is Rick Perry and George W. Bush who will keep a repuke in the Texas Governor's Mansion. Hell, the repugs probably talked Kinky into running just to ensure Perry's re-election.
As for Chris Bell, he is the person who had the guts to lodge the ethics complaint against Tom DeLay. At least he isn't sitting on the White House balcony swapping stories with little george.....
Now which one is the liberal Democrat?