Oh, boy. Is the next Texas gov going to be Kinky?

[crispini]

A friend of mine who is an independent just sent me this. He's pretty liberal leaning, but he says he always makes up his mind anew for each candidate. He's a reasonably well informed politically savvy guy and he's really, really thinking about Kinky. Who is OUR candidate going to be? If we don't field somebody really charismatic and cool, I really think we might wind up with Kinky. Check out his take on the whole thing.

I'm begining to think my place in life is backing Kinky
Friedman for governator of Texas. He's the only one that
sounds or acts like a Texan. (Not a Sears-bought Texan
like New England-born George II) He writes like a house on
fire. He did front a band named Kinky Friedman and the
Texas Jewboys. He smokes big SEE-gars. Below is the latest
letter from Kinky. Enjoy.

J

PS Spread this around. Considering the competition, he's a
shoe-in. J

-------------------- Original Message --------------------
Subject: Help Me Bring Down That Bull
From: "Kinky Friedman" <[e-mail]>
Date: Tue, April 19, 2005 17:59
----------------------------------------------------------

Dear Folks,

It's hard to believe that more than ten thousand of you
have already signed up to volunteer your help with the
campaign. On top of that, thousands more seem to be
joining us with each passing week. At first I thought it
must be because I was such a charismatic leader. Then I
realized, somewhat to my chagrin, that this groundswell
from all over the state may not have so much to do with me
after all. It has more to do, perhaps, with timing. Simply
put, we're tired of this bullshit.

Click here to contribute and help me bring down that bull:
http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/contribute.html

That's why, in fact, I'm running for governor. I want to
help other people realize their dreams, and I want to be a
part of all of us realizing the Texas Dream. It's not
about politics; if anything, I'm running against politics
and those who toil in its lush, corrupt, rarely rotated
fields. I think musicians can better run this state than
politicians. Hell, I believe beauticians could run it
better than politicians. But I plan to be more than merely
a ceremonial ribbon cutter. I intend to bring back the
glory of Texas. I'm convinced that, if we all get
together, we can knock down that windmill of politics as
usual, and we can make that Lone Star shine again.

I'm typing this in the middle of the night on the last
typewriter in Texas. My five dogs, the Friedmans, are
watching me. They're very excited about the prospect of
moving into the Governor's Mansion. They may not know it,
but they are one of my two special interest groups, the
only other being my fellow Texans. With the support of
these two special interest groups, we have already
achieved spiritual lift-off. We shall not fail. Together
we will rise and shine and bring back the glory of Texas.

Help me make it a reality by clicking here to contribute
to our campaign:
http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/contribute.html

Love,

The Gov
Kinky Friedman
April 18, 2005
Medina, Texas

[hermetic]

1. Oh I love Kinky!

I'd sure vote for him.

[crispini]

3. Instead of Chris Bell, who's a good Dem, and was the author

of the ethics complaint against Tom DeLay, and got redistricted out of a job for it? :shrug:

http://www.mydd.com/story/2004/7/27/175226/725

Problem is, he doesn't have the name recognition Kinky does.

[hermetic]

10. Oh, I'm sorry

I didn't realize there were any real politicians in Texas.}(
Well, Kinky for Prez then. Shit, why not?

[CitySky]

12. hate to admit it,

but Chris lacks "pizzazz" too. if it's about ETHICS, morals, working hard, and standing up for what is right - Chris is your guy.

but if it's about clownish persona, zingy one-liners, and irreverence... well, Chris Bell is not a natural there.

sigh. God bless the electorate... or forgive 'em, or whatever. :(

[Sweet Freedom]

2. I don't care if it's a cockroach

...as long as it isn't Goodhair or KBH. :)

[NoPasaran]

4. This Kinky?

[crispini]

7. I didn't say I thought it would be a GOOD idea.

But "bipartisan" appeals to the guy who sent me the email.

My friend's never heard of Chris Bell, either. :(

[ashling]

5. Kinky's gotta be better than a skinhead wrestler in a boa

but not much!!!

[katusha]

6. he wouldn't be the first musician to be governor

sounds like kinky may be using a similar populist kind of message that helped "pappy" o'daniel become governer in the late 1930's.


http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/governors/personality/odaniel-radio-01.html


also, his support may be broader than we think. i was talking to my mom last week and she started twisting my arm about kinky friedman!
my mom voted for reagan, bush senior, and bush in 2000 (but now hates his guts & voted kerry in 2004)

[crispini]

8. Wow. great comparison

On Palm Sunday, 1938, Pappy made a seemingly casual reference on his show about running for governor. He received 55,000 letters of support. Most seasoned political observers dismissed his candidacy as a publicity stunt, but Pappy proved to be phenomenal. He and the Hillbilly Boys attracted enormous crowds in rural Texas; press reports estimated many of the rallies to have attracted over 40,000 fans apiece. The band played "Beautiful Texas," then Pappy would launch into a speech that advocated the Golden Rule, the Ten Commandments, a populist agenda, and an assault on the political establishment. He shocked the establishment with a landslide victory.

[katusha]

9. yeah, pappy was a character, my favorite gov. after ann richards

[Gothmog]

11. I love Kinky and may support him over the democratic candidate

The Kinkster will make the race fun for a change.

[NoPasaran]

13. Enjoy the fun but vote Blue

How many more years of Rethug Fun can we take?

[carpetbagger]

14. Not unless he jumps in the democratic primary.

This isn't the 1930's anymore. We've got a near-majority of Texans who are on board with the conservative revolution. For a progressive or moderate to win statewide office, he needs to win large majorities of the latino vote, the black vote, the white-left-of-center vote, and pull away enough moderates and renegade types to win. I don't doubt that Kinky would have a chance at doing it if he were the democratic nominee. However, I think that without the party's nomination, he's got no chance.

We're not Minnesota. The republicans are the majority, and they're pretty cultish. And most of them worship wealth and power too much to go for any type of blue-collar reballion. Kinky would have absolutely no shot at these folks, who probably make up 40% of the electorate right now. So he'd need to keep the democratic nominee down to 19% to win.

Ain't gonna happen.

On the other hand, even a 3% drain of votes from the democratic nominee would be fatal.

I don't think Kinky has it out to destroy what may be the best chance at winning the governorship that will come our way in the next 10-15 years, but he'll do it if he runs as an independent.

[Bouncy Ball]

15. While those are lovely words he wrote

and damn tempting to the independent in me I've managed to whittle down to almost nothing in the past four years, I'm afraid I'm going to say "no, Kinky."

I love his writing. But I want a DEMOCRAT in the Governor's mansion.

My days of third party bullshitting and dicking around are O-V-E-R. Sorry.