Friedman's just another word for nothing left to lose.

[crispini]

LONG interview with the Kinkster in this week's Dallas Observer.

Seriously Kinky
This Texas Jewboy wants to be the next governor of Texas, and if you think he's kidding, the joke may be on you
By Robert Wilonsky

Published: Thursday, June 30, 2005

Powerful friends in powerful places: Among Friedman's fans are Laura Bush (and her husband) and Bill Clinton.

Only when pushed, and then prodded and then finally pinned, will Richard Friedman explain why he's running as an independent candidate for Texas governor. Initially, he will offer only the glib, catchy one-liners that befit the songwriter nicknamed Kinky who once proclaimed, "They ain't makin' Jews like Jesus anymore." He will say things like "I'm for the little fellers, not the Rockefellers." He will inform you that people are tired "of the choice between paper and plastic." He will explain that the Capitol building in Austin is seven feet taller than our nation's Capitol, but that ours "was built for giants, and instead it's inhabited by midgets." He has a million of them, and by the time November 2006 comes around--hell, by the time you finish reading this story--no doubt you will have heard many of them several times.

But Friedman, in spite of the punch lines, wants you to know his candidacy is no joke. Already, you tell him, he looks like a candidate gathering votes on the dusty trail--a little tired, rough around the edges. "You sayin' I look like shit?" he says, his teeth wrapped around a Cuban cigar, one of dozens poking from two plastic bags in his suitcase. Actually, he just looks like he needs a shave, to which he will attend shortly by lightly wetting his face, barely using any shaving cream and then quickly and seemingly haphazardly scraping a blade across his 60-year-old flesh. You tell him you hope he doesn't govern like he shaves.

more...
http://www.dallasobserver.com/issues/2005-06-30/news/feature.html?src=newsletter

:eyes: He's TOTALLY serious. Hoboy.

[skeeterintexas]

1. Finally....

someone I can support in Texas politics.

"...Beneath the wisecracking and cigar-chomping is a serious, sentimental man raised by teachers who believed in leaving the world better off than when they found it."

[guntherconcept]

2. Yikes

That scared the hell out of me. I thought it was going to be about Thomas Friedman!

[BrklynLiberal]

3. That is what I thought too!!!!!

Kinky Friedman as Guv of Texas. What a great idea!

[flamin lib]

4. He's got my vote. nt

[johncoby2]

5. We already had two idiots for Governor.

Why do we need another one?

This guy peddles to the mindless.

[crispini]

6. Yeah, well if you look back at all the threads posted

about Kinky you'll see at least two or three Dems posting on each thread expressing their support. I think that if he gets enough sigs, he's going to draw voters from both Dems and Rs. Bear in mind that he's got two people who ran Jesse Ventura's campaign working for him -- I really think he might be the next governor.

It's certain that he's got interesting and novel ideas, and I think that appeals to the voter who is disaffected with politics. If he can interest more people in taking a voice in governing their state, that might not be a bad thing. Will he be a good governor? I seriously doubt he will accomplish much. He doesn't have the political background and dealmaking experience to get things done in the Lege.

[NoPasaran]

8. If Kinky does draw voters to the polls

We need to fiugure out how to get them to vote for Democrats on the down-ballot races. I think that Chris Bell is a real long shot for governor, but if we can pick up some house and senate seats it could take some of the sting out of having Goodhair reelected.

[crispini]

9. Oh, now THAT's the best idea I've heard in a while.

IMO, a Kinky voter is voting against "more of the same." So, I think one key thing would be to pitch our downballet Dems as "reform-minded." Shouldn't be too hard, most of them are running against incumbents.

You know, I haven't heard a DAMN thing about who's going to run against Pete Sessions. Hm....

[sonias]

10. Kinky voters?

Well hell there crispini, the whole state is full of kinky voters. But do they have to vote for Kinky Friedman? I say no, plenty of sane, kinky voters can support someone who can win like Chris Bell. The repukes are the party that want to invade your privacy including your bedroom and any other room in your house.

Kinky is a joke. A funny guy and decent writer but he does not have the skills to fix this state, and folks we're in serious trouble here. If you think voting for a celebrity is a good idea, let's refresh our memories and think of California. Isn't going so good for the Gropinator is it? The state isn't any better off, and in fact may be seriously much more f/u since the gropinator. Think about that the next time someone says "Kinky, why the hell not" I'd answer "Arnold, that's why the hell not".

Sonia

[crispini]

11. Well, I'm not going to vote for him,

but I think a LOT of people are. He's got pizzazz and that seems to be something that will attract the person who is not much of a regular voter. :shrug:

[sonias]

12. I agree that people are desperate for something new

We just have to jazz up our fight so that we look exacting compared to "Adios, MoFo". There's no doubt that we have a marketing challenge on our side that's monumental. We need some real pros to come into the state and help the Democratic party win something here. This is our best year for it.

I was talking with some people this week about the Kinky Freidman factor. These are people who worked on Nader's fight to get on the Texas ballot and they are absolutely convinced he's not going to make it. Keep in mind that since he's running as an independent he has less time and more signatures to collect than a new third party candidate. And keep in mind the failure rates on petitions. He needs 64,000 valid signatures so he really needs to collect about 80,000. We'll see if 60 days after the primary he's got the goods.

Sonia

[Wright Patman]

27. People just cannot recognize

the political genius behind uttering the phrase "Adios, MoFo."

Think about it. It is a combination of Spanish and Ebonics. Perry is creating, apparently extemporaneously which makes this all the more impressive, a new "Spanebonics" idiom which appeals to demographic groups which have historically supported his enemies.

I better put this in. :sarcasm:

Rick Perry, the first graduate of Texas A&M University ever elected governor, and, with any luck, the last. So mote it be.

[Zen Democrat]

21. Kinky is MORE liberal than any Dem looking to run.

If you think Kinky's a joke, you should look further. I've been a fan of his for over 30 years and he's no empty "celebrity". Think about this ... Willie Nelson supported Dennis Kucinich ... and Willie Nelson is supporting Kinky Friedman. Kinky Friedman is a close friend of Bob Dylan ... and traveled on the 1974 Rolling Thunder Tour.

Kinky is for the regular Joe, something that the political leaders of both parties in Texas haven't cared about for decades. We have a few congressmen who do a good job, but no one out there that can win a statewide race.

Kinky is just offbeat enough with the cowboy hat and big cigar to reel in lots of Republican voters.

Kinky's father was a UT professor for many years, and Kinky is dumb as a fox, so to speak. To compare him to Jesse Ventura or Ahnold, is really selling him short. Has anyone read any of his books, like "Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover", "Roadkill", and "A Case of Lone Star"?

[NoPasaran]

22. That's great news, since Texas is such a LIBERAL state

:sarcasm:

[sonias]

23. Zen I like Kinky as a person and he is better than the average repuke

But I'm going to stick to my guns and say his skills as a politician are the likely joke. I'm sure Kinky does care for the average Joe, so do you and I. That won't make him a successful governor who can work the legislature and get anything accomplished. Texas is a one party state right now, with the repukes firmly in control. Throwing an independent Governor on top of that is not going to get anything moving. There is no one at the Lege who would have to support him. We all know that the real power in the Lege lies with the Lt. Governor. Do you really think a Lt. Gov of either party is going to want to make Kinky look good? You'll have grid lock doubled.

I love Dennis Kucinich, he's the most progressive representative in Congress and I love Willie Nelson too. How did Dennis fair in Texas? Not very good I remind you. That's not to say we don't keep working for a more progressive Texas government, but in my opinion you're not going to get that with a top down approach. You need to work the grassroots positions first, like city councils, county commissioners, Texas State Education Board members etc. It's the same mistake the Nader campaigns keep making. And Nader had a lot more name recognition than Kinky does.

And more importantly let's say the Kinky were to somehow win the state ala the Ventura win in Minnesota. What happens the following election when nothing got accomplished in the Lege? I'd say Kinky gets thrown out and it's back to business as usual. Except that he's done a lot of damage to the potential of 3rd party candidates who will then be viewed worse.

Sonia

[Zen Democrat]

26. I hear you, Sonia. And I could be wrong ... but I think Kinky

would be able to work with the Lege, because IF he won the governorship, it would mean that lots of those down ballot votes that got them in office are the same voters that put Kinky in.

How do you know he doesn't have legislative skills? He's been a student of Texas government for many, many years. God knows, Bush and Perry don't have skills. Texas Monthly would likely support Kinky, for what that's worth.

Bottom line, Republicans won't vote for ANY Democrat, but many will vote for Kinky -- he's just down home enough for many of the rural Republican voters. I know for a fact in my workplace, which is a Republican stronghold, that Bush and Perry aren't popular at all. Many are disgusted with them. I've heard Republicans say that Bush is going to be remembered as another "Hoover". But these people would never vote for a Democrat. Kinky could get those votes.

So many of the Republican voters in Texas aren't really philosophical Republicans ... they are good ole country folk who think it's American to vote Republican. Bush and Perry are hitting them where it hurts now, and they don't blame the Republican Party and Conservatism, they specifically blame Bush and Perry. Of course, if Strayhorn gets the Republican nod for governor, that would pose a big problem for the Kinkster.

Bottom line, I'm for getting the Republicans out of the Mansion any way we can. At this moment in time, I think Kinky's got the best shot at it. If, however, Bell or Sharp were contending, I'd definitely go for a good Democrat.

[NoPasaran]

7. ONLY two, John?

Let's face it, ever since they ran Sam Houston out of office for refusing to turn traitor, Texas governors have been, with a few exceptions, a pretty uninspiring lot.

[GOPisEvil]

13. I say we Democrats remind the people of Texas about two things.

1. Jesse Ventura
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger

Ask the good people of Minnesota and California how their celebrity governors worked out for them. The real reform is in the Democratic party.

Dammit.

[derby378]

14. On the whole, Ventura fared better

And he's a good spokesman for Operation Truth, so it seems.

[sonias]

16. So that is his voice on those ads huh?

I thought so, but wasn't sure.

And for those people who aren't familiar with Operation Truth:
Operation Truth is a nonprofit, non-partisan veterans advocacy organization. They're the first and largest Iraq veterans group in America.
http://www.optruth.org/main.cfm

Sonia

[GOPisEvil]

19. Yeah, but MN is headed toward financial disaster.

Part of that is on Republican Pawlenty who succeeded him, but Jesse's got something to answer for as well.

Yeah, he is the voice of OpTruth, so he's not ALL bad. ;)

[sonias]

24. Yes let's do pay attention to MN after Ventura

This story hot off the Internets

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20050701/D8B2IERG0.html
Minn. Government Shuts Down; 9,000 Jobless
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota's government shut down Friday for the first time in state history after lawmakers failed to pass a temporary spending plan and left 9,000 employees jobless and highway rest stops unattended for the July Fourth weekend.

The shutdown came at midnight after lawmakers failed late Thursday to pass a temporary spending plan to keep the government up and running. The Senate adjourned 20 minutes after Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty said he hoped the two sides could agree on a stopgap measure to keep the state's doors open for 10 more days.

------
Sonia

[NoPasaran]

25. How hard could it be?

Could it be that politics is just a little more complicated than hitting your opponent on the head with a folding chair or disintegrating them with a gigantic SGI explosion?

[derby378]

15. Our main priority is simple. Rick Perry - OUT

But I can't help but feel how much pull Kinky would have if someone would just convince him to run as a Democrat. He'd have plenty of help from Hightower, Ivins, Richards, and the like to help him fine-tune his message and keep his populist appeal.

That said, Chris Bell better gear up or go home. Because we all want Perry thrown out on his butt.

[sonias]

17. Perry says it best himself "Adios, MoFo"

And we can quote him on that one.

:evilgrin:

Sonia

[crispini]

18. Re: Kinky as Democrat

I read an article one time where he sounded like he'd consider it but he sounded sort of lacking. Like, "Well, if the Democrats would give me a lot of help and a big hunk of change, I might consider it." It really revealed his lack of political invovement, honestly. Does he think the TDP has millions of dollars or something? :rofl:

[Carmerian]

20. Someone needs to start working on Kinky.

That man should be running as a Dem! Unlike Ventura or the Gropinator who were in positions of real power, Friedman is running for a largely ceremonial job. If someone could get him to join us, then Chris Bell could take a crack at the lieutenant governorship, which is where the power in Texas really lies.