Kinky Friedman just may be the next Texas Governor

[villager]

Kinky Friedman just may be the next Texas Governor

By April MacIntyre Jul 12, 2006

I first saw Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys perform at a Willie Nelson picnic near Austin, back in the early eighties. He performed the songs, Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in Bed and They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore. I fell in love.

Fortunately, there is some light at the end of our bleak political landscape, thanks to this uniquely American singer, songwriter, and novelist – who also has a soft spot for stray dogs, owning a no kill shelter that keeps the unwanted puppies up on all fours.

Imagine having a politician who speaks the truth, tells a damn good joke and loves animals and the environment. Kinky and singer Willie Nelson are also involved in promoting bio-diesel fueled cars and trucks, a growing trend here in the States, especially in Los Angeles and the Lone Star state. A true man of action.

Friedman is one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election for the office of Governor of Texas. If he wins, and indications are that he may well do so, Kinky would be the first Independent candidate elected to the post since old Sam Houston.

The Chicago born native, and University of Texas grad would become the first Jewish governor of Texas.

<snip>

http://people.monstersandcritics.com/article_1180249.php/Kinky_Friedman_just_may_be_the_next_Texas_Governor

[redqueen]

1. Why does this person think Kinky speaks the truth?

He misleads all the time.

Can't throw a brick without hitting an idiotic, sorry excuse for a "journalist" these days.

[villager]

2. Guess you'll have ask the person who wrote it...!

btw, what does he mislead about?

[fudge stripe cookays]

5. Do a google search for...

the "Stop Kinky" blog. You'll learn plenty about what this asshole thinks he'll accomplish in Texan politics.

What makes anyone think he'll be better than Jesse Ventura or Arnold?? He is not a politician!!

[redqueen]

12. Thank you!

Exactly... why the HELL would anyone with a functioning brain who's not under 16 not get this by now?

:banghead:

[jobycom]

4. With the lousy turnout in Texas, the media picks the winner, so

if that's what they agree on, that's who we'll get.

[redqueen]

13. grrr stop that!

I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up. I will not give up.


At least not until after this November. Then, all bets are off. ;)

[jobycom]

15. You're right! I won't give up, either.

A friend of mine is trying to drag me back into the political fray. Guess I should get off my butt, huh?

[redqueen]

26. well sometime soon yeah!

it's got me so depressed, though... the whole e-voting $#*@($&... *sigh*

[jobycom]

27. E-voting doesn't bother me as much as some.

I look at it as an opportunity. The more we can get people to vote Democrat, the more they will have to cheat to keep their edge, and the more chance they have of getting caught. Man, I'd love to catch them, to see them perp-walk.

Plus, they can't cheat everywhere.

The solution is to work for victory. GOTV, registration, blockwalking, volunteering, all that. Get as many people telling pollsters that they will vote Democrat as we can. Then it gets harder and harder to steal the election, and people become more and more suspicious, and that's how we solve the problem. Not enough people are going to care about voters rights until they see them taken away from them. The harder we campaign, the more they will understand.

[Justitia]

6. This is from an "entertainment" site in Scotland, consider the source.

Their only US presence is an outlier office in LA.

Hardly astute observers of the intricacies of Texas politics - no?

Idiots.

[redqueen]

14. hahahaha... I thought it was the People magazine here...

so no wonder... but still!

[fudge stripe cookays]

3. What a fucking idiot.

April, you really need to study your options more carefully.

Fortunately, there is some light at the end of our bleak political landscape, thanks to this uniquely American singer, songwriter, and novelist

From some moronic Republican-Lite, Bush-voting moron who thinks we should have prayer in schools and women shouldn't have a choice of what to do with their own bodies.

Right.

I am so sick of this bullshit.
fsc

[Justitia]

8. She works for a Scottish entertainment site, experts on TX politics!

Stick to your side of the pondscum, April.

[villager]

10. actually, she lived in Texas for years

If what we're after is cogent arguments, and not ad hominum attacks

[Justitia]

11. Really? Where does it say that? And if she passed thru here, what makes

her qualified to judge the current crop of candidates 20+ yrs later?

I'd like to see the breadth and depth of her experience w/Texas politics, including her tenure as a voting citizen of my state.

Thanks!

[fudge stripe cookays]

17. Cogent arguments...

from the aforementioned blog:

A few facts about the man called Kinky:

(1) he has run for office in the past as a Republican,

(2) he voted for Bush/Cheney in 2004,

(3) his interview with Ruminator magazine confirms that he supported Bush's Iraq war,

(4) his public voting records confirm he lied about voting for Gore in 2000,

(5) he hasn't voted for a Democrat in any election at least from 1994 to 2004,

(6) he wants to take time out of the school day for prayers in public schools,

(7) he wants to post the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms,

(8) he thinks "Negro is a charming word,"

(9) he thinks "Mexico is not a poor country," and

(10) his immigration policy of hiring Mexican generals to police our border is a right-wing extremist's fantasy.

Any questions?

[Pandora01]

19. Attacks

I thought I had hit upon a neo-con site by mistake :yoiks:

Perhaps Kinky is more of a centrist, even for a conservative. You'll have as much luck electing a Repug in Texas as Dubya undergoing brain regeneration.

[Avalux]

7. Kinky is a glib smooth-talker. That's all.

He's nothing more than another conservative; certainly not a progressive. Have you heard what he wants to do on the border? NO.

[Justitia]

9. And a bigoted crackpot. Kinky: "Negro is a charming word!" -eom

[datadiva]

16. Personally,

I miss Ann Richards. Does anyone know how she is doing?

[Gato Moteado]

18. well, after skimming thru the stopkinky blog......

....it seems like the only thing he can do is skim votes from perry. why would dems vote for him?

texas politics are twisted. i lived there 11 years and still don't understand them. the state continued to elect and re-elect corporate c*cksucking, mental midgets like gwbush, john cornyn, kay bailey hutchinson, rick perry, tom delay, etc.

texas just doesn't seem to want to vote for dem senators, governors or presidents. maybe the dems need a new strategy there. spending energy attacking stinky friedman probably is unproductive.

and, look at all the money they spent to try to unseat perry last time? the dipshit still won.

texas is heavily red. a liberal dem or a dem that allows him/herself to be labelled as a "liberal" doesn't stand a chance. for a dem to win texas, he probably needs to come off as a tough guy conservative democrat.

well.....the dems do have one other chance to take the governorship..............

WILLIE NELSON FOR GOVERNOR!

[Justitia]

20. No thanks, I'm voting for a proven Dem (who took on DeLay) - Chris Bell.

I like Dems who stand up to republican lizards like those named in your post.

http://www.chrisbell.com/

[Gato Moteado]

23. hey, i like dems who stand up to repubs too!

they just don't do well in statewide elections in texas.

i'm not saying i like that. i'm just stating a fact. look at the last 10 years worth of elections in texas. we all love the chris bells, ron kirks, etc....they are great people. unfortunately, the majority of texas voters don't feel the same as we do.

[fudge stripe cookays]

21. You'd be surprised.

One of my friends who traveled with me to Iowa with Howard Dean is TOTALLY sold on Kinky. She's true blue Dem, but for some reason, she's buying his bullshit. She says he's "the best hope for Texas."

I'm still scratching my head.

[Justitia]

22. The "Perot Syndrome"- ack! Some Texans love "colorful characters"!

Me, I just want competent governance for a change.
Oh, and one not constantly on the take would be a bonus too.

:eyes:

[Gato Moteado]

25. "one not constantly on the take "......

...that might be what draws some voters to guys like perot or kinky. they are viewed as people that are not politicians and are probably much less likely to be "on the take". in the long run, though, they don't stand a chance against the republican machine in texas.

what the republican party has done so well is to get working class and poor people to vote against their own economic interests by ignoring real issues and bringing to the forefront these things they call "value issues". abortion. gay marriage. flag burning. prayer in schools. this tactic doesn't work well in places like massachusetts, illinois, california, new york. but it does work well in the red states. texas is no exception. perry, cornyn, hutchison, bush, delay, and the like are all corporate fellating puppets who have no interest whatsoever in the health and well being of texas citizens. but by demagoging these bogus "value issues" they get their voters' attention. so, this is the type of "governance" that appears to be important to the majority of texas voters. it differs from the type of "governance" that you and i prefer, but in a democratic system, the majority get to pick the leader. in texas, we are in the minority. so, in effect, texas is choosing the type of governance it desires.

running down kinky or perot is a waste of time. and while we love to trash corporate stooges like bush, perry, cornyn, delay, kay bailey and the rest of the filth, all that does is get us labelled as haters and pushes the sheeple farther into the repuke camp. at least that's what i noticed while living in texas. the only way to change the political atmosphere in texas is through education. and people just aren't going to want to listen to something they don't want to listen to. so, change is slow. as for now, texas still appears to be solidly red. why is that? because a majority of texas voters think abortion, gay marriage, and flag burning are more important issues than unemployment, the economy, the environment, or illegal wars. the repubs know these lemmings are easy to manipulate and so they do it. welcome to republican style democracy!

[Gato Moteado]

24. well, there's a lot to be said for marketing i guess.....

....but i'm still willing to bet that the vast majority of kinky's support comes from repukes.

[readmoreoften]

34. Not at all. He has the entire hipster liberal base in Austin.

I'm in Austin right now and no one even knows who Chris Bell is. I have not seen a lawn sign, a bumper sticker, or a billboard for Bell. This is the blue corridor over here and all I see are Kinky Friedman stickers. Everyone I know says they are voting for Kinky Friedman, and I know the queer and arts community folks.

I have seriously progressive (but naive) friends who have worked on Kinky's campaign. One followed him and stayed with him for months doing a documentary on Kinky. She seemed very conflicted about him. She said that he is the kind of person that you just have no idea who they are. I asked her about all his Bush affiliations, etc. and she said that he is 100% posturing as conservative in order to win the governorship. She said that she thinks that he could very well prove to be an very progressive governor, and that his conservative antics have been a decade long calculated effort to win the position.

So I asked, "Are you voting for him?" She got a far off look in her eyes and said, "No. I don't think so." She said that he is extremely emotionally unreliable and it is impossible to know who or what he really is. She says that he manipulative and extremely charismatic. She thinks he's capable of anything in any direction and that scares her.

I've tried to suggest that people vote for Chris Bell, but people just shrug and say, "I don't know. I think Kinky might have it and I don't want Rick Perry to win."

Is Bell's campaign severly defunded? Why isn't his message getting out?

[Gato Moteado]

35. wow, that is sad

yeah, i lived in austin for 11 years and i saw the voting base change there during my time. hell, i saw more SUVs with "bush/cheney 2004" stickers there than anything else during my last year in texas. that was disappointing.

hey, BTW, i know a ton of the arts community folks in austin, particularly the local musicians. i wonder if we know the same people or if we've ever met.

[readmoreoften]

36. It is very possible that we have slapped five at some point, that's A-tx

The thing here is-- at least in my opinion-- most liberal Austinites vote on social progressive issues, anti-war issues, and environmental issues. They are against poverty and anti-corporate, but many are not terribly nuanced since there is not much of history of labor struggle in the city. I was hanging out with a student of mine and she was really excited about the possiblity of facilitating a "start up" that is going to connect animators in India with jobs in Austin. She didn't even understand what that would mean for the budding film indistry in Texas.

It is also very segregated between young white liberals and the latino and african-american democratic bases.

I could be wrong, but that's the sense I've always gotten around here.

[redqueen]

28. I encounter a lot of that from my dem friends too...

I swear to God it makes me want to move to a swing state!

[fudge stripe cookays]

29. I want to move to Wisconsin...

Just so I could pull the blessed lever for Feingold.

I'm enamored of the man. :loveya:

Besides, if I lived up there, it'd be much easier to finish my book!
fsc

[redqueen]

30. I want to move somwhere I feel I'm making a difference...

and I sure don't get that impression down here!

hehe... I want to move to Kucinich's district for the same reason you want to move to WI!

I'm sticking around till the end of this year at least... but after that...

[fudge stripe cookays]

31. Then you'll be making it to our Halloween party this year...RIGHT??!!

You've been making excuses long enough, dammit! And you're a free woman now!

fsc :hi:

[redqueen]

32. hahahaha... not quite yet!

But yes! I will be there!

I have had it... I have finally had it...

[Gato Moteado]

37. it's friggin' cold in wisconsin!

not to mention it's full of cheeseheads!

but there's no shortage of beer.

[fudge stripe cookays]

38. I love cheese....

I love beer, and I now have MS, so cannot go outside here in Texas from about mid-May until late October.

I always hated cold, but NOW I think about dancing outside in a T-shirt in 20 degrees because it feels so good. So I'll buy sweaters. Lots and lots of sweaters. And boots. And coats.

Besides, I have lots more dead relatives to dig up to finish my book. Living in Madison, I could not only go to Kabul and have kickass Afghani soup ANYTIME I WANT, but I could go to the archives every weekend and lose myself in microfilm (my fondest dream).

Nice that you're working so hard to convince me to stay and all, but 36 years is enough, dude. I need a change.

[Gato Moteado]

33. hey now......you guys threatening to move to swing states....

are the same ones that gave me hell for suggesting that progressive texans do just that. actually, my post from way back when was tongue-in-cheek but i still caught hell for it. i think i was also called a coward for leaving texas instead of staying behind to fight. hey, being a dem in texas can really wear a person down...but i didn't leave because of that, my move had been in the works long before i even moved to texas.

anyway, you guys are hard working asskickers and whether you stay in texaxs or move to wisconsin or ohio, you'll be doing a great service for the dems!

keep kicking repuke ass....and i'll try to do some small part from down here in the third world.

texas repukes are human filth, but texas dems are tough sumbitches! keep on rockin!

[redqueen]

39. heh... funny how we take turns supporting/admonishing each other huh?

lad you're still doing what you can, wherever you are.

:loveya:

[freesqueeze]

40. Is there still a state Dem Party in Texas?

I know Dallas has an active Dem Party, but state wide they are invisible.

At least Kinky would be funny. He might even get some actual plots into his novels. Imagine instead of a Texas Detective living in NYC, we could get some political intrigue based in Austin.

And maybe if he can get elected, the state will get over their habit of voting straight GOP. What has that got them but near last place in every economic measurement?

I know he's not perfect, but on the ballot he won't have an (R) after his name.