Burnt Orange Report

Kinky to take on Governor Perry

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

It seems that Kinky Friedman is entering the race for Texas Governor (2006 election) as an Independent.

MEDINA, Texas (Reuters) -- Kinky Friedman, best-selling author, country music singer, humorist, friend of stray dogs and salsa merchant, is running for governor of Texas in 2006 as an independent. Friedman is the man behind the song "Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed" and author of the book "Kill Two Birds and Get Stoned."

For all of those wondering why the front man for the country music group "The Texas Jewboys" wants to run the Lone Star State, Friedman will put down his cigar and say from under his 10-gallon hat: "Why the hell not?."

"I want to fight the wussification of the state of Texas. I want to rise and shine and bring back the glory of Texas," Friedman said. "I am a writer of fiction who tells the truth."

Friedman, whose first name is Richard but is known by Kinky and a few other names that are not publishable, does not have a campaign platform -- mostly out of fear there may be a trapdoor somewhere underneath that will spring open and leave him swinging.

He writes a regular column for Texas Monthly magazine and is the author of 17 novels. His dark mystery "The Prisoner of Vandam Street," comes out this month.

For those interested in the ways and manners of Texas, he wrote "The Guide to Texas Etiquette, or How to Get to Heaven or Hell Without Going Through Dallas-Fort Worth."

Friedman, 59, is serious about the governor's race. He hopes to campaign as a populist who will use his colourful image while borrowing a page or two from the campaign of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to build a voter base.

"We are taking a page from Howard Dean and a page from Arnold. And now the thing doesn't seem so crazy anymore to a lot of people," he said in an interview.

...

Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said the main interest in the governor's race will be on the Republican nominee, and whether U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison will come back to Texas to take on incumbent Republican Governor Rick Perry.

"Until the Republican candidate becomes clear, we can entertain ourselves with Kinky," Jillson said.

I'm not sure how much this would affect two party politics in the state of Texas, I'll leave that analysis to other writers here.