This would indeed be one of the more interesting listening tours, mainly for what Democrats might have to say around the state if given an open opportunity to express their thoughts on the matter. From the Democratic County Chair in Austin County...
I just had a call from Kinky Friedman. It was a pleasant conversation lasting five or six minutes. I told him straight up that I had not been very impressed with his run last time. I also told him I would like to see him put forth some real position statements describing his beliefs on issues important to Texas. He was quite pleasant and sounded quite sincere. He said he was calling to express that he is very serious about being the Democratic Candidate for Texas Governor. He commented that he felt his running as an independent last time around was a mistake and that he should have run as a Democrat.
We discussed the fact that the office of Governor in Texas is refered to as a weak executive position where the Governor has limited powers. He quoted Ann Richards regarding the importance of character and personality for Texas Governors. He said he preparing to do a "listening tour" of Texas. I told him I would be glad to help arrange something here in Austin County if he gives me some warning regarding scheduling.
My feeling is that he has an uphill battle to shed the clown image but I was pleased that he seemed to be taking a serious approach to it and was taking the logical step of personally contacting County Chairs.
Harold Huff
Austin County Democratic Party Chair
That begs the question, who was Kinky listening to 4 years ago?
