When Kinky appears before Democratic crowds, he falsely plays down his support for Bush.
First, there is no question that Kinky voted for Bush/Cheney in 2004 (some Kinkaholics on "Satan's internet" still dispute this fact):
"The voting record doesn't look strong, but my voting record is better than Dick Cheney's," he said, referring to reports in 2000 that Cheney skipped 14 of 16 votes in Dallas County - including the presidential primary in which he could have voted for his future running mate, George W. Bush.
According to Kerr County voting records, Friedman voted in the 2004 presidential general election but not in any other contest since 1994.
Seems like some of Carole Strayhorn's "big" supporters who jumped ship from their major parties early on are having some buyer's remorse.
Matt mentioned below that Dallas Commissioner John Price was having second thoughts.
"I've been real disappointed with her," Mr. Price said. "I don't know who the hell is advising her. I don't know what the hell is going on."
Neither do we. Those Granny on White ads she's running are about as bland as the Wisconsin Democratic 04 Primary Howard Dean "swith" ads which helped finish off the campaign.
But Carole's losing support left and right (pun intended).
Statement by Dallas businessman, developer and long time Carole Strayhorn supporter Harlan Crow on his decision to support Gov. Rick Perry for reelection:
"Over the past few months as I watched the Governors race unfold, I have seen only one candidate, Gov. Perry, demonstrate the leadership and vision needed to lead the state of Texas. Gov. Perry has shown consistent leadership on important issues like job creation, border security and education. Texas needs a strong leader in the governor’s office, and that is why I support Rick Perry for reelection."
The Dallas Morning News just released it's own statewide poll for the Governor's race, conducted by Blum & Weprin Associates Inc of NYC.
It gives Perry a huge lead, though still proving 2/3 of the voters want someone else. But these numbers seem a bit stacked in Perry's favor compared to every other poll:
Perry 38%
Strayhorn 18%
Bell 15%
Friedman 14%
Undecided 14%
margin of error +/- 3.5%
If this is an accurate poll, it look like 4 more years of Rick Perry.
(Something fun to help pass the time. - promoted by Phillip Martin)
Test your knowledge of the Texas gubernatorial candidates.
1. Who said "I think Rick Perry is an inspiring leader; he inspired me to run for Governor"?
A. James "Rick" Perry
B. Chris Bell
C. Richard "Kinky" Friedman
D. Carole Keeton Strayhorn
2. Who said "I'm not a liberal, believe me; I'm a compassionate redneck, far more conservative than I am liberal"?
A. James "Rick" Perry
B. Chris Bell
C. Richard "Kinky" Friedman
D. Carole Keeton Strayhorn
3. Who said "I'm not a supporter of using embryonic stem cell research; frankly, I think it's a very narrow, at best, area"?
A. James "Rick" Perry
B. Chris Bell
C. Richard "Kinky" Friedman
D. Carole Keeton Strayhorn
4. Who said "Stem-cell research isn't just a good idea; it's a moral calling"?
A. James "Rick" Perry
B. Chris Bell
C. Richard "Kinky" Friedman
D. Carole Keeton Strayhorn
5. Who said "After nine legislative sessions full of name-calling, our school funding is in crisis, property taxes are up and judges are having to do our governor's job"?
A. James "Rick" Perry
B. Chris Bell
C. Richard "Kinky" Friedman
D. Carole Keeton Strayhorn
Of course, it is no surprise to the reality-based community that Molly Ivins would endorse the most progressive candidate who would best serve the interests of most Texans.
So it is finally put-up-or-shut-up day for those fact-deprived residents of Kinkistan who have been touting that Ann Richards supported Kinky (false) and that Molly Ivins supports Kinky (also false).
Besides, we actually have a good chance to get Rick Perry out of office. After six years in office, the Coiffure is at 36 percent approval. He gets another four years, I don’t think we’ll have a public school system left—he really does intend to destroy it, at far-right GOP donor Jim Leininger’s bidding, you know. We may never again get a chance to do our state such a great service. This could be the Alamo of elections.
For those, like me, who believe in music and laughter in politics, Kinky Friedman appeared to be a natural—and besides, how hard can it be?
It turns out, a little harder than Kinky is willing to make an effort to go. In an excruciating interview with the Dallas Morning News, Friedman not only got about half his facts wrong (this is why we accuse Bush of misleading people), but also demonstrated that he does not understand school finance or taxes, nor does he have any intention of trying to do so.
...
One of the great mysteries of this race is why Carole Keeton Strayhorn has imploded almost as fast as Friedman. The only reason Friedman is still in the race is because of free media: Reporters were all so bored by the thought of another snoozer Republican victory, they fought to keep Friedman’s candidacy alive long past the point when it was clear that the Kinkster was in it entirely for ego and publicity. I still like the idea—maybe next time, we should get a funny, smart musician who cares enough to study up a little. Marcia Ball, anyone? Joe Ely?
...
Bell is looking like a better bet because: (A) He has the Democratic base vote going for him, and (B) Perry is just so lame. As we start down the stretch, Bell is picking up on the outside, Perry is still at 35 percent after a year, Strayhorn is fading and Kinky stopped to poop on the track.
...
There was a bit of flap recently when Liz Smith claimed the late Ann Richards would have been in favor of Kinky for governor. Maybe Liz knew Ann better than I did. But I’d bet not. Listening to her memorial service, I was reminded how hard we fought and how tough it was. I thought of the slippage since she left office—blacks and browns left out again. All we have to do to win this is get Democrats to vote. Let’s make it a vote for Annie.
Texas Credit Union League poll, by Hamilton Beattie (D) and Voter/Consumer Research (R), 800 Likely Voters, from 9/5 to 9/18
Rick Perry 42 %
Chris Bell 20%
Carole Keeton Strayhorn 18%
Kinky Friedman 12%
James Werner 2%
Fav/Unfav
Perry 55/27
Strayhorn 41/26
Friedman 27/31
Bell 23/16
Werner 10/6
Perry pulls 71% of Republicans
Bell pulls 44% of Democrats
Friedman pulls 6% of the GOP vote / 14% from Democrats. Strayhorn also gets more support from the Dems than the GOP, 20% to 15% respectively.
George W. Bush Approval/Disapproval
58/39
As pointed out in the linked post, this is a 13 day long sample which is really abnormal for polling. It stretches over a period of increasing TV advertising.
What I'll point out is that Bush and Perry's numbers seems out of line from the start. In all the tracking SurveyUSA has done, Bush hovers around 50% at best in approval (overstated by about the same 8% points that Rick Perry likely is relative to all recent polling).
To note- Kinky Friedman is the only candidate with a higher disapproval rating than approval rating. You can probably expect that to harden some more thanks to recent events. And as another poll shows, while no one is immediately placed to take out Perry, Chris Bell is the best positioned to do so. His strategy is simple and it involves bleeding Strayhorn and Kinky dry of their Democratic support, a lot easier than what the Independents would have to do to put together a winning coalition.
After months of treating Kinky Friedman as nothing more than a sideshow freak in the three-ring circus that the Texas governor's race has become, the media have finally begun to explore the inherent flaws in Kinky's campaign.
True to its nature, the first of many flaws which the media have fixated upon is the more sensational misjudgments (and less policy-oriented errors) represented by the strain of racial tension undercutting Kinky's campaign efforts.
