Democratic Gubernatorial Field Likely to Swell

by: Todd Hill

Sun Sep 13, 2009 at 07:00 AM CDT

In a telephone interview, Earle, 67, said he hasn't set a timetable but will probably make a decision "sooner rather than later." Earle served as Travis County District Attorney for 37 years until retiring in December of 2008.  His office came under fire from Republicans for its investigation of DeLay, which ultimately resulted in DeLay's resignation from Congress after he was indicted in 2005 for violation of campaign laws.

In the same report, Earle claimed that because of his "deep roots" in Fort Worth that he feels he can compete in Tarrant County, which former Ambassador Tom Schieffer considers home base. Not only is Tarrant County Schieffer's home base, but he also feels he can compete and potentially flip it if he were the Democratic candidate.  

I'm not certain why Earle feels he could gain traction in Tarrant County.  The vast majority of Democrats that I socialize and work with here said, "who?" when I first mentioned to them that Earle was considering a run for governor.  Many of the movers and shakers in Tarrant County have already quickly lined up behind Tom Schieffer too.  

The fact that Earle made it a point to mention his Tarrant County roots indicates that he feels Schieffer is the man to beat early on in this primary campaign. It would appear Earle plans on defining himself as the anti-Schieffer candidate upon entering the gubernatorial race. This is a vastly different strategy than Hank Gilbert, who has entered the race and essentially ignored the other Democratic candidates and has effectively assailed the Republican candidates from day one of his campaign.  

Just as a side note, this past Thursday Kinky Friedman made an appearance at the Colleyville-Grapevine-Southlake Democrats meeting.  Friedman made a point to plug his book multiple times while he plugged his website zero times.  Nor did he pass out any campaign material, ask for money, or ask for votes. Considering this isn't Friedman's first rodeo as a candidate for governor I don't know how much more amateur you can get when you don't at least ask for votes.  Then again, perhaps his real motives were revealed in simply plugging books.      

Kinky Friedman Announces for Governor, Doesn't Like How LBJ Passed Civil Rights

by: Phillip Martin

Tue Sep 01, 2009 at 09:37 AM CDT

Key Point: Kinky Friedman believes that all the arm-twisting David Dewhurst did to bring voter ID to the floor in order to limit minorities' participation in elections is the exact same thing as LBJ working to pass the Civil Rights Act.

Kinky Friedman is not serious. We already have one joke of a Governor in Rick Perry, and Texas can't handle the failures of another one. He has no policy, he is not serious, he is not credible. Moreover, he has no intention of ever becoming serious, of becoming credible, or caring about policy for more than the two seconds it takes for him to exhale his stank-filled cigar smoke -- or for him to go on his next book tour.

The fact that he is now denigrating Civil Rights is just the latest in a long line of disgusting remarks he's made in the guise of running for office.

If you want the long list of questionable and ridiculous things he did in 2006, read it all here. If you forgot, and want to listen to the disgusting "jokes" -- jokes for which he never apologized, and still doesn't care about -- you can listen to them here. If you want to read his thoughts on policy, just remember what he said the last time he went on a book tour (re: ran for Governor):

Kinky Friedman wants to run as a Democrat to sell books? Fine. Let's just remember how much he hasn't changed. From the Statesman's First Reading with Jason Embry:

Friedman has a new book that’s about to come out, and it highlights his conversion to the Democratic Party. It’s called “Heroes of a Texas Childhood,” and he described it as a Profiles-In-Courage-type book that highlights the lives of folks including Sam Rayburn, Sam Houston, Ralph Yarborough, Molly Ivins, Ann Richards and Lady Bird Johnson. But, interestingly, not Lyndon B. Johnson.

“I don’t think he’s a hero,” Friedman said. “He’s not one of mine. I think he did a lot for civil rights but he demonstrated one way of doing things: arm-twisting in the Senate, petty points of procedure. If you go with LBJ, you could go with David Dewhurst, Bernie Madoff would be good.

Kinky Friedman believes that all the arm-twisting David Dewhurst did to bring voter ID to the floor in order to limit minorities' participation in elections is the exact same thing as LBJ working to pass the Civil Rights Act.

Not serious. Not credible. No policy. Just jokes, book tours, and now a backhand to the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

Why would anyone ever want to vote for him?

Tom Schieffer Raises Nearly $800,000 in First Part of Campaign

by: Matt Glazer

Tue Jul 14, 2009 at 01:24 PM CDT

Schieffer has announced he has raised nearly $800,000 in contributions and loans.  The amount he has loaned his campaign has not be announced nor has the always important cash on hand total.

What is clear is Schieffer has more early money than any other Democratic primary candidate and he is putting together a war chest faster and earlier than Democrats did in 2006.

Here is the announcement in full:

It gives me the greatest pleasure to announce that my campaign has raised almost $800,000 in contributions and loans for this reporting period.

I am especially heartened by the fact that this money was raised during some very difficult times in Texas.  People are worried about the economy, jobs, insurance rates, health care and utility costs.  Still, enough people believed in what we are doing to invest their hard earned dollars in our cause.  They did not give because I had the advantage of incumbency nor did they give because I held one office and was running for another.  They gave us these resources because they believe I can lead a cause that will change Texas for the better.  I am humbled by their confidence and will do everything I can to merit their continued support.

I am equally heartened by the diverse and distinguished group of Democrats who have agreed to chair the three components of my organization.  Gilberto Hinojosa, former County Judge of Cameron County and member of the Democratic National Committee, has agreed to Co-Chair my statewide campaign along with long time Democratic activist Susan Longley of Austin.  Former Speaker of the House Pete Laney of Hale Center and the Dean of Texas House Democrats, Representative Senfronia Thompson of Houston, who is also a member of the Democratic National Committee, will head up our Senior Advisory Committee, while former Ambassador Lyndon Olson, Jr. of Waco and Fort Worth civic leader Alann Sampson are co-chairing our Finance Committee.

These leaders represent the diversity and promise of Texas.  They come from rural and urban areas.  They have experience in the law, business, farming, politics, the clergy and the community.  They believe in a Texas where everyone has a right to sit at the table and they have come together to change Texas.  I am delighted to have their support, and I would be honored to carry the Democratic banner into next year's General Election.

Update: Sources inside the campaign are saying Shcieffer has $454,155 cash on hand.

Update 2 (By Michael): I just realized that this post was never updated with any loan info for Schieffer.  So, sorry about this being significantly later than we could have gotten it out there.  But Mr. Schieffer received $200,000 in a loan, the loan being from Lyndon Olson.

A Few Thoughts on Democrats & the Texas Governor's Race

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 08:58 PM CDT

So what changed today? Not much. The real change in the Governor's race happened yesterday.

It's no accident that Sen. Van de Putte's letter declining a run for Governor and subsequent endorsement of fellow state senator Kirk Watson of Austin happened the day before Schieffer's announcement. Watson's going to be able to take the time to consider his options, see the reception to both that trial balloon as well as the response to Shieffer's official launch (and even step a little on his media, whether intended or not).

While I don't know what Watson will decide, at least the last 24 hours has seen people start taking affirmative actions to say "yes, no, or maybe" with greater confidence so the political calculus can become clearer for all interested parties. That's a good thing in my book. And for what it is worth, various BOR staff writers have been involved in both "draft" groups on facebook, which ended up with over 760 for Sen. Van de Putte this spring and now over 225 for Watson in the last 24 hours alone.

I watched Tom Schieffer's speech. I wasn't offended by anything in it but at the same time, wasn't particularly inspired by anything in it either. Talking to other activists, granted, on the more progressive side of things, it's mostly the same refrain. No one dislikes Tom (well, some do for his relationship with former President Bush), but there is a sense that this election should be more than just "not disliking" our nominees, especially at the top of the ticket.

And in what should have been a day focused around Schieffer's plan and policy ideas, two separate statements have generated needless "cringe" moments that could separate him from grassroots activists.

San Antonio Express News

"And also remind people that this is not going to be easy. It's going to be really hard. And if they want to do that, I get to be governor. And if they don't want ot do that, I can go make money, and I've done my civic duty of trying to lay it out."

Austin American-Statesman

Responding to a reporter's query, Schieffer said today: "I think Sen. Watson is a very good candidate... He told me he was not going to run for governor. I hope nobody (else) runs for governor. I hope everybody will fall out on both sides, but I suspect that won't happen."

Huh? I never knew that running for the Democratic Party's nomination for Governor was so much of a burden.

Of course, Mark Thompson and Kinky Friedman have been more obnoxious this past week in their own strategies.

Mark Thompson via Twitter on Shieffer's announcement:

Tom Schieffer Channeling Sam Rayburn now to run as a Democrat? Didn't he channel Benedict Arnold to sellout the TX Democrat Party with Bush?

Kinky Friedman seems to have no comment on Schieffer, but instead, gave a crass gift to Perry last week after the Governor injured himself while mountain biking.

NBC-DFW: Although Kinky Friedman promised fewer jokes this time around in his campaign for Texas governor, he did not resist the allure of a zinger last week.

The author-musician-humorist sent Gov. Rick Perry (his likely gubernatorial opponent) a special sympathy gift: a pair of training wheels.

The purpose of the gift was two-fold. Gov. Perry broke his collar bone last week as a result of a mountaing biking accident. However, Friedman included a note saying, "Sorry you got hurt. Too bad they don't make training wheels for a legislative session."

I thought Kinky was promising to be a more serious candidate in his conversations with Democratic County Chairs. Back to the jokes already... and bad ones at that. While Perry is easy to get a cheap laugh out of, his gift and accompanying note is in poor taste. It's unsettling when the only emotions I feel of any kind in the Governor's race are negative, and directed towards Kinky Friedman.

But I'm not sure that I should be entirely surprised, should I? For now, I'm going to blame it on the Texas heat.

For now.

Polls Show Most Texans Are Undecided in Governor, U.S. Senate Races

by: David Mauro

Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 00:26 PM CDT

New polling from Texas Lyceum suggests that Texans have yet to focus on the upcoming elections for Governor and a possible U.S. Senate special election. Of course, since the primaries are still nine months away, it is hard to blame them. There may be some problems with the methodology of these polls, but it never hurts to take a look.

Texas Governor (Republican Primary)

Rick Perry 33%
Kay Bailey Hutchison 21%
Leo Berman 1%

Undecided  45%

Even in a race where two candidates are very well known throughout the state, close to half of the Republican primary voters remain undecided, according to the poll. I believe 21 percent is a low water mark for Hutchison's polling. With so many undecideds, however, it may not be very significant.

Texas Governor (Democratic Primary)

Kinky Friedman 10%
Tom Schieffer 6%
Leticia Van de Putte 3%

Undecided  81%

Polling with 81 percent undecideds is almost a waste of time. Although Van de Putte declined to enter the race yesterday, I think most people believe she would have been able to defeat Friedman and Schieffer handily had she decided to run.

Given that he received over 12 percent in his run for Governor in 2006 and his name ID is much higher than the others, Kinky's numbers here are not too impressive. 

U.S. Senate (Special Election)

Bill White 9%
Greg Abbott 4%
David Dewhurst 4%
Elizabeth Ames Jones 3%
Roger Williams 3%
Florence Shapiro 2%
John Sharp 2%
Michael Williams 2%

Undecided 71%

Tom Schieffer Endorsed by TAHCJCC

by: Matt Glazer

Wed Jun 10, 2009 at 05:03 PM CDT

Tom Schieffer was endorsed for governor Wednesday by the Texas Association of Hispanic County Judges and County Commissioners. The endorsement was made after Schieffer addressed a meeting of the group on South Padre Island. It was his first statewide endorsement.
 
"I am honored that they would endorse my candidacy. I think this will have a huge impact all over Texas because I think it demonstrates my message connects with Hispanic voters and elected officials," Schieffer said. "The message I have is one of bringing people together to solve our state's problems."

According to R.G. Ratcliffe, current U.S. Senate candidate, John Sharp, announced a the same endorsement in February.

This comes on the heels of Kinky Friedman's apology phonebank. Our current Governor's race includes a man who is endorsed by a group who doesn't have a website that can be found online, a candidate apologizing for running as an independent but not his racist remarks, and a third who is not doing anything at all.

Schieffer's press release points out, he is expected to formally launch his campaign later this month.

Kinky Friedman Preparing Listening Tour, Admits Indy Run a Mistake

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Wed Jun 10, 2009 at 04:28 PM CDT

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?

Kinky Friedman Speaking, Sun., April 19th, 11:30am, First UU, Free

by: David Kobierowski

Sat Apr 18, 2009 at 02:11 PM CDT

The speech and Q&A is Sun., April 19th, 11:30am-12:30pm, at First Unitarian Universalist Public Affairs Forum of Autin.  It's located at 4700 Grover Ave., Austin.  Near 47th/Burnet, behind the TX School for the Blind.

This is a free event and all are invited.

Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman, is an American Singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician, and columnist for Texas Monthly.  Kinky recently authored "What Would Kinky Do?  How to Unscrew a Screwed Up World", and "You can lead a Politician to Water, But You Can't Make Him Think:  Ten Commandments for Texas Politics".  Kinky is also working on a new pet celebrity book to be released this fall.  Join us for lots of laughs and intellectual stimulation from the one-and-only Kinky Friedman!

This is NOT a campaign speech.  Kinky's speaking as an author, humorist, and TX Monthly columnist...Kinky was invited to speak a while back, before he announced his potential plan to run for TX Gov.

Best,
David Kobierowski
Co-Chair Public Affairs Forum of Austin

Kinky Friedman Outlines Fundraising Committee & a Personal Note

by: Karl-Thomas Musselman

Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 09:00 PM CDT

San Antonio attorney and Friedman adviser Abel Dominguez will serve as treasurer of the campaign committee, called "Texans for Kinky."

Dominguez orchestrated Victor Morales' victory in the 1996 Democratic U.S. Senate primary. Former Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower also is helping Friedman.

Jim Hightower? Really? Disappointing.

If there is anything that I'll take for comfort, it is the tone of the following statements from both the Statesman article and his campaign press release.

"I am a humorist, but I know these are not humorous times," Friedman said in a letter to supporters. "There is a pathetic lack of leadership at the state level. The last governor who was truly on the side of the people was Ann Richards. She was a very funny lady-she was also a great governor."

"I intend to run a serious campaign, one that grows the party," he wrote. "I intend to play by the rules. I will endorse and campaign for whomever wins the Democratic Primary."

A Personal Note: About a month or so ago, I briefly chatted with Mr. Friedman at the Democratic GAIN event at Opal Devine's that BOR jointly sponsored. I was likely more cordial than Matt in my words, which were few, but it was more than we exchanged in the 2006 campaign. As to that campaign, I stand by the editorial decisions I approved and directed for this site in releasing the tapes and series of posts on 'racist Kinky Friedman' which began as far back as the primary.

In our exchange, Mr. Friedman stated his primary interest was "seeing a Democrat in the Governor's mansion". I agree with that statement (and told him so), though I have yet to be convinced that Kinky Friedman should be that Democrat.

Personally, I believe that Democrat should be Sen. Leticia Van de Putte but I recognize that there is a chance our choices might be limited to Kinky, Tom Schieffer, and maybe Gene Kelly. That's hardly the most inspiring line up for Texas progressives and it's only because there is not a clear alternative at this point to Friedman for grassroots progressives, I may wait and see how seriously he chooses to approach this campaign.

Though, Kinky Friedman does have more in common now with Carole Strayhorn. They'll each have run for office as a Republican, Independent, and as a Democrat.

Kinky Friedman Explores Run for Governor as Democrat

by: Matt Glazer

Tue Apr 14, 2009 at 09:23 AM CDT

That's right, Kinky Friedman is exploring a run for Texas Governor as a Democrat.

Elise Hu has the full announcement but Kinky's math looks like basic.

Here's the way I see it: Democrats + Independents = Victory

Problem is, Kinky's Democratic support is soft if not virtually non-existent. After his 2006 "campaign", Democrats throughout Texas justifiably look at this as another marketing stunt.

As recently as February, Friedman admitted he didn't take the 2006 campaign seriously.

I'm toning down the one-liners a bit. If I run, it's going to be a serious run,' Friedman told The Associated Press on Tuesday, peppering the interview with one-liners.

Interesting to say back in February, but he briefly explained to Christy Hope back in March why he would run as a Democrat and not a Republican.

He's running as a Democrat because, "I can't afford to be a Republican."

"There's a lot of young people and no one I've met wants to grow up and be Rick Perry."

In one month, Kinky embraced the campaign as a joke meme that laced his 2006 campaign.  Rather than explaining why he is a Democrat and embraces the party of the people, he made a joke. Rather than talk about the problems facing Texas or his proposed solutions he went for the funny.  Friedman is right about one thing, "these are not humorous times for a lot of us".

Perhaps that is why his announcement is laced with statements to simply ignore his affect on the 2006 campaign.  We are asked to ignore he ever threw our party aside in 2006.

I was serious when I ran for governor in 2006 and I'm serious now. I am a humorist, but I know these are not humorous times for a lot of us. Part of the reason is the pathetic lack of leadership at the state level. The last governor, I believe, who was truly on the side of the people of Texas, was Ann Richards. She was a very funny lady - she was also a great governor. I'll take my cues from Ann Richards

[...]

But I do not wish to fight yesterday's campaign again. Today, I have taken the first step toward running for Governor in 2010 by forming "Texans for Kinky," a committee to help with research and raising the funds necessary to launch a successful campaign. Now is the time to win...

I don't speak for the staff on this.  I don't know where they are on this race, but I will say Kinky Friedman's hostility to his critics is scary and shocking.

Friedman talked to Aman Bethja at the Fort Worth Star Telegram and finally discussed race in response to research and reporting here and here were Kinky used racial slurs.  

Friedman said he would only run again if he could raise $3 - $5 million for the Democratic primary.

Whether that's possible, he said, will depend on if the Democratic grassroots can move past the attacks some lobbed at Friedman in 2006, much of which focused on decades-old comedy routines in which he used racial slurs.

"I think it was standard sleaze...There never was a black community against me. It was some bloggers who felt that I was doing too well. That's all. And they had to reach back 27, 29 years..and the question is does any of that stuff stick or it doesn't. I don't think it does."

In fact, Friedman think he had a bigger problem in the last election than the charges that he was a racist.

Friedman at no point apologized for those statements. In fact his only response was to criticize Burnt Orange Report and liberals for attacking him.

If Kinky wants to run, let him. If he wants to shun the party or use Republican jargon, let him.  Hopefully 2006 was a stunt.  Hopefully 2006 was a one time act. Perhaps he will take this race seriously and respect voters. Hopefully he will raise and spend money to help the party and down ballot candidates and not just himself.

The reality is, actions speak louder than words and the way he acted in 2006 doesn't make it easy to trust him, his campaign, or his motives.  Before he starts running, maybe he should start apologizing.

Until then, we will join Kinky in one singular belief.

So I say to Democrats who may not yet take me seriously, I'll stick with you just as far as you want to go. If we stick together we'll go very far indeed. All the way to the Governor's Mansion!

We don't take you seriously.  And we will pay attention to you and your race. But once you burn the activist who elected Barack Obama or the Democrats who volunteered hundreds of hours to help get us within two seats of the House or pick up a State Senate seat for the first time in year, once you burn them, the bridge is gone. You weren't there to turn Dallas blue or make Harris 85% blue.  You never helped the Travis County efforts and you have been hidden since 2006 except to promote yourself.

This party is bigger than anyone of us and this state needs a leader not a self promoter. Prove us wrong.  Be everything you so elegantly wrote, but don't be surprised if we remain skeptical and don't blame us for your choices. All we want is a better Texas.