Kinky Friedman for Texas Governor 2006

This week’s issue of The New Yorker has a great writeup on Kinky Friedman, the unorthodox comedian running for governor as an independent:

In front of a liberal crowd, Kinky throws in as many racist and sexist epithets as he can think of. If it’s a country crowd, he uses bigger words and makes fun of rednecks. Naturally, this is part of his political appeal: politicians are always careful to say nothing offensive, whereas Kinky is careful to always say something offensive; he provokes not to stop conversation but to start it. It’s a delicate balance, however. As Evan Smith, the editor of Texas Monthly, for which Kinky wrote a column for four years, put it, “If he’s too much like the Kinky we all know and love, he risks not being taken seriously; but if he’s too serious he risks just being another guy. People will say, ‘If I wanted an unfunny guy, I’d vote for one of the actual candidates.’”

Kinky has become the everyman’s candidate of choice, striking a chord of common agitation with the political establishment of Democrats and Republicans. As one supporter asked, “How’d it be if someone went up to the capitol and did what they said they would?” The candidate coolly replied, “It’d be a first.”

Not surprisingly, support is growing quickly among independent and disenfranchised voters, and his stable of endorsements continues to grow, with Penn Jillette and Willie Nelson apparently backing the candidate.

He’s even hired Dean Barkley, the campaign director who worked Jesse Ventura’s campaign for governor of Minnesota, and Bill Hillsman, an adman who also worked on Ventura’s campaign in 1998. Hillsman outlined the current strategy:

“We’re in the business of fomenting discontent. Even if we’ve got the greatest answers in the world, now’s the wrong time to be putting them out there, because no one’s really listening.”

That’s exactly the way to play politics as the unknown underdog and I salute their campaign for having gusto. I would hope the Texas Libertarian Party is smart enough to back Kinky and try and get him to run as a libertarian, but that may be wishful thinking on my part. Either way, Kinky appears to have the momentum needed to win next year, and I wish his campaign lots of luck.

And hey, why not donate a few bucks to the campaign?