Kinky Friedman for Governor of Texas

This is not a joke.

Richard "Kinky" Friedman, a sure enough Texas Jewish cowboy, is running to be the next Governor of the Great State of Texas.

When I first heard, about nine months ago, that Kinky Friedman was running for Governor, my first thought was NOT "This must be a joke." Instead, my first thought was "If he is serious, I could vote for him."

That also is not a joke.

That being said, Kinky was cracking plenty of jokes at a fund raising event on November 9 right here in Wichita Falls. I know because I was there, and, yes, I bought a t-shirt and bumper stickers and I made a contribution to his campaign.

From Kinky's official website here is his basic approach to this campaign:

Texas politics stinks. The parties sell themselves to big donors, lobbyists control the legislature's agenda, and the top fundraising groups in the state are being indicted for money laundering. Corruption and big money have such a chokehold that the two major parties blew $100 million in the last governor's race to elect a candidate to a job that pays $100,000 a year. And for all that money spent, less than 30% of us bothered to show up at the polls.

Why? Because it's hard to stand in line at the ballot box when neither candidate promises anything more than politics as usual. Texans are the most independent people in America, and if we're going to be inspired, the inspiration will come from someone unafraid to deal in new ideas and honest answers, an independent leader who lets the people call the plays instead of dancing to the tune of the money men.

That kind of leader is never going to look or sound like a politician. He won't steer by image polls, speak in hollow phrases approved by focus groups, or show up in hand-tailored suits.

You'll know him when you see him -- true Texas leaders are unmistakable. After all, the last independent governor of Texas was Sam Houston. The next will be Kinky Friedman.

That's right, boys and girls--Kinky is running as an independent. And that means there's a catch. As an independent, Kinky has to petition to be placed on the ballot. That means he has to get 50,000 signatures from registered voters. But that's not the catch. The catch is that anyone who votes in either the Republican or Democratic primary in March 2006 is ineligible to sign the petition. Now ain't that some bullshit?

I repeat--this is not a joke. If you live in the Great State of Texas, please go to Kinky's site to find out about his main issues. You can also watch "Go Kinky" on CMT. Apparently, the Rick Perry (current Governor) campaign has contacted CMT demanding equal time.

That also is not a joke.

And neither is Kinky's campaign.