Another Kinky update

Tomorrow night, the Kinkster will appear on "60 Minutes" in an interview with Morley Safer. I hope everyone here in the Lone Star State tunes in. Kinky just might offend and turn off some folks, but that just shows he is not going to try to pass himself off as something he is not. What you see is what what get, and he is not going to change to try to get votes.

On the fund raising front, Kinky is doing pretty well. As reported on the official Kinky Friedman for Governor site, the Dallas Morning News reported that Friedman has raised much more money than either of the Democratic candidates.

Former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell raised $355,000 in the last six months, and one-time state Supreme Court Justice Bob Gammage collected $67,000, according to campaign finance reports filed Tuesday with the state.

By comparison, Mr. Friedman, the mystery novelist and singer-songwriter who's running his first race for statewide office, reported raising $1.5 million between July and December.

"It speaks volumes how lost the Democratic Party has become in this state and how dispirited Democrats have become," said Mr. Friedman's campaign manager, Dean Barkley.

The comparison to the Dem candidates should be taken with a grain of salt at this point. Bob Gammage will likely win the Democratic nomination, and he could be a formidable opponent. If Friedman was not in the race, I would campaign and vote for Gammage. He is a good man with lots of political experience and connections. He entered the race late and has not had much time to do fund raising. His money numbers will go up.

That being said, the fact that Kinky raised $1.5 in six months is rather impressive. It shows not only that he can raise money, but that people are taking his candidacy seriously AND that he is connecting with Texas voters.

The Dallas Morning News article also notes that the Friedman campaign has already spent just over $1.2 million and that his opponents are saying that that shows disorganization and an inability to compete in the long run. A closer look shows something different. As I explained in my previous Kinky update, Friedman faces a challenge just to get on the ballot as an independent. He must obtain approximately 46,000 signatures on a petition, AND to be valid a signature must be from someone who DID NOT vote in the primaries, AND signatures can only be collected within a 60-day period after the primaries. That means that the campaign has to have the structure to get those signatures in place before the primaries on March 11. And according to Dean Barkley (who was also campaign manager for Jesse Ventura's successful bid for governor of Minnesota), that is where much of the money has been spent.

"We're set," Mr. Barkley said. "We've got our organization built, and we've got most of the expenses already paid for the petition drive. We've got the money we need to successfully get him on the ballot right now."

Anybody that thinks the Kinky Friedman campaign is going away needs to think again.

And they need to take a closer look at that campaign to see who Friedman is and what he stands for.

Another way to do that is to look at where current governor Rick Perry and the other "independent" candidate, Carole Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn, have gotten most of their money. According to the Houston Chronicle, Perry raised $4.6 million and Strayhorn $2.4 million in the last half of 2005. From that article, here is a rundown of some of Strayhorn's money:

Strayhorn, the Republican comptroller, continued to rake in money — $400,000 in December — from a favorite funding source, Ryan & Co., a Dallas-based accounting firm. She announced her independent candidacy on Jan. 2 after polls indicated she couldn't beat Perry for the GOP nomination.

George Brint Ryan, the company's chief officer, gave her $100,000, as did the company's political action committee. Four other principals in the firm contributed $50,000 apiece.

The company's history of contributions to Strayhorn was cited last year in a state auditor's report that concluded the comptroller reduced some tax bills for companies that gave — through PACs or tax consultants — to her campaigns.

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Strayhorn in December also received several large contributions from trial lawyers, including $100,000 each from Walter Umphrey of Beaumont and John Eddie Williams of Houston, and $50,000 each from Michael T. Gallagher and W. Mark Lanier of Houston.

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David Alameel of Dallas, a dentist, gave Strayhorn $100,000.

Coastal Development, which a Strayhorn spokesman said was a New York-based company with gambling interests in New York and Florida, donated $75,000.

(emphasis added).

The Houston Chronicle also discussed details of Perry's money:

Perry, meanwhile, was heavily supported by business executives and business-oriented groups.

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Perry's single biggest contributor in the last half of 2005 was Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton of Mineral Wells, who gave $100,000. Perry also got $10,000 from the Wal-Mart PAC.

Perry received $50,000 from the Texas Dental Association's political action committee and $50,000 each from two investment groups, ACC Capital Holdings of Austin and Big City Capital of Dallas. Big City Capital has tried to promote legalized slot machines in Texas.

The governor also received $50,000 from John Speer of Houston, CEO of Royce Builders, a home building company; $35,000 from James Pitcock Jr. of Houston, chairman and CEO of Williams Brothers Construction Co.; and $30,000 from another Houston businessman, Tilman Fertitta, founder of the Landry's Restaurant chain.

The political action committee of SBC Communications, since renamed AT&T, gave Perry $25,000. The company won a major victory last summer with legislative approval and Perry's signature on a new law paving the way for phone companies to offer cable TV-like services.

Perry also received $25,000 from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, which has successfully lobbied in Austin for restrictions on civil lawsuits supported by the governor.

Investor George Hixon of San Antonio gave Perry $45,000, and Charles Butt of San Antonio, president of the H-E-B chain, gave $25,000.

Perry and Strayhorn are getting huge money from very wealthy individuals and organizational/corporate interests. Thus, while they both have more money, it comes from a limited pool of people and special interests. Friedman, on the other hand, has collected his money from everybody else. Friedman's latest campaign finance report is not yet available online, but his report covering the period from July 20-August 19, 2005, is online. That report shows 614 contributors. The report shows one $10,000 , one $5000, two $1500, seven $1000, two $500, and one $300 contributions. That means that the other 600 contributions were all below $300. Most of them were $100. AND they all came from individuals--no big corporations, no special interests. Compare those facts to the Perry and Strayhorn campaigns.

Like I said, Friedman is connecting with Texas voters. Will that continue? Will Kinky continue to raise significant money?

Stay tuned, and if you live in Texas, check out Friedman's campaign and get involved.

UPDATE (1-24-06): Kinky's campaign finance report for the last half of 2005 is now available online. I will provide more info after reviewing it.