The Future Governor of Texas

Many Texans know that the Texas governor has limited powers compared to the governors of other states, partly because he or she has to share executive power with several other elected officials. However, the current governor, Rick Perry, put himself right in the middle of the Texas redistricting fiasco by calling special sessions of the legislature to push through the new congressional district map and vetoed more pieces of legislation in one session than any previous Texas governor. He also helped cut taxes by spending nothing on anything, making Texas one of the stingiest, if not the the stingiest state in the country. The governor before Rick Perry became President of the Country. I think, therefore, that this is a race worth paying attention to, even if you're not from Texas.

Media outlets have recently been making a big fuss over Kinky Friedman, an independent candidate whose facebook support group is entitled "He's Not Kinky, He's my Governor." I, like many other young people, became interested in Kinky's flaunting of the Red-Blue divide (he is for prayer in schools as well Gay Marriage--he says that Gay people have the right to be 'as miserable as the rest of us'). I joined Kinky's facebook group and read interviews about him and the 'issues' section of his website, kinkyfriedman.com. His appeal is immediately recognizable: a) he is not a politician, b) he is politically incorrect (very, very much so), c) he likes animals, d) he seems pretty intelligent (he was in Plan II honors at UT-Austin as an undergrad, he writes novels and had a column in Texas Monthly), e) he wants to make Willie Nelson, Texas legend and champion of Biodiesel Fuels, his energy czar--seriously, f) he has made raising teachers' salaries one of his top priorities.

I have a few concerns, however. First of all, in an interview with Ruminator Magazine he stated that he's a fan of Bush's foreign policy:

Well, actually, I agree with most of his political positions overseas, his foreign policy. On domestic issues, I’m more in line with the Democrats. I basically think he played a poor hand well after September 11. What he’s been doing in the Near East and in the Middle East, he’s handling that well, I think.

He likes what Bush has done overseas? That's just messed up. Second of all, his political incorrectness is kind out of out of control. I understand that this makes him popular. But might it also make him a kind of a nutjob? Judge for yourself. Here are a few quotes, not from jokes or books, but from interviews (or defended in interviews) after he stated he was running for governor:

If you don't love Jesus, go to hell
My immigration policy is 'Remember the Alamo'
'Negro' is a charming word.
[regarding Sexual Predators]: Throw them in prison and throw away the key. And make them listen to a Negro talking to himself.

Well no one's accusing him of being too PC, but some of that seems a little...intense. Regarding the immigration policy quote, he once advocated having five Mexican generals patrol the Mexican border by giving them each a trust fund and deducting 5,000 dollars for each Mexican that gets across. Creative yes, but seems kind of out there. He was serious. I think he's backed off of that approach now and his official immigration stance seems pretty in line with Bush's, and includes Amnesty for many illegal immigrants already in the country as well as a guest worker program. This policy is really different from the very tough stance he promised to take early on in the campaign, which brings me to another point: How are we supposed to know what Kinky is actually thinking? He says something crazy and then his campaign staff tones it down or changes it altogether for his official policy. I guess it's a sign he's learning the political ropes and getting caught up in the game.

Anyway, for those of you who think that all of this is moot because Kinky doesn't stand a chance, check out these latest polls:

Rick Perry (R): 34.8 %
Chris Bell (D): 23.1
Kinky Friedman: 22.7
Carole Keeton Strayhorn: 9.6

Considering that the non-Perry vote is split THREE ways, Neither Bell, the democrat from Houston, nor Kinky are doing too badly. And there's a lot of time left. The practical problem with Kinky taking down Perry right now is that many of the people who aren't on his side yet are actually against him winning. He's the kind of guy you either love or hate. Bell has an advantage because many of the people who aren't on his side just don't know who he is yet. Bell's voting record is really liberal...I bet democrats for Kinky are going to start looking at Bell more closely soon, and if that happens, a democrat could end up governing Texas this year. Methinks that would be even weirder than Kinky winning!

Perhaps not weirder than Chris Bell's creepy ad, however.