Texas is an extremely Republican dominated state. Clever Gerrymandering by Tom Delay helped secure the Republican majority.

State Senate = 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats
State House = 88 Republicans and 52 Democrats

For an in depth look at this interesting, yet disturbing piece of Texas political history, visit:
http://uspolitics.about.com/b/a/120250.htm

There is only one candidate announced so far for the '06 Race for Governor.

His name is Kinky Freidman. His website is: http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/

His Party:



My questions to debate:

What are his chances?

What would it mean if he won?

Would you vote for him, why or why not?

What are his chances?

Judging by his website...just about 0%.

With a catchy campaign slogan of "Why the Hell Not?", you have to wonder what the guy stands for.

His issues: http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/about.html



What would it mean if he won?

This spoof seems akin to the Jerry Springer run for the Ohio Senate seat. I doubt this guy is even serious.



Would you vote for him, why or why not?

I doubt it, since I'm not from Texas (and have only been through there once).

A cigar smoker!!. I'm already for him. I wonder if that is a domestic or Cuban cigar he's smoking.




If the democrat in the race wasn't worth a darn, I would definitely consider it. I have never hesitated casting my ballot for third party candidates of various stripes if I thought they were better than the candidate my party put forward.

As a Texan, I'll wager that there is a pretty heavy anti-incumbant mood. Republicans control everything, and people are starting to get the point. Lots of people are anti-incumbant right now in Texas. They just haven't had a viable alternative. Kinky has been a well knowqn Texas figure for years. His column in Texas Monthly is widely read. His books are great, mostly funny.
I think he has a pretty good chance.



Because he wants to make sure we aren't putting to death innocent people? What's problematic about that?



Brilliant. Lots of gamblers in Texas. Education funding is a major problem. Our neighbors, LA, OK have legal casinos. Makes perfect sense to me!
He's got my vote, in fact, I've volunteered to be a campaign volunteer!

I cannot, in good conscience, NOT vote for Kinky. Maybe I'll sign up to be an Honorary Texas Jewboy (or whatever his campaign volunteers will be called).

But he won't win.

What are his chances?

ZERO - he knows they're zero. I would rather have no choice than a half-serious candidate.

What would it mean if he won?

The Sky is Falling? I dunno...the theory of relativity is a farce?

Would you vote for him, why or why not?

Of course I would not throw away my vote legitimizing his "funny" contrarianism - Give me a Legitimate Candidate for me to back if I want to "Protest"

Antny, Third Party advocate extraordinaire, I Love your theory since I'm an independent. Your principles are akin to mine in this political area BUT before you have THREE parties, you must FIRST have TWO and Texas has no viable Democratic Party at the present time. First, establish two REAL choices and then you can tweak off that success.

You're missing the true story here.

One, Kinky IS seriously running. He turned back a secure income from Texas Monthly to do this, and he's a whole lot smarter than people give him credit. We're talking a Plan II graduate of the University of Texas (them's smart folk) and former Peace Corps member. I'll even forgive him for the badly written mystery novels.

Two, he appeals to a broad constituency. I know far-righters who say they'll vote for him as well as super libs.

Three, Kay Bailey dropped out. That's means an inept and unpopular incumbent (who is also a semi-outed gay man) will face a nasty opponent in the GOP primary. The winner will be battered and slime-covered. The Dem candidate will be underfunded and ignored. Prime time for an independent candidate.

Four, Kinky wears a cowboy hat and talks in catch phrases. You think that doesn't play well to small-town Texas? He could walk into an VFW or SPJST hall in the state and own the place. All he has to do is break into a chorus of "get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed."

I'd say at this point -- if he can get on the ballot, which is not an easy task for an independent in Texas -- the stars are alligned for him to win. The deciding factor will be if some political campaign pros realize his potential and ride his horse to victory.

Kinky Friedman, especially in the Austin area, is a bit of a hero. His first fame was from The Texas Jewboys, a band with which he was the frontman, lamenting the condition of the Jewish Cowboy in Texas. For many years after he has been a writer and philanthropist, with columns appearing regularly in the Texas Monthly. Most of his writing is famous for its sardonic honesty and surprising intellect. Around here, anyone who knows his writing and career well will likely vote for him.

He is especially refreshing amongst the raging incompetence of Texas's current leadership. With a stale, one-party state of Republicans who have failed to finance schools (for three years it has been their priority issue), failed to remedy outrageous property tax, and failed to secure health care for thousands of Texas children, yet have managed to gerrymander the entire state, give themselves generous pay raises, and, most importantly of all, ban various scholastic dance programs, any (and as dangerous as that word is, I still dare to use it) ANY alternative is better for the state of Texas than the status quo.

(I know that most of these problems are legislative, but more than ever the governor is simply a lapdog for the interests of congress.)


What are his chances?

I'd like to say good, but the Republican majority is strong and deep here. Then again, with a 25% voting rate, there are untapped votes abounding.

What would it mean if he won?

Texas would at least have change. He is a smart and honest man, and although these characteristics do not always add up to a good leader (ie Carter) they are infinitely superior to greed and corruption. It would also mean the impossible of an independent having any say or do in Texas.

Would you vote for him, why or why not?

Yes, age permitting. His independence and wits would be a panacea for many Texas concerns.

Check this link for more on the seriousness of Kinky's campaign and the interesting news that the guys behind Jesse Ventura's campaign have signed on to help him!


http://www.dallasobserver.com/Issues/curre.../feature_7.html

Drat, you beat me to it! Very good article. To sum it up....think Jesse Ventura with more political skill. I think he has a very good chance to shake things up...but its very hard for any independent candidate to win anything. But don't think of this as a farce...the article, in fact, discusses that this was the concern of all those who have signed up to help his campaign, and all of them have become converts. I think he'll run as the ultimate outsider, and at a time when being an outsider is probably a very good thing.



This is exactly how he's going to capture votes...just being himself seems to get people to identify with him.

Amlord...the article also talks about how, while his 'stump speech' is full of one-liner's, they all hit home with voter's and identify problems and solutions. Plus, don't discount the ability for one liner's to create rallying cry's for his supporters....much easier explained than detailed policy positions. Consider his campaign slogan: "Why the he(ck) not?". Think that won't resonate with a lot of Texans? Plus...how do you contradict that? I mean, really, why the he(ck) not?