Can Kinky Friedman Be Elected Governor of Texas?

He started out tongue-in-cheek, though rarely has his tongue been in check. Nonetheless, Kinky Friedman, the country musician and writer, who calls himself "the Jewish Cowboy" and bears a passing resemblance to the late Western film star, Richard Boone, isn't just going away in his independent run for governor of Texas.

The Daily Times notes:

The national Rasmussen Reports July 24 poll gave [incumbent Republican Governor Rick] Perry a lead among voters with 40 percent of the vote. [Republican State Comptroller Carole Keeton] Strayhorn [also running as an independent] received 20 percent and Friedman 19 percent. While Perry’s percentage has been static since February, Friedman has gained 10 percent and Strayhorn dropped 11 percent. [Democratic nominee Chris] Bell scored 13 percent in both polls.

Like such facile--and successful--gubernatorial candidates as Ronald Reagan in California and Jesse Ventura in Minnesota, Friedman is an effective and seasoned communicator--the author of more than twenty books and composer of many songs--who knows the value of well-crafted phrases. A sampling of Friedmanisms:

• “I think money doesn’t vote, people do."
• “My mind is alert to terrorism, of course. In Texas, particularly, we need to be alert to the situation. Imagine what would happen if Rick Perry has to get on an airplane without his hair gel.”
• “The other three candidates seem to have humor bypasses. If you’re a politically correct person, you should vote for one of them. You have to be politically correct to be a politician, and the three of them are. Me, I’m a compassionate redneck.”
• “As you know, I’m 61 years old, which is too young for Medicare and too old for women to care.”
• “But I care about Texas and I want to fix what’s wrong with it. We are probably the richest state in the country, but we got potholes in the roads, we can’t pay our teachers, we can’t provide health insurance for our kids and they’re trying to sell off the state parks!”
• “We can make Texas number one in renewable fuels — which is a helluva lot better than being number one in executions, toll roads, property taxes and dropouts!”
• Noting that in 2002, a scant 29% of the electorate came out for the election, Friedman asserts, “Last time, they spent $ 100 million just to drive 71 percent of us away from the polls. This time, that 71 percent is coming roarin’ back--with pitchforks!--to throw the moneychangers out of the temple!”

None of it adds up to a political program, of course. But few pols seem to have anything resembling a program these days, so it probably doesn't matter.

Besides, Friedman has something else going for him that's very similar to Reagan.

Ronald Reagan's breezy optimism disarmed his Dem opponents accustomed to running against conservatives whose politics was characterized by seething rage. Conservatives were angry at government institutions they deemed bloated, bureaucratic, intrusive, incompetent, and too inclined to play nice with the Soviet Bloc.

Reagan was every bit as angry as Barry Goldwater, the 1964 Republican presidential standard bearer who got clobbered by Lyndon Johnson. But Reagan was a sunny fellow who could deliver scathing words with a non-threatening smile. A succession of Republican and Democratic opponents in primaries and general elections--including Pat Brown, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, and Walter Mondale--never knew what hit them after they'd tangled with the smiling Reagan.

Friedman has apparently established himself as something of a folk hero in Texas. (At least that's how the current President Bush sees him.) As a musician and author, he's won lots of people over as fans with his humor and good-natured persona. It's that persona that's likely to allow him to deliver his stinging indictments of Republican and Democratic business-as-usual without scaring anyone off or being seen as a regular pol, even if he doesn't seem to have a complete platform.

Friedman's independent run may be coming at an auspicious time for him. His articulated mood corresponds precisely with that of people all across the country: People are angry...at all pols, especially incumbents, Republicans and Democrats. They're angry with government. And we saw in last week's Connecticut primary the power of anger to bring people to the polls, especially people who haven't voted for awhile. Pleasant, intelligent candidates who articulate their anger in a non-threatening, yet memorable ways have a heightened ability to garner big support in 2006.

I don't know if Kinky Friedman can win the Texas governorship. But his candidacy will make this year's election there one of the most interesting races in what promises to be a very interesting political year.

[See here and here.]