October
20, 2006
Kinky Surging Toward
Governor?
By Jack D. McNamara
“Texas
loves a maverick,” said an El Paso Community College instructor in an
El Paso Times (online) article proclaiming, “Friedman No. 2 in polls as
election day nears,” published October 16.
We might be a bit premature in accustoming ourselves to the “Governor
Kinkster” form of address; however, Friedman has the permanent pols
worried. He is polling with the better-known professional pols and more
shocking yet he is receiving campaign contributions competitive with
everyone (Comptroller Carole Strayhorn, Democrat Chris Bell) except
incumbent Governor Rick Perry.
The truly surprising thing in the Texas race is that Perry is still in
the low 30s in some polls. Strayhorn, Bell and Friedman follow in the
teens or twenties. The race, unlike that for U.S. representative, is
winner-take-all. In other words it is easy to see how any of the
candidates could win with a narrow margin over the other three leading
candidates. A fifth candidate Libertarian James Werner will draw a
small percentage of the vote.
A candidate with only 25% of the vote could possibly win. While that is
exciting it is highly unlikely. Incumbent Governor Rick Perry, who has
a huge lead in money, will probably bury them all before November 7.
But it is fun to speculate — “the year Kinky won.”
This possibility has occurred to others, notably Democrat Chris Bell.
Last week Bell publicly floated the proposal that Friedman should drop
out of the race and support Bell saying now is the time to “unite” for
“change.”
Friedman said, “We don’t negotiate with terrorists.”
That was the news on October 11. The following day the Dallas Morning
New headlined, “Dems Have Kinky in the Cross Hairs” and described a
“blitz” by Bell’s followers to depict Friedman (a Jew) as “racist.”
The evidence is Friedman’s use of the “N-word” in comedy routines 25
years ago.
This exercise in political idiocy was followed by the Texas NAACP
uninviting Friedman to speak at their state convention October 14.
Referring to Friedman, their president, Gary Bledsoe, a former employee
of the Texas Attorney General’s office, said that Friedman “insulted
and offended an entire community and refused to apologize.”
Governor Perry did not attend. Bell and Strayhorn did.
While the “racist” controversy was raging, Bell received a $1 million
contribution from a Houston lawyer. Bell’s platform calls for a $5,000
contribution limit.
Over among the well-heeled Republicans, Comptroller candidate Susan
Combs unleashed a $3.2 million advertising campaign. Her Democratic
opponent, Fred Head, has no money but says he is getting attention for
criticizing Combs for authorship years ago of a steamy romance novel he
calls “pornography.”
Texas Democrats are inept.
For the unknown Democratic candidate Bell to ask the quirky but
well-known Kinkster to drop out and support the Dem is absurd. Friedman
is running against the awful politics of a state which produces such an
unrelieved crop of political mediocrities and Texas Republican
reactionaries.
This is a clear sign that Texas Democrats, like the Whigs, are nearing
extinction. They have bored us to death. The charge that a
flame-throwing comic, country-Western band leader of “Kinky Friedman
and the Texas Jewboys,” chess player, novelist and songwriter, is a
“racist” for words used in comedy routines years ago is, frankly comic
itself. A party with no sense of humor has no wits — literally.
Fortunately for the Dems, we have a worse choice in the Republicans. On
October 5 the Dallas Morning News reported a poll which shows that 75%
of Texans do not believe they will get the property tax cut which is
the majority Republicans major political claim in this election
(“Texans faith in politics meager,” by Christy Hoppe).
Two thirds of Texans want someone else other than the incumbent
governor in the job.
Here at home the Marfa City Council strives to get a quorum. The Alpine
City Council is finding resistance in another giveaway to the city’s
privatized trash-haulers and landfill operator, Duncan Disposal.
Duncan’s contract has expired and a new proposed contract has brought
out citizens to challenge the deal being offered. Rumble, rumble.
Over at the Southwest Texas Municipal Gas Company the board actually
approved a budget which included repairs to the gas lines rather than
boodle to the city halls in Alpine and Marfa. Alpine’s Mayor Mickey
Clouse, accompanied by her faithful companion Linda Bailey Potter,
immediately shrieked “violation of the TOMA (Texas Open Meetings Act)”
which is the standard for politics in the city limits here. Every time
Mayor Clouse loses a vote she tries to indict the winner. The last time
our mayor went into a snit hissy we ended up in federal court.
And of course that is the major question we are waiting to be answered.
Judge Robert Junell has the case and will presumably soon issue his
decision as to whether or not the TOMA is unconstitutional.
It is certainly unconstitutional in the applications here, in my
opinion. But I want to see what Judge Junell will say. In the meantime,
however, we should be thankful there is one functioning brain with a
sense of humor in the governor’s race this year. •
(Also
published by the Big Bend Sentinel of Marfa, Texas October 19, 2006.)
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