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Kinky Friedman

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Kinky Friedman contemplates a question from the audience at a campaign rally in Bastrop, Texas

Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman (born October 31, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas Monthly. He is one of two independent candidates in the 2006 election for the office of Governor of Texas. If successful, Friedman would be the first independent candidate elected to the post since Sam Houston in 1859, as well as the first Jewish governor of Texas.

During the month of October 2006, Friedman has been polled in second, third, and fourth place with varying degrees of support in the five candidate match-up. When questioned about the outcome of these scientific polls, Friedman points to non-scientific polls such as informal website and radio polls where he is often favored and discredits the scientific polls which exclude the non-likely voters which his campaign relies on.

Personal life

Being product of a centaur and a fire breathing goat, Friedman moved with his family to a ranch in central Texas during his childhood. He had a keen interest in both music and chess at an early age. Friedman was chosen when he was 7 to be one of 50 local chess players to challenge U.S. grand master Samuel Reshevsky to simultaneous matches in Houston. While Reshevsky won all 50 matches, Friedman was by far the youngest competitor.

Friedman graduated from Austin High School in Austin, Texas in 1962 and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology while participating in the Plan II Honors program. He is also a member of the Tau Delta Phi fraternity. It was during his freshman year at the university that Chinga Chavin gave Friedman the nickname "Kinky," in reference to Friedman's curly hair.[1]

Friedman then served two years with the Peace Corps in Borneo with John Gross.[2] He has been featured in the news including 60 Minutes on CBS and made an appearance as one of Jay Leno's guests.

Friedman lives at Echo Hill Ranch, his family's summer camp near Kerrville, Texas. He also founded Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, the mission of which is to care for stray, abused and aging animals; more than 1,000 dogs have been saved from euthanasia.

Music career

Friedman formed his first band, King Arthur & the Carrots while a student at the University of Texas. The band - which poked fun at surf music - recorded only one single in 1966 (Schwinn 24/Beach Party Boo Boo).

By 1971 Friedman had formed his second band, Kinky Friedman and The Texas Jewboys. In keeping with the band's satirical nature, each member had a comical name: in addition to Kinky there was Little Jewford, Big Nig, Panama Red, Rainbow Colours and Snakebite Jacobs. Friedman's father objected to the name of the band, calling it a "negative, hostile, peculiar thing"[3], which gave Kinky even more reason to choose the name.

Arriving on the wave of country rock following on from Gram Parsons, The Band, and the Eagles, Friedman originally found cult fame as a country and western singer. His break came in 1973 thanks to Commander Cody, who contacted Vanguard Music on his behalf.

His repertoire mixed social commentary ("We Reserve The Right To Refuse Service To You") and maudlin ballads ("Western Union Wire") with raucous humor (such as "Get Your Biscuits In The Oven and Your Buns In Bed"). His "Ride'em Jewboy" was an extended tribute to the victims of the Holocaust.

He confronted racism and anti-Semitism head-on in the song, "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore," a song in which the fictitious Kinky verbally and physically beats up a drunken white racist who berates African Americans, Jews, Greeks, and Sigma Nu's in a bar.

Sample lyrics:

"Oh, they ain't makin' Jews like Jesus anymore,
 They ain't makin' carpenters that know what nails are for"

Other Friedman tunes include "The Ballad of Charles Whitman," in which Friedman lampooned Whitman's sniper attack from the University of Texas tower on August 1, 1966. His song "Asshole from El Paso", a parody of Merle Haggard's "Okie from Muskogee" is, perhaps, his most famous song.

In the spring of 1976 he joined Bob Dylan on the second leg of the Rolling Thunder Revue tour.

Friedman was a musical guest on Saturday Night Live in October 1976.

It has been reported by Mr. Friedman himself that he is the only artist known to have taped an unaired episode of Austin City Limits.[4]. He has also claimed to have been the first full-blooded Jew to take the stage at the Grand Ole Opry.

Discography

  • Sold American (1973)
  • Kinky Friedman (1974)
  • Lasso From El Paso (1976)
  • Live From The Lone Star Cafe (1982)
  • Under the Double Ego (1983)
  • Old Testaments and New Revelations (1992)
  • From One Good American To Another (1995)
  • Classic Snatches from Europe (2000)
  • Mayhem Aforethought (2005)
  • They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore (2005)

Writing career

After his music career stalled in the 1980s, Friedman found a new lease on life as a detective novelist. His books have similarities to his music, featuring a fictionalized version of himself solving crimes in New York City and dispensing jokes, wisdom, Texan charm and Jameson's whiskey in equal measure. They are written in a straightforward style which owes a debt to Raymond Chandler. To date, he has only written one novel that did not star the Kinky Friedman character, Kill Two Birds and Get Stoned.

Friedman has also written a regular column for the magazine Texas Monthly since April 2001, although it has been suspended during his run for governor of Texas; his last essay appeared in the March 2005 issue[5]

Two books have been published collecting some of these non-fiction writings, as well as previously unpublished ones: 'Scuse Me While I Whip This Out and Texas Hold'em. He has also published a travelog (The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic) and an etiquette guide.

The recurring character "Rambam", a New York private investigator and friend of the Friedman character in the books, is based on the real-life investigator, Steven Rombom, who acts as a technical advisor for the real Friedman.[6]

Selected bibliography

Politics

See also: Texas gubernatorial election, 2006

In 1986, Friedman ran for Justice of the Peace in Kerrville, Texas, but lost the election.

In 2004, Friedman began a serious, though colorful, campaign to become the Governor of Texas in 2006. One of his stated goals is the "dewussification" of Texas[7]. Among his campaign slogans are "How Hard Could It Be?", "Why The Hell Not?", "My Governor is a Jewish Cowboy" and "He aint Kinky, he's my Governor"[8].

He hopes to follow in the footsteps of other entertainers-turned-governors, including Jimmie Davis, Jesse Ventura, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Ronald Reagan. When the campaign finance reports came out after the second quarter had ended, Friedman had raised more funds than the Democratic nominee, former Congressman Chris Bell.

File:Kinky SMU.JPG
Friedman speaking at Southern Methodist University in Dallas on October 5, 2006.

His campaign seems to be similar to the 1998 populist independent campaign of Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, perhaps because his campaign manager, Dean Barkley, was also Ventura's campaign manager.

Since he began campaigning, Friedman has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, Real Time with Bill Maher, Glenn Beck on Headline News, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

On May 11, 2006, Friedman submitted his petition to get on the November ballot, with 169,574 signatures to support his candidacy. In response to a question of how he got the signatures, Friedman replied, "Thank God for bars and dance halls"[9].

On June 22, 2006, Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams announced that both Friedman and independent gubernatorial opponent Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the current State Comptroller, had enough valid signatures to put their names on the ballot. 81% of Friedman's signatures were declared valid, for a total of 137,154. The Strayhorn campaign, by comparison, had only 49% of its signatures certified, dropping her initial 222,514 count to 108,512 -- over 28,000 fewer than Friedman. Both candidates, however, more than doubled the required 45,540 signatures (one percent of the total voters in the 2002 gubernatorial election). [10] [11]

On July 10, Williams ruled that Friedman would appear on the ballot as Richard "Kinky" Friedman, citing Friedman's longstanding use of "Kinky" in public. However, Williams denied Strayhorn's request to appear on the ballot as "Grandma" Strayhorn, suggesting that Strayhorn's "nickname" was merely a slogan used during her campaign for state comptroller. [12]

On October 10, gubernatorial rival Chris Bell called on Kinky to drop out of the race, and join him in defeating Rick Perry. Bell campaign aides said that Friedman had performed poorly in the only debate of the election, and that Friedman supporters have told Bell that they'll support him if he could persuade Kinky to step down. Friedman's camp, however, have said that Bell's camp is "desperate and scrambling." Kinky himself addressed the issue: "No. You're kidding ... for Chris Bell? What do you take me for?" [13]

Online campaign

His campaign for governor is displayed on his website. He addresses issues through animated clips (Kinkytoons) and blogs about his current speeches and campaigns. Kinky also has pages on MySpace [14] and Facebook [15].

Issues and positions

  • On education, he supports higher pay for teachers and working to lower Texas' dropout rate, which is the highest in the nation[16].
  • Kinky is opposed to the Trans-Texas Corridor since it relies on toll road construction. He feels that the TTC is a land grab of the ugliest kind, with land being taken from hard-working ranchers and farmers in little towns and villages all over Texas.[17]
  • On the death penalty, he previously summed up his position, "I am not anti-death penalty, but I'm damn sure anti-the-wrong-guy-getting-executed"[18]. More recently, he has clarified his position: "The system is not perfect. Until it's perfect, let's do away with the death penalty"[19].
  • The Five Mexican Generals plan: Under Friedman's plan, the border with Mexico would be divided into five sections with one Mexican general responsible for each section. A $1 million trust fund would be created and held in a bank for each general. “When I talk about the five Mexican generals, people think I’m joking but I’m dead serious,” Friedman said. “I will divide the border into five jurisdictions, assigning one Mexican general to each and providing a trust fund for that general. Every time a person crosses illegally, we subtract $5,000 from the trust fund.” Friedman's plan is intended not only to save money, but to place the responsibility of securing the border on the Mexican government rather than the U.S. government - by giving Mexican military leaders a monetary incentive [20]. However, in an interview with the Dallas Morning News on August 11, 2006, Friedman backed down from the plan and asserted the Mexican government's obligation to help fix the issue. [21]
  • According to his official Web site [22], Friedman's answer to the question "How does Kinky feel about abortion?" is "Kinky believes in a woman's right to choose." In person, however, he hedges his bet, saying "I'm not pro-life, and I'm not pro-choice. I'm pro-football." [23]
  • On social issues he has supported gay marriage, answering an Associated Press reporter's question on the subject on Feb. 3, 2005, "I support gay marriage. I believe they have a right to be as miserable as the rest of us"[18] (Friedman himself is not married).
  • According to Cigar Aficionado magazine, Friedman plans to roll back "any and all smoking bans" if elected. One of his favorite quotes comes from Mark Twain: "If smoking is not allowed in heaven, I shall not go." [24]
  • Friedman supports the decriminalization of marijuana, though he doesn't advocate making its sale legal. "I'm not talking about like Amsterdam," he's noted, "We've got to clear some of the room out of the prisons so we can put the bad guys in there, like the pedophiles and the politicians". [25]

Support for the campaign

Polls frequently show Friedman's support hovering around 15-20% statewide among likely voters, as of Summer of 2006 [26]. Since Friedman is openly courting unlikely voters, his actual level of support may vary widely from published polls.

Don Imus, the host of Imus in the Morning on radio and on MSNBC TV, has publicly (and frequently) announced his endorsement of Friedman for the governorship of Texas. Imus also made a prediction that Kinky Friedman would win the election.

In March 2006, entertainer Mojo Nixon announced his "un-retirement" as a performing musician to support the candidacy of Kinky Friedman. Previously, Nixon had retired as singer-songwriter to focus on his new career as a disc jockey for Sirius Satellite radio. To celebrate Kinky's campaign, Mojo re-wrote his hit single "Elvis is Everywhere" as "Kinky is Everywhere," which can currently be downloaded at the MojoNixon.com website.

Country singer Willie Nelson recorded a campaign radio spot to assist in the petition drive to get Friedman on the ballot. Kinky has also promised Willie a job in the State Capitol as the head of Kinky's proposed "Texas Energy Commission" due to Willie's promotion of biofuels.

Jack Cafferty mentioned on CNN that he supported Kinky.

Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC-TV's Scarborough Country, predicted that Joseph Lieberman would win the Connecticut elections as an independent and that Kinky Friedman would win the Texas Governor's election.

Friedman has also received overseas support by radio show in Melbourne, Australia "The Sunday Roast", on 94.1fm.

Former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, who made a successful run as a non-traditional independent candidate in 1998, campaigned with Friedman during September 2006. [27]

Syndicated gossip columnist Liz Smith wrote in a September 26 article [28] that the late Ann Richards, Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995, supported Kinky's bid for the office. After protests from Richards' family, as well as from Democratic candidate Chris Bell, Smith retracted her assertion -- but not before Friedman trumpeted the endorsement on his web site [29]. Responding to this incident, as well as to accusations of racism in the preceding days, Friedman said, "The unforeseen event is it is shoring up the support of every redneck in Texas. That's a lot of votes." [30]

Controversy

Friedman has been accused of making racially offensive remarks by his critics. In 2006, Friedman referred to some of the Hurricane Katrina evacuees as "crackheads and thugs" during a speech about Houston's rising crime.[31] Another allegation was brought to the public by the newspapers, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Houston Chronicle. They reported on an interview with Friedman that aired on the cable television network CNBC in 2005, which he was asked what to do with sexual predators. Friedman replied, "Throw them in prison and throw away the key and make them listen to a Negro talking to himself." In response to the criticism, Friedman's spokeswoman, Laura Stromberg said, "Texans who know anything about Kinky know that he's not a racist, and they're going to see through all of this political correctness very soon. This is what they've got? Bring it on. Texans can see right through."[32]

Campaign quips

  • On Carole Keeton Strayhorn's assertion that her fundraising lead makes it a "two person race" between her and incumbent Rick Perry: "I agree with her; it's between Carole and her ego." [33]
  • "Musicians can run this state better than politicians. We won't get a lot done in the mornings, but we'll work late and be honest." [34]
  • "I just want Texas to be number one in something other than executions, toll roads and property taxes." [34]
  • On the possibility of losing: "If I lose this race I will retire in a petulant snit," he said. "I'm not going to go out gracefully, I promise you." [34] Friedman later clarified his statement, saying "If Perry wins, I retire a petulant snit on a goat farm. If Bell wins, I move to France with Barbra Streisand. If Strayhorn wins, I blow my (expletive) head off." [35]
  • On his personal faith, he notes that he's a Jew, "but not a practicing Jew. There are those who say, 'If Kinky was a practicing Jew, he needs to practice a little more.'" [36]
  • On pandering to ethnic minorities: "I don't eat tamales on the barrio and then go to a black church and eat fried chicken and then go have a bagel with a Jew. I treat all people the same. If you ain't Texan, I ain't got time for you." [37]
  • Regarding education in Texas: "This system is really broken. No Child Left Behind has really failed and the only way to solve education is to leave one governor behind." [39]
  • Kinky's explanation about drinking a Miller Genuine Draft beer in a moving vehicle in Dallas, Texas on St. Patrick's day was "I admit to drinking it, but I did not swallow." Drinking an alcoholic beverage in a moving vehicle is illegal under Texas' open container law though Friedman was not cited by authorities. [40]

Trivia

  • Kinky Friedman is given brief praise in Joseph Heller's 1976 novel, Good as Gold, in which a governor (meant to satirize Lyndon B. Johnson), tells the main character, Bruce Gold: "Gold, I like you. You remind me a lot of this famous country singer from Texas I'm crazy about, a fellow calls himself Kinky Friedman, the Original Texas Jewboy. Kinky's smarter, but I like you more."

References

  1. ^ http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/050822fa_fact
  2. ^ http://www.kinkajourecords.com/kinkybio.htm
  3. ^ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/19/sunday/main788935_page2.shtml
  4. ^ http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2004-09-17/music_string_all.html
  5. ^ a b List of Friedman's articles and Hail to the Kinkster from Texas Monthly
  6. ^ CNN.com "Kinky Friedman inspiration gets busted" July 26, 2006
  7. ^ http://www.ccrayz.com/news/?id=7604
  8. ^ http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=81
  9. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060511/ap_on_el_gu/governor_kinky_1
  10. ^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/062306dntexcandidates.b0490395.html
  11. ^ http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/23govrace.html
  12. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/10/texasgovernor.nickname.ap/index.html CNN: "Kinky" but not "Grandma" to be on the Texas ballot
  13. ^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/101106dntexfriedman.26c35d7.html Dallas Morning News: Bell calls on Kinky to drop out
  14. ^ http://www.myspace.com/voteforkinky
  15. ^ http://utexas.facebook.com/profile.php?id=7960980
  16. ^ a b http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=28
  17. ^ http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/issues/faq.html
  18. ^ a b http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/08/19/sunday/main788935.shtml CBS News, Aug. 21, 2005: Kinky Friedman Turns To Politics Cite error: The named reference "cbsnews" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  19. ^ http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=local&id=3948211
  20. ^ http://www.kilgorenewsherald.com/news/2005/0717/Front_Page/002.html
  21. ^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/discusslive/viewpoints/stories/081106dnkinkychat.5dc3680.html
  22. ^ http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/issues/faq.html
  23. ^ http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/2005/10/friedman_draws_celebrity_suppo.html
  24. ^ a b http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/People_Profile/0,2540,218,00.html Cigar Aficionado, Lone Star Long Shot
  25. ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/4185618.html Friedman urges pot be decriminalized
  26. ^ http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewItem&itemID=11989
  27. ^ http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA092606.01B.Kinky.3069e76.html
  28. ^ http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/lifestyle/bal-to.liz26sep26,0,1471934.story?coll=bal-artslife-today Supporting Kinky Friedman's bid to become governor of Texas
  29. ^ http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/2006/09/liz_smith_kinky_was_ann_richar.html Liz Smith: Kinky Was Ann Richards’ Candidate
  30. ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4217362.html Kinky fan? yes; endorsement? no
  31. ^ Bustillo, Miguel. "Texas Race Both Colorful and a Little Kinky". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on September 29, 2006.
  32. ^ Associated Press. "Texas Gubernatorial Candidate Kinky Friedman Under Fire Over Remark". Retrieved on September 29, 2006.
  33. ^ http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/06/23govrace.html
  34. ^ a b c http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/2006/03/is_texas_ready_for_governor_ki.html
  35. ^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/110206dntexkinky.a9562b6.html Kinky punctuates birthday lunch with zingers - Dallas Morning News, Nov 1, 2006
  36. ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4176843.html Contrasting views emerge on the mix of faith, politics
  37. ^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/discusslive/viewpoints/stories/081106dnkinkychat.5dc3680.html The Dallas Morning News, Chat with the candidates: Kinky Friedman
  38. ^ http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/4173997.html Houston Chronicle, Sept 9, 2006: Friedman backtracks on his shot at hunting
  39. ^ http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?s=5627373
  40. ^ http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/2006/03/not_your_usual_blarney_but_the.html Not Your Usual Blarney: But then, Kinky isn't your usual politician - Dallas Morning News, March 19, 2006
  41. ^ http://www.joebobbriggs.com/drivein/1991/dialingfordingbats.htm Correspondence with fellow raconteur 'Joe Bob' Briggs
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