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Kinky Friedman to Run for Texas Governor?

The cosmic cowboy may ride the campaign trail again

by
Adam Chandler
August 09, 2012

“Wash your hands and say your prayers because germs and Jesus are everywhere.”

This isn’t a direct Kinky Friedman quote, but it is one aphorism he likes to pull out of his ten-gallon hat before performing one of his better known songs like “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore” and “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in Bed.” (For those fretting, the former song ends with Friedman beating up a white supremacist in a bar, the latter…well.)

Another staple in Friedman’s repertoire is his very public pursuit of the governor’s seat in Austin, Texas. Word out of the Lone Star State is that Kinky–country singer, crime novelist, humorist, and Jew–is considering another gubernatorial run in 2014. Friedman ran as recently as 2010, bowing out early to pursue the Democratic nomination for Texas Agriculture Commissioner (and almost losing).

In hindsight, Friedman did have a strong finish in 2006, when he ran as an independent and garnered 12% of the vote. (His campaign fizzled late and those 500,000+ votes might have otherwise defeated a weak Governor Rick Perry had they gone elsewhere, but never let the facts get in the way of a good story.)

During that 2006 campaign Friedman used timeless campaign slogans: “How Hard Could It Be?,” “Why The Hell Not?,” “My Governor is a Jewish Cowboy,” and “He ain’t Kinky, he’s my Governor.” He ran on a platform of higher teacher pay, the decriminalization of marijuana, the abolishment of the death penalty, and a general “dewussification of Texas.”

According to the article, this time, Friedman would try against Governor Rick Perry as a Democrat, noting from his 2010 campaign that “God probably couldn’t have won as an independent in Texas.” Word is that Friedman is brushing up on his Churchill and would pursue more substantive policy positions this time around.

“Perry has created a state that’s first in business climate and 49th in education. What’s wrong with that picture?” Friedman said, adding later, “Most of us realize the real comedian is already in the Governor’s Mansion.”

Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.