# Kinky Friedman for Governor **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 23, 2006, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinky-friedman-for-governor/341241 "2006-01-23T13:34:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinky-friedman-for-governor/341241/41 "2006-01-27T16:54:51Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > I hope you’re right, **bdgr** , I really do. But I’ve seen many times where people are all agog over some third-party candidate, where it sounds like there is popular support, but then the actual election comes and you wonder what the hell happened. Well, like I said, anything is possible. Kinky could have a Ross Perot kind of meltdown. Hell, he may not even be able to get enough signatures in the short time the state allows. You just never know. Ah well. Meet back here in November? [/QUOTE] Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinky-friedman-for-governor/341241/42 "2006-01-27T17:12:08Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > How about Republicans taking on a controversial illegal immigration measure? Something similar to California Prop 187 in Texas? More controversial than [Friedman’s?](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,150482,00.html) > [@](#): > > O’REILLY: All right. Now we just had a discussion on the border and the chaotic immigration. And you’re in Texas, you’re the governor, what do you do about the border? > > FRIEDMAN: Well, my plan is to bring back like the Bracero Program (search) from 1944 that ran for 20 years where the Mexican government vets these people. I mean, they pay for it, and they get green cards, and they’re actually legitimate. And then seal the border. > > O’REILLY: Do you trust the Mexicans to do that? > > FRIEDMAN: Well, we – it would probably have – it would be both sides, 679 miles-- fair to both sides. Definitely I would seal the border by bringing in the – I think you’re basically right about that. > > O’REILLY: The National Guard. > > FRIEDMAN: Bring in the National Guard, the Texas Rangers (search), the entire Polish Army, whatever it takes. > > O’REILLY: Well, you could – as Governor Friedman, you can call the Guard out and you can put the Guard right behind the federal Border Patrol. Arnold Schwarzenegger could do that tomorrow if he so desired. > > FRIEDMAN: And I want them to help. I mean, good fences… > > O’REILLY: Absolutely. That’s what they’re there for. > > FRIEDMAN: …Good fences make good neighbors, and, Mr. Fox, help us build that fence. > > O’REILLY: Well, don’t count on help from Mr. Fox because he’s getting so much money from this illegal immigration back there. > > FRIEDMAN: That’s true. > > O’REILLY: That’s the scam. And don’t count on the Mexican government vetting anybody because you can buy anything in Mexico, as you know, including a Green Card. All right, but you’ve got half of a good idea there, all right. And it was spiritual. I like that That was a while back. Now his plan has [changed somewhat](http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=54&Itemid=27): > [@](#): > > That was Kinky in a rare serious mood. More typical is his solution to illegal immigration. Calling it the “Five Mexican Generals” plan, he said he would divide the Texas border into five sections and appoint a Mexican general to be in charge of each section. > > Friedman said he would give each general $1 million to start with and reduce that sum by $5,000 each time an illegal immigrant crossed the border. “It’s cowboy logic,” he told the audience of about 200 people. “It’s common sense.” ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinky-friedman-for-governor/341241/43 "2006-01-27T21:56:48Z")
Kinky is an amusing novelty act, but he seems more interested in having fun than winning. Strayhorn’s entry into the race really dimished his appeal as a protest. Now Strayhorn will play to the dissatisfied GOP voters. Her candidacy may even hurt his chances of getting on the ballot. Both have to get 50,000 signatures of registered voters of people who did not vote in a party primary between March and (I think…July?) It usually requires getting 4 or 5 times that many to make sure you qualify (a lot of unregistered voters, primary voters, or Mickey Mouses sign). I am unsure whether they can have the same names on their petition (I read about that, but I am drawing a blank). Also working against an insurgent candidate are Texas voter registration laws. Ventura soared ahead in the polls late by convincing a bunch of disgruntled citizens to use Minnesota’s last minute voter registration. Texas requires you register 30 days before an election. That would mean Kinky would have to motivate the unmotivated TWICE. It just doesn’t happen in politics (why anyone in this country with a driver’s license is unregistered to vote is beyond me!). Perry is weak, but his popularity recovered considerably during Katrina and Rita. I like his crack down on tort lawyers, but other than that I was really hoping Hutchison was going to take him on. For me, it is either Perry or Kinky. Strayhorn and Bell/Gammage get too much money from mass tort attorneys to get my support. Perry rubs me the wrong way with his inability to fix public education and his over the top intolerance of gays, so I may throw a symbolic protest vote at ole’ Kinky. I think there is an outside shot Strayhorn (who is the mother of WH Spokesman Scott McClellan) could play spoiler, but that would only allow the Democratic Candidate to win (I predict it will be former Congressman Chris Bell). The DEMS have a pretty solid 40%. Maybe a little more by 2006. If Strayhorn can siphon off enough votes from Perry (she’s been a successful state official), that 40% may be enough. But for now my prediction: Perry- 43 Bell- 41 Strayhorn- 10 Kinky- 5 Other- 1 A plurality carries the day in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinky-friedman-for-governor/341241/44 "2006-01-27T22:51:00Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > But for now my prediction: > > Perry- 43 > Bell- 41 > Strayhorn- 10 > Kinky- 5 > Other- 1 > > A plurality carries the day in Texas. Again, the polls showed back a few months Perry\* (R) 42% Bell (D) 27% Friedman (I) 21% and that was just polling voters who voted last time…what, 27% of the total I dont think either Perry or Bell will be able to pick up enough of the previous undecided voters to make your scenario realistic. I do think Kinky can pick up a lot of those undecided voters, and I don’t see him losing any of the ones he already has. Reminds me of the Freak Power party when Hunter Thompson almost picked up Sherrif In aspen because nobody thought he could come close. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinky-friedman-for-governor/341241/45 "2006-01-28T01:50:40Z")
Any poll without Strayhorn as an Independent is unreliable. I think a good portion of those Kinky voters will jump to Strayhorn. Strayhorn is a main stream candidate. Kinky is the frontman for the “Texas Jewboys.” She’ll get the Lionshare of the “somebody else” vote. Also, Bell will get a larger number of the votes once he (or Gammage) wins the DEM nomination. The problem with early polls is that they are basically name recognition. For the same reason the polls currently show Rudy Guiliani as the GOP 2008 Frontrunner. No one outside the Houston area knows who Chris Bell is. Even a likely DEM voter may be hesitant to say they are voting for Bell when they’ve never heard of him. With a few variables, my prediction even follows logically from that early poll. Perry stays about the same, the DEM picks up an extra 10-12% once the people know who he is. They are simply undecided because they asked the question, “Who the heck is Chris Bell?” But in the end, they’ll be there. That 40% is pretty stable for a DEM candidate. 42% voted against the most popular Governor in a generation in 1998. I don’t think Kinky bleeds off too many likely DEM voters. Texas may be red, but there is a loyal yellow dog following. Usually at least 40%. Maybe more this time because I think there will be a big push by the DEMs to take Texas. Strayhorn may act as a Perot to Perry’s Bush. Then, I think a good portion of Kinky’s support in that poll falls to Strayhorn. So I think that puts the numbers about where I predict. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinky-friedman-for-governor/341241/46 "2006-02-02T07:22:31Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > Any poll without Strayhorn as an Independent is unreliable. I think a good portion of those Kinky voters will jump to Strayhorn. . Sorry, I didn’t get to this sooner. Here is the polll with Strayhorn instead of perry…from the same cite I provided earlier. Notice that friedmans votes did NOT go to Strayhorn. Keeton Strayhorn (R) 39% Bell (D) 23% Friedman (I) 22% [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kinky-friedman-for-governor/341241.md?page=2)