Kinky turns in signatures to get on Texas ballot

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Musician and mystery writer Kinky Friedman, brandishing his trademark cigar and spouting one-liners, turned in petitions with nearly 170,000 signatures on Thursday in his bid to run for governor of Texas as an independent candidate.

The 169,574 signatures were more than 3 1/2 times the number needed to get Friedman's name on the ballot in November but they still must be verified, state officials said.

Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams has said it will take several weeks to make sure at least 45,540 of the signatures, or the minimum number needed to get on the ballot, come from qualified voters.


Friedman campaign manager Dean Barkley, who ran former wrestler Jesse Ventura's successful independent campaign for Minnesota governor in 1998, said the Friedman camp already had independently verified the signatures so no problems were expected.

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His positions on controversial issues cross philosophical lines to include support for school prayer but also support for gay marriage. "Why shouldn't they be as miserable as the rest of us?" he jokes about the gay marriage issue.

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http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=peopleNews&storyID=2006-05-11T193659Z_01_N11281121_RTRIDST_0_PEOPLE-KINKY-DC.XML&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2

:eyes:

Kinky has run as a republican and voted for Bush, and he will take votes away from our candidate because he is misrepresenting himself. NO DEMOCRATS should support this lying, ignorant fool's run for governor. We have a DEMOCRAT on the ballot. Don't support a damned republican!

This Kinky crap on DU .... it just floors me. I thought people here were smarter than that.

forum... He is running as an independent, and this is news...

Just cause someone posts an article, it does not reflect that persons views....

It floors me that people like you make these condescending remarks...

Hence, he/she is SUPPORTING Kinky, hence he/she is supporting a REPUBLICAN against a Democrat. I don't fault you for posting the article, but I fault ANYONE who claims to be a Democrat for supporting a Republican against our own.

Would that be people like us who are Democrats on a Democratic board? People who believe that the purpose of this board is to support Democratic candidates and not republicans? Kinky has only voted once in 12 years and that was for bush jr. And the one time he ran for office it was as a republican. Don't let his new found "independent" label fool you.

Maybe you need to become more informed on Kinky's views before you go promoting him on this board
http://stopkinky.blogspot.com/

Sonia

Since when did posting an article, constitute promoting... Does nobody want to be informed of the Gubernatorial race? To be informed, you need to know who all is running, and what their status is... I don't support Kinky and I should not have to say it on this board.. Nor should I have to defend myself against posting an article that I thought would be informative....

I post an article about a hit and run, but that does not mean I support it.. come on.. I should not have to state anything!!!

true Democrats fighting the good fight in Texas, will continue to oppose the points of view of DUers who support Kinky for Governor. We are working hard to take Texas back and Kinky undermines our efforts.

As sonias and Lisa mentioned, Kinky is a Republican running as an independent.

I never said I supported Kinky and I think it is a crying shame I have to defend myself... I am posting a news piece, thats it... I don't remember the rules saying that I can't do this???

HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT? I AM VOTING FOR CHRIS BELL..


This is fucking ridiculous....:wtf:

Coming from you WestHoustonDem, I am saddeded, I thought you knew me as a west houston dem as well...

who clearly is happy Kinky will be on the ballot, it was not aimed at you. Your response to her appeared to be in defense of Dragonbreathp9d's position.

Just to be clear, I have no objection to your posting the article. I do have an objection to Dragonbreathp9d's "Yes! Go Kinky" reply and your apparent defense of that.

I'm glad you're voting for Chris Bell. I'm sorry if you thought I was jumping in because the article was posted. That was not my intent.

have to stick together... I appreciate your taking the time to explain it to me and hope our friendship will grow...:hug: Thanks again...:hi:

:pals: West Houston Democrats have got to stick together. I'm glad we're on the same page again.

I though you were defending Dragonbreathp9d's post promoting Kinky.

Sonia

I totally had the wrong impression.. We need to keep on top of what is happening in Texas... Thanks for posting and letting me know...:hi:

His political past is checkered. And he's opposed some Republican policies. I like Kinky--as a performer, a writer & a weirdo.

However, I'm a Democrat. I will be voting for Chris Bell--Democratic candidate for governor.

He voted republican, he voted for George Bush, and he RAN as a republican. How the hell else do you get to BE a republican other than RUNNING as one?

Too many Democrats are misguided on Kinky, and need realize the facts, like the first reponder to this topic. NO DEM should be HAPPY about Kinky being on the ballot. It's Dems like them that make it hard to live in Texas!

And supporting republican candidates against Democratic candidates on the Democratic board is against the rules. Oh and we do have one. Chris Bell is our Democratic nominee for Governor in Texas.

May I suggest you become more familiar with the views of the republican idiot you claim to support
http://stopkinky.blogspot.com/

Sonia

And it has given us Texas Democrats a chance to speak out.

Edited to add: But the message you are answering IS a Kinky endorsement....

and I will vote for him.. This is a news story...

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

how 'bout a point-by-point discussion of this post below:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1166885&mesg_id=1167319

are those things you think are good democratic ideals?

because it is in a crisis and he will do much to help it. Plus, John Kerry is not pro-choice but he believes in a women's right to choose. Do you honestly think, they way texas is, that a democrat can be elected as gov.? I like Chris Bell, I am friends with the Denton Democratic Chair Mr. Gossett who has met with him. I agree with Bell and would support him, if he had a chance in hell.

But not with people like you supporting a REPUBLICAN againast a Democrat!

Believing in a woman's right to choose IS pro-choice!

What about his support of Bush's policies? Do you want Texas to have a governor who will support more wars or stand up and speak out against them?

Do you want prayer in schools so the fundies can take over even more in this state?

then for our teachers to have to struggle because they dont have enough copies for the year or other such stuff that is going on. Our school district is very poor and yet they just built a 28 million dollar football stadium for our football teams. Kinky is against such things. He is also pro-gay-marriage which is another huge concern of mine. He is not a republican. There are things ont agree with of his, but at this point I'm willing to make some concessions in order to improve our schools.

Between prayer in school and wanting to pimp school sports to big business, Kinky doesn't impress me on the issue at all. Do you really think it's wise to put corporations in charge of any part of our schools?

And I happen to think with the movement towards theocracy in this country, that the issue of prayer in schools is HUGE. Regardless of what kids like to say, they are heavily influenced by what they see and do day in and day out at school, and turing the schools into religuiously affiliated entities is NOT in the best interest of freedom in this country.

I think your concessions are selling-out your party... if you call yourself a Dem in the first place.

Pie in the sky pollyana. Get real.
Bush has a better chance of getting reelected than kinky.

But stand by your man, and let Perry win. Look how great he has done for our state anyway.

Then go to the party with the Nader folks from 2000. Look how well that worked.

I wish people would think with their damn heads for once.

Even though he doesn't have much of a chance.

if so many dems hadn't bought into the kinky nonsense and signed the petition! :mad:

If it ended up a three way race with 4names, Perry, and Bell, it would have been possible. But if Kinky's sigs get verified, he pulls too many dems away. We're doomed to another Perry term, unless 4names gains ground.

If only that idiot Kinky never made it to the ballot and distracted uneducated voters with his "fake fresh air". Let's take politicians out of politics, they've had their chance he says. Well I say you celebrity fake politicians got 3 chances too, and you screwed them all up. Reagan, Ventura and Schwarzenegger. Three strikes you're out. You bozos are no better than the miserable failures the republicans are.

If Kinky had stayed out of the race, Bell would win. Very good analysis by political consultants had Bell winning with about 35% in a 3 way race. MoFo Perry and 34b3p split the republican vote.

F/U to Kinky and all his supporters.

Sonia

In a four-way race, anything can happen. If you want another four years of Rick Scary, go ahead and split the opposition. :banghead:

Since when is a clown qualified to run a state? While you're at it, why don't you get Carrot Top for senator, Ronald McDonald for mayor, and Bozo for Lt. Gov.?

He's a CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN, folks. Recognize.

Keep it in mind.

That's all we need to know. He's also been seen palling around with Democrats.

Sonia

But I wasn't planning on voting for him anyway.

Kinky and George are good friends. That's certainly newsworthy in the land of politics.

There's truth in the saying "birds of a feather flock together".

Kinky is a lot like G.W. they're both idiots whose policies are destructive to say the least. The country has gone down the "celebrity" path before with Ventura, Schwarzenegger and Reagan. None of those were pretty. Do we need to keep repeating the same mistakes? Let's stop glorifying these celebrities and pretending they know how to govern. They don't. Texas is enough of a mess as it is. We don't need Kinky screwing it up more.

Sonia

Keep up the good work and getting the truth out Sonia.

We have 2 Independent Candidates that are well-known plus our Democratic Candidate Chris Bell and the Republican Candidate Rick Perry.... This is going to be an interesting race to say the least and I was trying to keep everyone informed of the events, but apparently some posters say I should not post this... I am still wondering why????

by dragonbreath. I know you were just posting an article, but he/she was posting SUPPORT for Kinky, who is running AGAINST an ACTUAL Democrat.

try to tell that to the other posters who have put me in that category....

I'm not in Texas, but I think it will be an interesting race also. It also has to do with the country as a whole and you were right in posting the article. Kinky is an interesting candidate too. I personally think he is a bad choice all around, but he is still better than Perry.

Wake up Texas on those machines and get some lawsuits on your dockets.

http://stopkinky.blogspot.com/


Here are ten reasons not to sign Kinky's petition (or to vote in the runoff to nullify your signature if you have signed the petition):

1. Kinky's own website quotes Kinky telling the New York Times, "I'm not pro-choice." Elsewhere on Kinky's website he simultaneously claims to believe in a woman's right to choose (apparently, Kinky's also believes he can have his cake and eat it, too).

2. At a recent death penalty trial, Kinky testified under oath that although "he used to support the death penalty, Friedman told jurors he's now against it." Yet Kinky's website also says "Kinky is not anti-death-penalty."

3. Kinky gave an interview to Susannah McNeely of Ruminator magazine where Kinky said "I voted for Gore" in 2000: "I was conflicted ... but I was not for Bush that time. Since then, though, we’ve become friends. And that’s what’s changed things.... I agree with most of his (Bush)political positions overseas, his foreign policy.... What he’s been doing in the Near East and in the Middle East, he’s handling that well, I think." Yet that's clearly a lie because according to Kerr County voting records, Friedman voted in the 2004 presidential general election but not in any other contest since 1994.

4. Kinky wants to take money generated from sales tax and other state revenue sources and give that money away only to Texas property owning corporations and people with those owning the most valuable property getting the biggest windfall (Live in an apartment? Tough! Do you live in a modest house? Too bad!).

5. On a November 8, 2005, Kinky appeared on a nationally televised CNBC news program, where he was asked about his views on criminal punishment. Kinky replied, "Throw 'em in prison and throw away the key, and make 'em listen to a Negro talking to himself." When asked whether his use of the word "Negro" was racist, Kinky replied "no ... it's a charming word."

6. Kinky would address Texas' public education funding crisis by letting "the corporate sector bid on funding athletics." (What exactly does Kinky think the corporations will be getting from our children in exchange for their high bids?)

7. Kinky proposes to deal with immigration issues by building a wall along the Texas-Mexico border and by outsource our border security to five Mexican generals who we'd pay based on how successfully their armed thugs kept immigrants from crossing our border.

8. Kinky supports school prayer and posting the Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms (no word on whether Kinky has decided to post the Hebrew, Catholic, or Protestant version of the "Ten Commandments").

9. Kinky hasn't even gotten on the ballot yet, and he's already made plans to offer top political appointments to his biggest campaign contributors.

10. Kinky's candidacy is aimed a drawing votes from young independant voters who do not know where he stands on many issues, and yet Kinky has run for office before (as a Republican, not an independant), the only time Kinky said he voted for a Democrat in the past decade it turned out that Kinky lied and he actually didn't vote but when Kinky said he voted for Bush/Cheney in 2004 that proved to be the truth, Kinky has numerous Perry-supporting Republicans financially backing his petition drive, and if Kinky can draw off any significant number of independant votes, his candidacy will have the nearly certain effect of guaranteeing the re-election of arch-villain Rick Perry.

I just can't imagine anyone who is for it being referred to as a "progressive".

But I have to say I love Kinky's soundbytes, and, Republican-aider or no, he brings up a few real issues. Having him in a statewide televised debate may be juat what we need. a) People can see he's not hefty enough, intellectually, to be elected (oh, wait, we elected W, twice... hrmm...), and that he doens't have any viable ideas whatsoever (Willie Nelson in his cabinet?!), and b) he will bring up some things that make the other candidates, especially Goodhair and Fournames, very very uncomfortable. On TV. Speechless like Bill Kristol.

On a light note, did you hear what he said when they asked him about why Fournames got 223,000 signatures to his 170,000?

"Well of course she has more signatures; she's got all ex-husbands on there.

:rofl:

I forsee a summer of non-stop Kinky on the entertainment-obsessed local news, the same tired jokes over and over. By October, people will be ready to turn their sights on who is seriously ready to run the state and choose Chris Bell.

It seems as if my state is trying to out weird California's choice for Governor. x(

Independent/bipartisan citizens should be counting those signatures.

Roger Williams the Texas Secretary of State is validating each signature on both petitions supposedly. Strayhorn recently lost her lawsuit to force a statistical sampling of the signatures. It's estimated that the validation process is going to take 5-6 weeks. Hence the lawsuit by c4n3p. She wanted to get rolling on campaigning and collecting money. Williams a former used car salesman and fundraiser for the Texas GOP is a lap dog for Perry. He not only owes his job to Perry (appointed position), he wants those sweet lobby breaks and personal enrichment deals, all former state appointees get. Count on him to go through those signatures really hard. If they had only gotten 50-75K I'd say they both might have been in trouble. But with 4 to 5 times the amount they need (45K each), I'm sure they'll both make the ballot in November.

Sonia

Voting Right to have a public accounting and tabulation of all votes.

Come to think of it, we should be demanding that in every county in the US.