Friedman, running for governor as an unaffiliated candidate, tries to shake up Texas politics

Kinky Friedman: “Frankly, I think the gay and lesbian community is tired of slaving on the Democratic Party plantation.”

Kinky Friedman likes to quip that he supports same-sex marriage because he believes gay men and lesbians have the right to be as miserable as everyone else and that's not just a joke.

The musician turned-mystery-novelist who is now running as an independent candidate for governor said in an interview this week he truly believes members of the GLBT community should enjoy the same rights as straight people.

"I support gay marriage," said Friedman, who said he was raised in a Jewish family where there was no tolerance for racism or other types of discrimination.

"Not only do I support it, it's the right thing to do and the Christian thing to do," he said.

Friedman said he suspects he will be the only candidate for Texas governor who will send that message to the state's gay and lesbian community. The political parties will tell the other candidates what they can and cannot support, and that won't be gay marriage, he said.

Friedman said he suspects Governor Rick Perry's intolerance of same-sex marriage is more a reflection of Perry's political aspirations than his personal beliefs.

"I think Rick Perry is probably a nice guy," Friedman said. "If he decided personally that he wanted to support gay marriage it would be suicide for him politically."

And although some Democrats have said they support civil unions, they have hedged on gay marriage. Both institutions are illegal in Texas since the passage of Proposition 2 last November.

Governor Rick Perry’s re-election campaign has raised more money than Kinky Friedman’s independent bid for the governor’s seat.

"If I see nothing wrong with gay marriage and support it, and I see nothing wrong with nondenominational prayer in school which I don't with either of those things then I'm the only candidate you will ever talk to who can advocate both positions and say there is nothing wrong with them."

So Friedman is telling it like he sees it from one end of the state to the other, and he claims he has gotten the attention of quite a few loyal Democrats and some Republicans too.

Part of that message is that he believes gay men and lesbians are weary of the Democratic Party's promises.

"Frankly, I think the gay and lesbian community is tired of slaving on the Democratic Party plantation," Friedman said. "They just never do a damn thing."

Charles Armstrong, a gay Houston nightclub owner, said he recently met Friedman at a party hosted by socialite Carolyn Farb. He was impressed but wondered if Friedman could win as an independent. He called it an "uphill hurdle."

"It was a very interesting night," Armstrong said. "I think he is like a genuine Texan, the epitome of what we know about Texas and our own freedoms and liberty that says government has no business in anyone's bedroom. He conveys that."

Armstrong said he is undecided as to whether he will support Democrat Chris Bell, of Houston, or Friedman.

Without support from a political party, most people would probably conclude that Friedman hasn't a prayer of a chance to become Texas' next governor. But campaign finance reports filed this week showed Friedman's political quest is being taken seriously in some quarters.

Friedman raised more than three times as much campaign money as the two top Democratic candidates combined. He raised $1.5 million, compared to a total of $422,000 for Democratic Party candidates Chris Bell and Bob Gammage.

But even though he has leapt ahead of the Democrats in fundraising, he lags far behind incumbent Governor Rick Perry, who has raised $4.6 million and State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, another independent candidate, who has raised $2.4 million. What's more, Perry and Strayhorn, a Republican who chose the independent route in an attempt to outmaneuver Perry, have combined campaign war chests of almost $20 million. Friedman's cash reserves amount to only $271,000.

Despite those numbers, Friedman remains optimistic he will obtain the almost 50,000 signatures he needs to get on the November ballot.
This is a man who is used to success. He made a name for himself in the 1970s traveling around the country with a country and western band called Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys.

They titillated audiences with songs like "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore" and "Asshole from El Paso."

The band broke up in the 1980s, and Friedman began writing mystery novels that featured himself as a detective in New York. He wrote 17 mysteries over two decades before deciding to run for governor.
The way Friedman sees it, many Texans are tired of corruption in government, and they want nothing to do with either Perry or Strayhorn because they associate them with it.

Political observers are predicting a huge turnout for the November election, like the one seen when Ann Richards was elected governor.

"If that happens, Perry is gone," Friedman said.

"He needs a low turnout to save him, and he's not going to get it. The people who have not voted in a long time are not going to be voting for Perry or Strayhorn. And the Democrats just can't get any traction. Right now, I think we are poised perfectly."

Friedman said he is counting on the help of the GLBT community to put him in the governor's mansion. Members of the community are signing on as volunteers to gather signatures for his petition, he said.

"They're kind of like school teachers," Friedman said. "They're a group that shows up and is responsive. We strike a chord with them."

Friedman said he has gay relatives, and that he has always had gay friends and employees.

"I've always felt it was cool," Friedman said.

As the operator of a rescue operation for stray animals, Friedman said he has come to realize gay men and lesbians made the best candidates for animal adoption.

"That's something I noticed since we started it seven years ago," Friedman said. "I don't know whether that's because many of them don't have kids, and animals are their kids. Maybe that's possible."

Friedman acknowledged if he is elected governor there is little that could be done about gay marriage because of the passage of Proposition 2. He said the focus should be on making sure gay men and lesbians continue to be able to adopt children and be foster parents and securing rights regarding medical decisions, visitation and inheritance.

Better funding of education, mental and health and retardation services, children's health insurance and AIDS services would also be on the agenda, he said.

On the Web: www.KinkyFriedman.com

E-mail webb@dallasvoice.com


This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition of January 20, 2006.