Kinky tells all about his Texas run for governor



Why did he run, a costly and exhausting undertaking for any candidate but even more so for an Independent? And why write about a loss? Mr. Friedman says, "With bad legislation and a pathetic lack of good leadership, Texas will always find herself following, never leading the American parade. That's one reason I wrote this book; another is, I need the bucks. Hey, Jewish cowboy speaks the truth. And the truth is, I love Texas and I hate what the politicians are doing to her." Author, Musician, and candidate for Governor of Texas, Kinky Friedman served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malaysia in the 1960's.

Kinky tells all about his Texas run for governor

Kinky tells all about his Texas run for governor

John Greenya
November 18, 2007

YOU CAN LEAD A POLITICIAN TO WATER, BUT YOU CAN'T MAKE HIM THINK: TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR TEXAS POLITICS

By Kinky Friedman

Simon & Schuster, $25, 127 pages

REVIEWED BY JOHN GREENYA

Whenever Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman does anything even slightly unusual, it ends up as a song or a book or a part of his act. So when he ran for governor of Texas in 2006, you had to know that pretty soon you'd be reading about it or hearing him sing about it, or both. The book is out, so I guess the song can't be far behind. Even if it's half as good as this book, it'll be a hit, because the book is very good, simultaneously hilarious and sobering, if that's possible, and with Kinky Friedman anything is always possible.

Whether on the stage or the page, Mr. Friedman has been making people laugh and then pause to think, in the grand tradition of the classic American humorists, since he came on the national scene in the 1970s as leader of the rudely-named band Kinky Friedman and His Texas Jewboys. As he would later do with his books, Mr. Friedman got a laugh with just the titles of his songs, such as "Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed" and "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore."

In this, his 34th book, Mr. Friedman chronicles his not-completely-Quixotic quest to become governor of his beloved adopted Lone Star State. He opens with the bad news: "Well, folks, it was fun being the governor in-waiting. By this writing, however, the votes have been cast and counted and the race has been run and I am still not the governor. I gave Texas my telephone number and she never got back to me. I admit to being a little disappointed but I'm not down-hearted. Remember, the crowd picked Barabas."

Why did he run, a costly and exhausting undertaking for any candidate but even more so for an Independent? And why write about a loss? Mr. Friedman says, "With bad legislation and a pathetic lack of good leadership, Texas will always find herself following, never leading the American parade. That's one reason I wrote this book; another is, I need the bucks. Hey, Jewish cowboy speaks the truth. And the truth is, I love Texas and I hate what the politicians are doing to her."

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: November, 2007; RPCV Kinky Friedman (Malaysia); Figures; Peace Corps Malaysia; Directory of Malaysia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Malaysia RPCVs; Writing - Malaysia; Humor; Texas

When this story was posted in December 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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