Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Say hello to Kinky Friedman. And to the guy offering Kinky his shoulder.
Kinky and company were walking around the River District Studio Stroll. I didn’t catch the guy’s name, just that he is the owner of At Play With Sparky, a big dog kennel and grooming shop in Ashvegas. So here’s the story – Kinky Friedman the parrot is the namesake of Kinky Friedman the musician-turned-independent candidate running for governor in Texas. The parrot and its owners campaign for the candidate, and recently traveled to Texas.
The colorful campaign in Texas is getting some attention. Here’s what Wikipedia says about the political life of Kinky:
“In 2004, Friedman began a serious, though colorful, campaign to become the Governor of Texas in 2006. One of his stated goals is the “dewussification” of Texas. Among his campaign slogans are “How Hard Could It Be?” and “Why The Hell Not?” Other bumper stickers concur: “My Governor is a Jewish Cowboy”, and “He aint Kinky, he’s my Governor”. He hopes to follow in the footsteps of other entertainers-turned-governors, including Jesse Ventura, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Ronald Reagan. When the campaign finance reports came out after the second quarter had ended, Friedman shockingly outraised the Democratic nominee, former Congressman Chris Bell.
On education, he supports higher pay for teachers and work to lower Texas’s highest-of-the-nation dropout rate. He also supports more investment in harnessing Texas’s alternative fuel resources such as wind and biodiesel. On social issues he has supported gay marriage, answering an Associated Press reporter’s question on the subject on Feb. 3, 2005, he remarked “I support gay marriage. I believe they have a right to be as miserable as the rest of us”.
On the death penalty, he previously summed up his position, “I am not anti-death penalty, but I’m damn sure anti-the-wrong-guy-getting-executed”. However, more recently he has said that he has changed his position, “The system is not perfect. Until it’s perfect, let’s do away with the death penalty”.
On May 11, 2006, Friedman submitted his petition to get on the November ballot, with 169,574 signatures to support his candidacy. In response to a question of how he got the signatures, Friedman replied, “Thank God for bars and dance halls”.
For more: kinkyfrieman.com
