The irreverant Kinky

Sunday Telegraph:

Kinky Friedman, irreverant country singer, satirist and self-proclaimed "equal opportunities offender", was his usual ebullient self as he bounded on to the stage at the latest stop in his remarkable campaign to become governor of Texas.

"You know the definition of politics?" the former frontman of the Texas Jewboys band asked a packed audience at the Flying Saucer bar in San Antonio. "Well, 'poli' means more than one and 'tics' are bloodsucking parasites!"

The crowd roared as Friedman, in his trademark black cowboy hat and vest, ever-present unlit Montecristo cigar in one hand and glass of Guinness in the other, attacked the "failed two-party system" of his Democrat and Republican rivals.

But Friedman's independent campaign has proved no joke. The latest opinion poll gave him his highest rating yet — 23 per cent, level with Democrat Chris Bell and making ground on Republican incumbent Rick Perry on 35 per cent.

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Despite a racism row over a 26-year-old tape of him using the word "nigger" during a comedy routine, Friedman appeared relaxed. "I offend everyone," said the man whose best-known musical hit, They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus No More, took satirical swipes at just about every group.

"I have always used humour as a weapon to attack bigotry. I don't pretend bigotry doesn't exist. I'm a realist, not a racist. I've campaigned against racism for years but this is the price you pay for taking on the entrenched interests of the two-party system. Somebody organised this hit job pretty well, but they only attack you when you're carrying the ball, and we're carrying the ball."

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There is more including Willie Nelson as head of his proposed Texas Energy Commission. Friedman adds, "musicians could do a much better job of running this state than politicians. We wouldn't get much done in the morning but boy we'd work hard late at night." Willie is big on bio fuels and probably considers hemp as a pretty good one.