KINKY

The electorate has spoken, and the electorate says DUH.



Hakeem06, your post proves that you are part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. Congratulations.

 

how is that?

i'm an independent voter. i will vote for anyone who can make this country or state BETTER. if you think this assclown, with no political experience, who treats this race like a joke, can make texas BETTER, fine. i don't think you are living in reality. the guy isn't taking this serious, he may love texas and all and hate the job that rick perry has done but that applies to a lot people in the state. i'm all for a third party or option. we need that. but we need a third party or option who CARES. what good is it to vote for someone who doesn't really care or know how to fix our problems? that is the definition of wasting a vote.

 

Treats the race like a joke? Did you read his website? His ideas and stands on the issues make Perry and Strayhorn look like the jokes they are.

Your posts prove that you obviously haven't read any of Kinky's campaign material, stances on issues, or ideas for Texas' future. Try educating yourself, then come back so we can have a discussion. Voting for the status quo, that can't even find a way to finance public education in the state, is truly wasting a vote in the Texas Governors race.

 

i read the stuff on his website. one page of political message, that is the same that you here from all other politicians. republicans, democrats, independents, tell you the same problems about texas. i could have told you the same stuff kinky said. our education is awful, our teachers are underpaid, healthcare is bad. he talks about how much money is being spent on campaigns, and that the office only pays $100,000. there is more than one reason for the mass spending on campaigns. the decisions that the governor and other politicians make affects business practices and bottom lines, duh. that's why they spend the money, because they need the money from the companies backing their party. if parties don't look for the donations from these corporations, their parties die. it's a neccessary evil to run a party. it may suck, but to change it would take not one man running for governor, it would take a MASS change in the system. i would like to see parties stopping dealing with some of the people they work with as well.

overall, what i got from his site and from him is that he is just saying what is wrong with texas but not providing any REAL solutions about what he would do. I can do that. and so do a lot of mainstream politicians, hell that's pretty much what all of them do. tell you what is wrong, tell you they are the guy to fix it, get into office and not know what the hell to do to actually fix it, or don't really care about fixing it. what makes him any different from the other politicians running? other than he has NO political experience or goverment/political science education to really show that he has the knowledge and know how to change what is going on.

his site gives me the impression he is more interested in selling you crap like a talking doll or a tshirt than really telling you how he is going to make texas better. i want to know HOW, and see that you have experience in helping make texas POLITICS work better for texans. i know he has some noble charities and causes and that is admirable, but so do a lot of other people. that doesn't mean he is the right guy to lead the state.

 

I disagree. Did you read his ideas for education reform? Did you read his ideas on alternative energy? The gov of Texas has little real power. The parts Kinky does talk about make a lot of sense. He might also be funny, and has a fresh approach that doesn't give the office any reverence it dosn't deserve. In addition the fact that he isn't a career politician subject to their corruption, and stale ways of thinking, is a plus at this point.

Kinky isn't going all out, raising money, hiring a staff, etc. because he doesn't care.

I guess that some people have trouble understanding that people can still make jokes, and use humor while taking something seriously.

 

Just so everyone knows, Kinky is not any more of an independent than Strayhorn is. They are both Republicans.

The governor's race will be three Republicans versus one Democrat (Gammage) or three Republicans versus one Republican-Lite (Bell).

Kinky is probably the most progressive Republican running and I might have voted for him before Strayhorn and Gammage got in the race, but he is still a Republican. All one needs to do is look at who most of his friends are and where the money for his campaign is coming from.

If you want to vote for him because you think it will be funny, by all means don't let me stop you. But you should know that you will be voting for a Republican.

 

first off, take any texas politics class and you will realize how little power the office of the governor has in the state of texas. the governor of texas has less power than any other governor in the US. pretty much everything runs through the texas house of reps. actually, the Lieutenant Governor has more power than the governor because he is the head of the house. that's why the Lt. Governor races are always so important in texas.

there is nothing wrong with being funny. i've met george w. bush a handful of times when he was governor and he's a very funny, intriguing guy. i have nothing wrong with people in politics being funny or having good personalities. but you have to know when to get serious and know how to use that. maybe kinky knows how to do that, but still that's not that important when it comes down to decision making.

i have nothing wrong with having a new approach to doing things, because it is apparant that the old way isn't working in certain situations. but you have to know the particulars and have experience in the old way, to devise a new way that works.


and here is what i found from kinky on education reform:

Education

Texas has the second-largest population of any state in the country and two of the ten largest cities. That's an awfully big cart to pull with the horsepower we're currently giving our kids in Texas schools. An educated workforce and top-notch schools are essential to keeping our state attractive to new business, but we're failing the test.

* Texas has the 8th largest economy in the world, but we're 1st in drop-out rates and 49th in education spending in the country.
* Teachers' salaries in Texas are over $6,000 below the national average. This lack of respect for the people who do our state's most important job must stop. As governor, Kinky will work to make sure that teachers are paid what they're worth. Period.
* The TAKS test and its predecessor, TAAS, were invented essentially to make legislators look good on education. But studies show that rigid enforcement of standardized test scores doesn't help kids learn or make teachers more effective. Teach to the test and kids will learn the test—but not much else.
---------

where is there anything specific? there isn't.

politicians have said they are going to pay teachers more for years now but haven't. how is he going to get the house to do it?

a lot schools do teach just the takks material but how exactly are you going to make sure students get a proper education? what are YOU going to do? he doesn't say.

we can all say what kinky is saying. i'm going to vote for someone who is GOING to do something about it. and has a PLAN for it. otherwise, it's just someone saying the same thing i can say.

 

since when does willie nelson count as a republican, he is one of kinky's closest friends.... also for being a republican, kinky sure is harsh on the strongest republican at the moment, george bush.

and for being a republican, and being for gay marriage?

 

Perhaps it is because I have heard Kinky speak in person and on various radio/tv news shows that I know he has more of a plan than that. He talked about getting rid of the various appointees that deal with education and replacing them with teachers or former teachers. His rule is that if you haven't been in the classroom recently you won't get a position overseeing anything to do with education. He pointed out now that many of the appointments are political ones, and have little to do with the people actually knowing what takes place in a class room. He also talked about pay raises for teachers which is another specific.

He mentioned getting rid of or reducing standardized testing, which is exactly what he should do.

He then went on to talk about alternative fuels and how clean burning engines that don't need gasoline to run, can protect the environment people etc.

I actually can't even vote in Texas, since I live in LA. But I still consider Texas my home. I still follow the sports teams, politics, and I even went to Kinky's fundraiser, donated some additional money, and bought a t-shirt all to help him win. They guy has different ideas, and he does have ideas. He can be funny but is every bit as serious as the position requires someone to be. That is kind of the point.

I mentioned in my first post that the gov. had little power. I am not sure why you were trying to argue with me about that.

 

Things that are un-Republican about Kinky.

1. Give teachers pay raises.

2. Get rid of standardized testing for the schools.

3. Run school buses and public transportation on engines that can burn clean burning chicken grease rather than gasoline in order to protect the environment.

4. Spend more money on education.

5. Is in favor of gay marriage

If more Republicans were in favor of these things I would vote for more Republicans.

Because he shares some positions with some Republicans doesn't make him a Republican. I honestly don't think he is beholden to any political party, and is about as independent as they come. He has friends on both sides of the aisle, has met with both Clinton and Bush, etc.

 

Link?

I've met Kinky a couple of times, although he wouldn't know me from Adam. The guy is a riot, sure, but he's smart as a tack, very well read, and certainly, in my opinion, more qualified to be Governor than Bush was. He has my vote, unless someone else clearly has a very good chance to defeat the Perry.

I'm going to edit this... just realized we're not in D&D!

 

I think there are many Republicans who are for the things FranchiseBlade listed, but it sure seems like too few of them run for office (or the primary system weeds them out).

I think the biggest difference between Kinky Friedman's campaign and that of Jesse Ventura is that Texas requires a run-off if no candidate gets over 50% of the vote.

I just don't think a candidate like Friedman will do as well in a run-off, but that's just my opinion.

 

sorry i just read that wrong.

but having not heard him in person i didn't know those specifics. so it is in his best interest to put those on his website and get rid of some of the other crap. because it appears to someone like me who hasn't heard him speak in person, because he hasn't come to san marcos, that he really isn't doing anything any different. especially with his lack of political credentials and experience he has to be a lot more specific on everything because he has no history of voting on legislation that people can look at and see where he really stands. if he were a bit more serious he would realize that and get on top of things like this. that is something that he should know. if he wants people to see him as serious, he can't be haucking a talking doll and not have specifics on where he stands. he looks like an assclown.

 

an important side note:

he will never get elected governor being for gay marriage in texas. maybe austin mayor, but not STATE governor. regardless of where i stand on gay marriage, it was OBVIOUS in the polls that an overwhelming majority of texas isn't for gay marriage.

 

That was before Brokeback Mountain. Now they are all gay.

 

I don't know if you can ever discount a politician's chances overall based on a single issue (especially one that the politician in question can't do anything about).

As voters, we often look at the totality of the candidate and vote accordingly. It's a rare politician who agrees with every issue of every voter who votes for him/her, especially at the statewide level. Just like Homer can vote for Sideshow Bob because of his Selma-killing policy even though he's against his Bart-killing policy, voters prioritize their issues and can and do look past those issues in which the candidate disagrees.

Sure, there will be a percentage who would never vote for someone who is pro-gay marriage no matter what. But I don't think that includes the totality of people who are against gay marriage in general.

If that makes any sense at all.

 

i would agree with you, if gay marriage wasn't such a hot button issue. face it. there are A LOT of people who went out to the polls STRICTLY to turn that down. those same people will KNOW where kinky stands on it, and go out and go vote against him.

 

what i dont understand about his political stance is why does he keep touting that he is for gay marriage. there was already a law in place, and now its in the state constitution, seems pretty pointless to keep this as one of his talking points.

 

exactly. he looks dumb on this. he's only costing himself potential voters.