I just heard Ann Richards died. I just started a thread in hangout but figured I would mention this in a Texas Governor thread here. Rest in peace. You were a great governor and a hell of a Texan.
The Kinkster has come out in favor of the decriminalization of mar1juana. He already had my vote....will this sink his campaign or give it a boost? At least he speaks his mind! http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/4185618.html Friedman urges pot be decriminalized Candidate says more room in prison is needed for 'the pedophiles and the politicians' By JANET ELLIOTT and PEGGY FIKAC Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau AUSTIN - Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman called Wednesday for the decriminalization of mar1juana to avoid further clogging state prisons with nonviolent offenders. He also said he would favor a review of people already imprisoned on mar1juana charges to "rehab them, try to get them back into society." "We've got to clear some of the room out of the prisons so we can put the bad guys in there, like the pedophiles and the politicians," said Friedman, a humorist and author. Friedman said he doesn't yet have specifics on how decriminalization would work, including what amount of mar1juana a person could possess without being charged. He did say that he doesn't favor making mar1juana legally available for purchase. "I'm not talking about like Amsterdam," he said. "I agree with (U.S. Sen.) John McCain that we've lost the drug war," Friedman said. "Drugs are more available, they're cheaper. "It's clear to me, if you've lost the war on drugs then you've got to go some other direction. You can't keep banging your head against the wall." Crack 'a different deal' Friedman's comments on mar1juana came one week after he created a controversy in Houston when he said the musicians and artists who fled Hurricane Katrina had returned to New Orleans, but the "crackheads and thugs" remained. He later added that many evacuees who remain in Houston are good citizens. The candidate said Wednesday that crack "is a different deal" from mar1juana. "mar1juana is a very different situation. It's not like crack and (other) drugs that create violence," he said. Friedman discussed his prior cocaine use last week in an interview with the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News. He also has written extensively and talked freely about his cocaine use when he was a satirical musician during the 1970s and early 1980s. He said the deaths of two close friends spurred him to change his lifestyle, and he has not used illegal drugs since 1985, when he left New York to return to Texas and began writing detective novels. Calls himself a 'realist' Friedman added that though he knows most of the New Orleans evacuees are black, "crackheads come in all colors of the rainbow. So do racists." "I'm not a racist. I'm a realist," said Friedman, adding that he is the only gubernatorial candidate addressing the issue of crime in Houston. Political scientist Bruce Buchanan of the University of Texas at Austin said Friedman is "off the beaten path. There's no question about that. That's his whole schtick. "By traditional standards, we would all dismiss this out of hand," Buchanan said. But he said that "given the fluidity (of the governor's race) ... we have to wait awhile. The die has not yet been cast." Spokesmen for three of his opponents — incumbent Republican Rick Perry, Democrat Chris Bell and independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn — said they don't think mar1juana should be legalized. Libertarian candidate James Werner said he would "move toward the legalization of all drugs." Friedman also said he would like to put inmates to work outside the confines of prison. "Let them paint poor people's houses, fix up the state parks, things like that," he said. "It would be good for them and good for us."
I already posted in another thread. This will help sink Kinky and hopefully help Bell knock off Perry.
his poll numbers make george bush blush. which leads me to a more important point. why aren't there runoffs in general elections? should the governor of texas really be someone who gets 35% of the vote?
Just a reminder that the ONLY debate between the 4 top contenders for Governor of Texas takes place this Friday evening, October 6, at 7PM CST. It will be broadcast on Channel 11 here in Houston and if you want to get out, Star Pizza I and II will be hosting a Debate Watching Party. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/4228756.html Oct. 2, 2006, 1:35PM Debate date may be plus for governor By CLAY ROBISON Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle AUSTIN - Can the four major candidates for Texas governor debate each other for an hour on live television without being seen or heard? Probably not, but Belo Corp., sponsor of the only such gubernatorial showdown this fall, will test that possibility Friday night, both with its restrictive distribution rules and the time slot. Originating in Dallas, the debate will be carried live on the company's WFAA flagship; Belo affiliates in Houston (KHOU-Channel 11), San Antonio and Austin; Belo's Texas Cable News (TXCN) and will be streamed live on their Web sites. TV stations in smaller towns outside Belo markets can air the debate live, but most other TV outlets will be restricted to airing recorded segments later. Even without those limits, the 7-8 p.m. airtime is awful, at least from a public standpoint, although Gov. Rick Perry is doubtlessly delighted. Millions of Texans will be at high school football games, with the governor's race far from their minds. Even in Big D, which will be celebrating Texas-OU weekend, the real drama will not be over which candidate fires the zingiest one-liner but over how many revelers find their way back to their hotels without landing in the hospital or jail. The restrictions and distractions, however, make it the perfect setting for Perry to minimize potential injury while appearing on the same stage with three opponents. Libertarian James Werner wasn't invited, and neither was a studio audience. (Werner or the Libertarian Party may sue Belo to be included.) Televised debates usually represent more potential harm than benefit for an incumbent, and that is particularly true this year. If, as it appears, Perry is headed for re-election with less than half the vote — while Democrat Chris Bell and independents Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman trail in a pack — he has little to gain. He needs to deliver his well-rehearsed spiel, his pat answers to mostly predictable questions and avoid embarrassing misstatements that could haunt him later in headlines, TV news clips, replays on C-SPAN (which has a contract with Belo) or the Internet (where most of the debate audience may end up.) The Strayhorn and Bell camps blame the debate date on Perry's campaign. "I think they want as few people as possible to be watching," Strayhorn spokesman Mark Sanders said. Perry spokesman Robert Black wouldn't discuss the negotiations. WFAA station manager Mike Devlin said the distribution rules are Belo's but also declined to discuss any give and take over the debate time. "It was the only date we could get all candidates together," he said, likening the scheduling process to "herding cats." Bell probably has the most to win from a successful performance because he has been the overlooked candidate. Unlike Perry and Strayhorn, he hasn't been able to afford extensive advertising to deliver his message and, unlike Friedman, hasn't drawn attention to himself with outrageous remarks. The Bell campaign is the only one to admit scheduling rehearsals this week. State Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, endowed with "good hair" like Perry, will portray the governor for the Democratic nominee. A consortium that includes Texas Monthly magazine and KERA-TV, Dallas' public television station, proposed airing the debate this Thursday night. Their proposal was rejected in favor of Belo, and no one seems to know why. Or they aren't saying. "Somebody doesn't want somebody to see this debate," said Texas Monthly Editor Evan Smith, adding that it was "outrageous" for Belo to restrict distribution. Devlin said he didn't know why the candidates were able to agree on Belo's proposal and not the time offered by Texas Monthly and KERA. But he predicted that more people will view the debate on commercial TV, even on a Friday night in the middle of football season, than on a Thursday night on PBS.
Kinky spoke at our campus today. He said Perry backed out of 5 debates, before finally agreeing to one on the night of the OU/Texas game. Tsk, tsk. Favorite Kinky'ism from the speech: "I had a dream last night that our governor Rick Perry passed away. He went up to heaven, brushed St. Peter aside and said, 'Let me in.'. St. Peter responded, 'Well wait a minute, first you have to spend 24 hours in hell, then you have to spend 24 hours in heaven, then you can decide which place you want to be for the rest of eternity.' So Perry goes down to hell, and sees all his lobbyist and fellow politicans playing golf. They're sipping champagne, riding around on the nicest courses. He meets the devil, who seems like a cool guy, and everyone seems to be having a blast. Then he goes up to heaven, and walks on the clouds to harps playing, which was also real nice. Well then St. Peter comes up to him and asks, 'Well, where would you like to be for the rest of eternity?' Perry responds, 'Well I never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather be in hell.' So they send him down to hell, where he sees desolated fields, all his friends in ragged clothes, being chained and whipped. He goes up to the devil and asks, 'Hey! Where'd all the golf courses and champagne go?' The devil responds, 'Well yesterday we were campaigning. Today, you voted.'" EDIT: Just saw Gifford's post in another thread about how Kinky voted for Bush. He said he's friends with W, and likes him as a person. He thinks he's a good person trapped in a republicans body.
kinky up at UNT last friday... that's me somewhere in one of those last rows. it was a packed house up there, many more than when he spoke up here in april.
pretty interesting, but nothing suprising considering who was polled. hopefully one clear cut leader will emerge after the debate friday. i hope it's kinky, but i'm to the point of anyone but perry. new DMN poll: Rick Perry: 38% Carole Keeton Strayhorn: 18% Chris Bell: 15% Kinky Friedman: 14% Undecided: 14% Phone survey of 828 likely voters http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/100506dntexgovpoll.252570c.html
Well, if Carol Kinky Keeton Bell Friedman were running, beating Perry would be a slam dunk! Keep D&D Civil.
It's a shame that Perry will probably win because of a split in the voters among his opposition. It's too bad the Republicans weren't as divisive. Strayhorn needs to go away.
