Kinky Friedman has been saying for a long time that he wants to run for Governor again, this time as a Democrat. He’s now finally getting ready to make that official. At least, that’s what he tells Gardner Selby:
Friedman told me today he’ll decide by the end of this month whether to start an exploratory committee—a step enabling him to raise money for a bid.
“It’s time to win,” Friedman said. “If I were to win the Democratic nomination, I have the best chance of winning” against Gov. Rick Perry or Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who are expected to face off in the 2010 GOP primary.
“I’m the only (prospective candidate) since Ann Richards who can excite the grass roots,” Friedman said. “If we run a generic Democrat, we’re going to get beat again.” Richards was governor from 1991 to 1995.
I asked him if he’d place Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth, the former ambassador, in the generic category; Schieffer started his Democratic gubernatorial committee on Monday. Friedman said he doesn’t know Schieffer.
So what’s he depending on before starting his committee?
“Mostly my conscience,” Friedman said, and “mostly if I can bring about the betterment of Texas.” Also, “can I win where I don’t think the others can?”
Unprompted, Friedman outlined a prospective campaign platform.
He envisions a “no-kill” Texas with executions banned. He vows to give every schoolteacher a $3,000 raise the day he takes office. He said he’d seek to repeal the revamped business franchise tax, perhaps replacing it with a state personal income tax or the legalization of casino gaming.
Hailing President Obama’s success at the polls, Friedman said he’d similarly count on small donations to give him liftoff while he tests his support across rural Texas where residents, he said, have been ignored by Democrats for years.
“We’re very close” to getting started, he said. “We just have to pull the trigger.”
Whatever. I think he’ll find there’s a lot less excitement – and money – available to him this time around, but who knows. At least this time we’ll hopefully be done with this by March.