A Political Circus as Big as Texas

We have an interesting race on our hands down here -- the outcome of which will determine the next governor of Texas.

Meet the key players:

Carole Keeton Strayhorn - Independent
Rick Perry - Republican
Chris Bell - Democrat
James Werner - Libertarian
Kinky Friedman - Independent



Things have begun to simmer with remarks by Kinky Friedman deemed racist by many.

The Burnt Orange Report has done quite a job reporting on the antics. You can check that out here and enjoy a Kinky audio clip of this:

Then I come down to Houston, I went to a bowling alley. I couldn't go bowling, there were no bowling balls. The people here throw 'em all in the sea, thought they were nigger eggs...thought they were nigger eggs.

Although Friedman claims to have been holding up a mirror at racism, it sounds more like something I might say when I'm drunk and listening to Pimp C. Or this:

Friedman said he would put sexual predators in prison and "make them listen to a Negro talking to himself."

There's more in the Houston Chronicle with Kinky's response to the recent negative publicity:

"When somebody bucks the ... two-party system like this, the system punishes them and it tries to ruin their reputation and assassinate their character," said Friedman, who added that he would "never" apologize as requested by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People because he doesn't think he's done anything wrong.

Poor Kinky doesn't need any help with assassination of his character; he's taking care of that quite nicely. I do find the guy humorous and entertaining though. He also has the best website of all the candidates.

Not long ago, our incumbent governor, Rick Perry seemed a safe bet to win the race. As we edge nearer to election day, such certainty will hopefully fade. We deserve better. Whoever wins will likely do so with around 30% of the vote.

You'd think, with 5 candidates on the ballot, there would be one I could be excited to support. Sadly, there's isn't. Carole Keeton Strayhorn is an ex-Democrat turned Republican who has now turned Independent. Rick Perry is also an ex-Democrat turned Republican. Many on the political right are dissatisfied with Perry's record during the past 6 years, particularly those opposed to and affected by the Trans Texas Corridor. I know absolutely nothing about Chris Bell other than what I read on his website today.

What we have is a potential free-for-all and the results will be interesting, as will the next six weeks leading up to the election. I'm expecting a wild ride with a disappointing outcome.

A recent Survey USA poll showed Perry with 35 percent of the vote, Bell and Friedman with 23 percent, and independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn with 15 percent.

crossposted at B3