Posted on 09/06/2006 10:23:25 PM PDT by Alter Kaker
HOUSTON - Kinky Friedman, the proudly politically incorrect entertainer running for governor, said Wednesday he wouldn't put just 1,500 National Guard troops on the Texas-Mexico border, he'd send 10,000. ADVERTISEMENT
"We've waited 153 years for the feds to help us," Friedman said. "They haven't yet. We have our own army. I want 10,000 Texas National Guard troops on the border and I want them now."
It was one of four broad policy issues Friedman outlined Wednesday along with crime in Houston, state spending and taxes.
On Houston's crime problem, Friedman said Hurricane Katrina evacuees who relocated to the city and break the law or refuse to find jobs should be sent back to Louisiana.
"I'm just kind of stunned other politicians are not talking about this stuff and are not doing anything," Friedman said.
With campaign slogans like "He's Not Kinky, He's My Governor" and "Kinky for Governor — Why the Hell Not?" Friedman is running a rebel campaign as an independent against Republican Gov. Rick Perry. Also in the race are Democrat Chris Bell, Libertarian James Werner and another independent, Carole Strayhorn, the state comptroller who won that office as a Republican.
On the issue of crime, Friedman said he would give $100 million in state money to Houston to address a spike in violence since Hurricane Katrina.
Friedman also said he would cap state spending at current levels, with any increases adjusted for inflation, population increases and unforeseen disasters.
He said he would abolish the state business tax, which taxes gross business income and was a key element of the school finance reform passed by the legislature in a special session earlier this year. The existing state budget surplus of at least $11 billion could make up any shortfall, he said.
As for the border, Texas has about 1,500 National Guard troops there already. President Bush earlier this year said he wanted 6,000 along the entire U.S.-Mexico border to assist with administrative and construction tasks that could free up Border Patrol officers.
Perry campaign spokesman Robert Black dismissed Friedman's proposals. He said it wasn't clear whether the 10,000 troops Friedman wanted even were available for deployment and that using surplus money "would be fine for about a year, then what do you do?"
A Bell spokeswoman, Heather Guntert, said, "I'd be very interested in someone figuring out the implications of freezing all the spending. It's not a serious response to a serious problem."
Strayhorn spokesman Mark Sanders described Friedman as "a lot of fun" but said the comptroller's campaign is focused on Perry. He said, "It's a two-person race."
Most are. My post said "Kinky's become another pandering politician."
Or rather an entertainer doing a humorous impression of a non-politician while pandering. Now he seems in danger of falling for his own joke.
Ouch!!
When die-hard conservatives (like my mother-in-law) profess support for Kinky...it get's my attention....
No Dems, Sam Houston was a friend of mine. I knew Sam Houston. Kinky's no Sam Houston.
Why do you have a double standard when it comes to Friedman as opposed to your boy Rudy Guiliani?
Giuliani supports gay marriage?
I didn't compare Kinky to Sam Houston. I said the Independent Candidate Sam Houston was his role model. Hey, let the guy strive to be like a great, Texas hero if he chooses.
Get a new line. That one is almost 20 years old. It's not even funny anymore.
Sorry.
If Kinky is striving to be like Sam Houston, he's going about it the wrong way, IMHO; sorta like Wally Cox striving to be John Wayne.
We're obviously not going to agree. I see this as a publicity stunt and half his platform is more joke than policy, and he's very liberal to boot.
You see him differently; so we'll just leave it at that.
Thanks for your reply and best wishes.
And to you, my friend.
He's a breath of fresh air, it's high time people, when they run for office, to drop the blow-dried, poll driven act and just be a regular person.
What a load of crap.
So if we build a 30 foot wall, Mexicans and terrorists will just build a 31 foot ladder and cross over it. I guess you believe there won't be any Border Patrol or Guard troops on the other side, huh?
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