Barkley goes from quirky to Kinky
Dane Smith, Star Tribune (St Paul, MN)
Dean Barkley, the mastermind behind former Gov.
Jesse Ventura's "shock-the-world" 1998 upset, is
going to work for a Texas gubernatorial candidate so
outlandish he makes Ventura look almost
conventional.
Kinky Friedman -- a musician and author who once led
a band called the Texas Jewboys and wrote the
satirical lyrics "Get your biscuits in the oven and
your buns in bed" -- announced in Austin, Texas, on
Friday that Barkley would be his campaign director
and top strategist.
Friedman called Barkley the "best in the business"
and predicted that his campaign as an independent
critic of the status quo would replicate Ventura's
success. "Let the Republicans' and Democrats'
leadership think it's a joke," Friedman said. "We'll
sneak up on them."
The campaign website for Friedman is a distinct
contrast from the typical politician's. His slogan
is "Why the Hell Not?" He's a political independent,
and much of the rhetoric on the website sounds much
like Ventura's scathing condemnations of the major
parties.
For example: "Today, Texans have no choice for their
leadership except paper or plastic. Political
parties are for sale to the highest bidder, and
lobbyists control the Texas legislative agenda. ...
The last great independent elected governor of Texas
was Sam Houston."
Other policy positions trend liberal -- lots more
money for education, more use of biodiesel to reduce
oil dependence, and a Texas Peace Corps to teach
arts and "life skills" to youth. He wants to abolish
political correctness and launch a
"de-wussification" of the Texas cowboy image -- "one
wuss at a time."
Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan are among his
supporters, but he also says he's a friend of First
Lady Laura Bush.
Friedman actually is a serious, viable candidate and
one of the best-known characters in Texas, Barkley
said, and he has the potential to energize the
state's large bloc of alienated nonvoters. The
turnout for the last election, won by George W.
Bush's successor, Rick Perry, was about 30 percent,
Barkley said.
"We're going to Ventura-ize Texas. We want to get
the two-thirds of the people in Texas who don't vote
back into the process," Barkley said. "There's a
huge potential for an independent candidate in
Texas. ....We're hoping to raise $5 million and our
theme to Democrats is not to waste your vote."
"He's well-liked in Texas, has very low negatives,
and is especially respected because he tells you
what he thinks without checking with pollsters,"
Barkley added. "He's already got 15,000 people
signed up as volunteers, and we only had 3,000 at
our peak for Ventura. If things fall right, Kinky
Friedman's got an excellent chance of repeating what
happened in Minnesota."
Barkley was an attorney and businessman who in 1992
was inspired to get into politics by the independent
presidential candidacy of Ross Perot. He ran several
times for the U.S. House and Senate and got enough
votes to establish the Independence Party, which he
helped found, as a major party.
Barkley served briefly in the U.S. Senate in late
2002 when Ventura appointed him to fill the
remainder of the term of the late U.S. Sen. Paul
Wellstone. He currently is a registered lobbyist at
the Minnesota State Capitol. His clients include the
Lorillard Tobacco Co. and Southwest Casino and Hotel
Corporation, which is attempting to develop a
harness race track in Anoka County.
Barkley said he intends to finish the legislative
session, then spend most of his time in Texas until
fall 2006.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Dane Smith is at rdsmith@startribune.com.
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