Kinky Friedman, who helped make the 2006 Texas governor's race an entertaining "must-see," is on the road again -- as a performer. In Washington Thursday on a four-city East Coast swing, Friedman and his two long-time sidekicks, Little Jewford and Ratso, filled the Birchmere in nearby Alexandria, Va. Friedman got to use "my two favorite words in the English language 'sold out.'"
Friedman performed the night that Barack Obama was giving his boffo speech in Denver, which wasn't a problem for the Texan, even though the singer-songwriter-humorist -novelist-candidate now declares himself to be a Democrat. "I'm not supporting Barack Obama," he said before the show. He likes McCain but stops short of saying he'll back him. Mainly, he's weighing his own options for governor in 2010. "I ran as an independent. I don't think Texans vote for independents. I'll go back to my roots as an old-style Democrat like Ann Richards and JFK. If we can get the rednecks back into the Democratic Party, we can win." He's not committed to running, but he sure sounds close.
Kinky is naturally touting something - his latest book, "What Would Kinky Do? How to unscew a screwed-up world." But amidst his songbook standards at the Birchmere gig, Friedman let fly with his one-liners: "I'm not a politican. I'm not even indicted."
Comments