Funky Kinky

I love this Austinite's rebellious nature and sense of humor. I had a glimpse of him at a book festival a couple of years ago. At that time, his stall was the busiest, a lot busier than Dr. Stiglitz's. Here are some excerpts/quotes from an article on Kinky in Reader's Digest.

No, he's not the governor of Texas. He just likes the way it sounds. What he is: a singer, author, businessman, troublemaker—everything but governor. But it's not for lack of trying.

The self-described compassionate redneck, who coined the phrase "Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder" and penned the country-western ballad "Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed" for his band, the Texas Jewboys, was clearly not in his element. Thus far, his campaign had taken him to Texas roadhouses, where his unique brand of antigovernment grousing had ignited audiences. He had proven to be a man of the people—but mostly inebriated people.

They cracked up when he declared, "As the first Jewish governor, I'll reduce the speed limit to 54.95!" They even laughed with approval at his liberal views on gay marriage: "They have the right to be just as miserable as the rest of us." He slayed them with his campaign slogan, "I can't screw it up any worse than it already is!"

Beneath the humor beat the heart of a rebel. He insisted on opposing capital punishment, not exactly a popular position in Texas. "You can't leave decisions about someone's life to people who can't run the post office," he explained.

Of course, it all went for naught—he ended up with only 12 percent of the vote. "God himself wouldn't win as an independent in Texas," he says.

After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, where he acquired his nickname (for his hair), it was off to the Peace Corps. "I served in Borneo, teaching agricultural techniques to people who have successfully farmed for thousands of years," he recalls.

Back in Texas, he and the Texas Jewboys attracted a following with songs like "They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore," a humorous screed against bigotry, and toured with the likes of Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson.

"You don't accomplish much by swimming with the mainstream," Friedman says. "Hell, a dead fish can do that."