Kinky Friedman on Being Bitter, Texas Politicians, and His Own Legacy

After establishing that Deirdre Imus and Kinky Friedman miss one another terribly, the oft-prophetic Kinky invoked Winston Churchill to express his feelings about Deirdre, and about Dagen McDowell as well.

“Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong,” Kinky said.

From this poetic moment, Kinky segued into talk of Joy Behar, one of the co-hosts of The View, insisting to Imus there was nothing wrong with Behar’s bitterness.

“Everything great was created by people who don’t feel good,” he said. Prompted by the I-Man for examples, Kinky offered Oscar Wilde and Hank Williams. “I don’t know about Einstein. He must have been pretty miserable.”

Imus thinks that Kinky also falls into this enviable category. “You’ve been tormented all your life, and you’ve created great stuff,” he pointed out.

Kinky will take some of that great stuff on the road in a few weeks when he, along with sidekicks Little Jewford and Washington Ratso, hits the West Coast for some tour dates.

“I’m feeling really good these days, because even though I’ve lost three political races, I’ve become a folk hero in Texas,” said Kinky, whose bids for Texas Governor and then Agriculture Commissioner were heroic but unsuccessful. “As Willie says, ‘If you fail at something long enough, you become a legend.’”

Further proving that he is, in fact, bitter, Kinky told Imus he recently wrote a story for Texas Monthly magazine about Rick Perry and Bill White, the two Gubernatorial candidates in Texas, called “The Lesser of Two Bull Weevils,” in which he criticizes them for not having “the cajones” to be true Christians and speak out against the death penalty.

Imus, however, supports the death penalty on the grounds that sometimes, innocent people get executed. “I think that sends a powerful message to people,” he told Kinky. “Even if we think you did it, we’re going to kill you.”

Kinky is also focused on a congressional race in Virginia, where a man named Kenny Golden is running for office. “Kenny Golden commanded the largest amphibious task force  to leave the West Coast since the Korean War,” said Kinky. “And he commanded the first helicopter squadron deployed to Desert Storm.”

In fact, Kinky is so impressed with Golden that he suggested Imus book him on this show. “That’s not going to happen,” Imus said.

In Texas, Kinky has thrown his support for Governor behind Woodrow, a rescue dog who is running as a write-in candidate. “We really should limit all elected officials to two terms,” he hypothesized. “One in office, and one in prison.”

If that’s not pure Kinky, we’re not quite sure what is.

-Julie Kanfer