From his black cowboy hat to his fringed leather vest and pointy-toed boots, Kinky Friedman, the cigar-clenching activist, musician and columnist, exemplifies the iconic Texas cowboy look. However, the true cowboy in Friedman can be seen in his rough-and-tumble approach to Texas politics and his vying for the governor's seat.
"We're going to knock down the political windmills and make that Lone Star shine again," Friedman said.
Friedman, the self-proclaimed "Jewish Cowboy," met with more than a hundred friends, supporters and curious students at the West Mall and walked to the Martin Luther King Jr. statue Wednesday to gather support for his gubernatorial campaign.
In a "spiritual walk for independence," Friedman led a band of elderly cowboys, cigar-wielding students and purists sick of career politicians and ready for change.
Friedman spoke about his plan to "clean out the political stables" of Texas and expressed his views on education, the death penalty, religion, political correctness and the "de-wussification" of Texas. He said education was the "centerpiece on his table," and highlighted the fact that Texas ranks amongst the lowest in the United States for high school graduates continuing to college.
Friedman, a 1965 UT alumnus with a Plan II degree, said not much has changed since he attended the University. People are still protesting animal rights, rallying for political issues and advertising organizations. He said he didn't remember a lot about his early college days, but he did remember drinking a lot of coffee and trying to change the world.
During his "spiritual walk" on campus, he discussed how he plans to change Texas.
"Anything I do can't make it worse," Friedman said. "No teacher, librarian or lesbian left behind."
Friedman said problems in education are linked to uncaring legislators who know little about education. He said he supports legalizing gambling to provide more funding for education as long as the funds were not pocketed by the wrong hands, as he feels has been done with lottery profits.
Friedman said that, most importantly, the "human element" of education is being left out, and he hoped he could be the friend teachers need at the capitol.
"Teachers are being screwed in 97 different directions. They get no support and are underpaid. I want to find that teacher we all loved and listen to him," Friedman said. "We need to let teachers run education in Texas."
Friedman fielded questions from students on city-wide smoking bans (which he opposes), education reform (which he encourages) and tuition deregulation (which he heard about for the first time yesterday). Friedman was quick to admit he doesn't know everything about every issue but said he supported whatever would help students.
"We need to listen to the student voice first," Friedman said. "What's wrong with having a 23-year-old young person running government, as long as they're not political cronies?"
Friedman's distaste for career politicians, who he says are out of touch with "the true spirit of Texas" is one of the driving forces behind his campaign.
He described himself as a non-politician, and as an independent, following "only Texans and his heart." Spirituality is a heavy influence on Friedman and his campaign, and he often turns to his spiritual adviser - country music artist Billy Joe Shaver - for advice on morally controversial issues.
"We should not be greedy about religion," said Shaver. "Don't put a stop to it. Anything taken away is a problem, whether it's prayer, meditation or a moment of silence. It's not fair to invade a person's privacy."
Gritting a cigar between his teeth and bearing a 'Kinky for Governor' sign, Kelsey Lamb, an undeclared freshman, came out to support Friedman primarily for his stance against de-clawing cats, another element of Friedman's de-wussification and animal rights campaign.
The morally-conscious Friedman said that in his campaign he would be following the ideologies of Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.
"I don't think you would see any of them spending $100 million on a campaign for governor," Friedman said. He also said he expected his opponents to use even more money for the upcoming race to keep the independent voice out of the campaign.
In order to appear on the November ballot, Friedman must get over 45,000 signatures for support. The catch is, none of those supporters can vote in the March primaries if they want their signature to count in support of Friedman. He said gathering the support won't be the hard part, but overcoming the millions his opponents will spend on their races might be.
"I'm not afraid to say I don't know a lot of shit," Friedman said, regarding current political issues. "But the other guys do, and we have children living in poverty. Can I fix all that? I don't know, but can I inspire a lot of people to get involved? I think I can."
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