Modified On September 27, 2006
Kinky Friedman, the musician and novelist running as an independent for governor of Texas, has a greater appreciation for what is known as “opposition research.” A blog, The Burnt Orange Report, has run an audio clip of Friedman performing in 1980 in which he uses what the press and others have dutifully stuck to calling “The N-Word.” (There’ve been other, more recent, comments, but none seems as egregious, or as likely to turf his candidacy, as the older, moldier ones currently being circulated.)
Notable here only because the news reports insist that Friedman was performing as a standup comic when the statements were issued. Indeed, some reports refer to him only as a standup comic, totally ignoring his body of work as a musician and novelist over the past three decades.
We’re not aware of his dabbling in standup. We’ve been aware of his work, but we could hardly be called fans. (We own exactly one Kinky Friedman recording, “Pearls in the Snow”— a tribute album from 1999 that is quite good and features Willie Nelson’s rendition of “Ride ’em Jewboy” and a killer version of “Rapid City, South Dakota” by Dwight Yoakam.) This may be another case of the media identifying someone as a comic only when the aim is to marginalize that person. It’s not unprecendented. We’re inclined to believe that the audio clip making the rounds is merely between-song banter from a musical set. Either way, it’s a bit ridiculous that someone should be held accountable for statements made onstage in 1980– 26 years ago. Had he made the statements in the capacity of a legislator or a judge or a zoning board official, perhaps we could see the relevance. But it was 1980 and he was fronting a band called Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys, for cryin’ out loud! One of his signature songs was “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore!”
And speaking of that song, its authorship has been attributed to Friedman in countless news accounts. But we read in an August 2003 Boston Phoenix article on bawdy female comics of the 1950s and early 60s– “Funny girls talk dirty” by Michael Bronski— that the song may have been around long before Friedman’s musical career started.
A close friend told me that in the ’50s, her parents would go to business conventions in Manhattan and loved to see Patsy Abbott’s nightclub act, and that her unofficial theme song was “They Don’t Make Jews Like Jesus Anymore.”
The Daily Texan (the UT Austin student paper) has a fine opinion piece on the entire brouhaha, penned by econ grad student Garth Heutel that sums things up, offers some theories and considers the role of political correctness may have played/may be playing in the affair.
The truth is that by appearing “politically incorrect,” Kinky could win more votes than lose. Being attacked by the NAACP and editorial pages (that is, the liberal media) will only raise his appeal among those demanding less PC in their politicians. Kinky Friedman might be an idiot for saying what he did, but he might be savvier than he’s getting credit for.
And, in another case of art (if you want to call it that) imitating life, Robin Williams is about to hit the bricks next month to promote his latest film, “Man of the Year” (Watch the trailer.)
What would happen if one of the nation’s funniest men became its leading one? Oscar winner Robin Williams reunites with the director of Good Morning, Vietnam to answer just that question in the comic tale of an entertainer’s accidental rise to power, Man of the Year. Acerbic performer Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) has made his career out of skewering politicians and speaking the mind of the exasperated nation on his talk show. He cracked scathing jokes at a fractured system night after night until he came up with a really funny idea: why not run for president himself?
The capsule description above asks, “What would happen,” but we all know what would happen. Ask Pat Paulsen fans. Ask Doug Stanhope fans what is happening as their favorite comic runs for the White House in ’08. Tom Knapp, libertarian blogger speculating on the current crop of L(ibertarian) P(arty) candidates for FreeMarketNews.com, sums up Stanhope’s chances, and the general feelings of the LP:
A comedian who has never been elected to prior public office running for the presidency of the United States is, and will be seen as … a joke.
Why anyone– especially a current or former comedian– would want to run for public office in this age of political correctness is beyond our ability to comprehend. Folks in this country tend to like our comedians to make fun of politicians, not become politicians.