Kinky Friedman, den jødiske cowboy, udtaler sig om sin gamle rival. Republikanernes frontfigur og kommende præsident i 2012 - Rick Perry.
Kinky for Perry Aug 24, 2011 7:45 PM EDT
Kinky Friedman
once ran against Rick Perry for the Texas governorship. So would the singer and
writer vote for him for president? Hell, yes! The world’s most famous Jewish
cowboy on why he wants to live in Rick Perry’s America
Rick Perry
has never lost an election; I’ve never won one. Maybe that’s what’s wrong with
the world. On the other hand, I’ve long been friends with Bill Clinton and
George W., and Rick Perry and I, though at times bitter adversaries, have
remained friends as well. It’s not always easy to maintain friendships with
politicians. To paraphrase Charles Lamb, you have to work at it like some men
toil after virtue.
I have been quoted as saying that when I die, I am
to be cremated, and the ashes are to be thrown in Rick Perry’s hair. Yet, simply
put, Rick Perry and I are incapable of resisting each other’s charm. He is not
only a good sport, he is a good, kindhearted man, and he once sat in on drums
with ZZ Top. A guy like that can’t be all bad. When I ran for governor of Texas
as an independent in 2006, the Crips and the Bloods ganged up on me. When I
lost, I drove off in a 1937 Snit, refusing to concede to Perry. Three days later
Rick called to give me a gracious little pep talk, effectively talking me down
from jumping off the bridge of my nose. Very few others were calling at that
time, by the way. Such is the nature of winning and losing and politicians and
life. You might call what Rick did an act of random kindness. Yet in my mind it
made him more than a politician, more than a musician; it made him a
mensch.
These days, of course, I would support Charlie Sheen over
Obama. Obama has done for the economy what pantyhose did for foreplay. Obama has
been perpetually behind the curve. If the issue of the day is jobs and the
economy, Rick Perry is certainly the nuts-and-bolts kind of guy you want in
there. Even though my pal and fellow Texan Paul Begala has pointed out that no
self-respecting Mexican would sneak across the border for one of Rick Perry’s
low-level jobs, the stats don’t entirely lie. Compared with the rest of the
country, Texas is kicking major ass in terms of jobs and the economy, and Rick
should get credit for that, just as Obama should get credit for saying “No
comment” to the young people of the Iranian revolution.
More to the
point, could Rick Perry fix the economy? Hell, yes! Texas is exhibit A; Rick’s
fingerprints are all over it. He’s been governor since Christ was a cowboy. The
Lone Star State is booming. The last time I checked, Texas is kicking in a hell
of a lot of the U.S. GDP. Unemployment is lower than the vast majority of the
other states. Hell, we could probably even find a job for Paul Begala.As a Jewish cowboy (or “Juusshh,” as we say in Texas), I know Rick Perry to be a
true friend of Israel, like Bill Clinton and George W. before him. There exists
a visceral John Wayne kinship between Israelis and Texans, and Rick Perry gets
it. That’s why he’s visited Israel on many more occasions than Obama, who’s been
there exactly zero times as president. If I were Obama I wouldn’t go either. His
favorability rating in Israel once clocked in at 4 percent. Say what you will
about the Israelis, but they are not slow out of the chute. They know who their
friends are. On the topic of the Holy Land, there remains the little matter of
God. God talks to televangelists, football coaches, and people in mental
hospitals. Why shouldn’t he talk to Rick Perry? In the spirit of Joseph Heller,
I have a covenant with God. I leave him alone and he leaves me alone. If,
however, I have a big problem, I ask God for the answer. He tells Rick Perry.
And Rick tells me.
So would I support Rick Perry for president? Hell,
yes! As the last nail that hasn’t been hammered down in this country, I agree
with Rick that there are already too damn many laws, taxes, regulations, panels,
committees, and bureaucrats. While Obama is busy putting the hyphen between
“anal” and “retentive” Rick will be rolling up his sleeves and getting to
work.
A still, small voice within keeps telling me that Rick Perry’s
best day may yet be ahead of him, and so too, hopefully, will be
America’s.
