Bell is Bold, Kinky Bolder
Bell is bold, Kinky bolder
By Rick Casey, Houston Chronicle
September 15, 2006
Chris Bell is taking a bold new step in his race for governor.
Tired of watching Republicans such as Gov. Rick Perry openly using some evangelical churches the way Democrats traditionally used labor unions, Bell is unabashedly wearing his Christianity on his sleeve.
"It's the biggest mistake that the Democratic Party has probably made in the last 25 years," he told Peggy Fikac of the Chronicle's Austin bureau last week. "For us to leave people with the impression that we're not concerned about faith, that we're not concerned about morals and values, and that we're not going to be a part of that debate simply took the party in the wrong direction."
What's more, he says Jesus is with him on key issues.
State cuts in children's health insurance?
"Jesus never said, 'Heal the sick unless politics gets in the way,' ," Bell said.
Minimum wage?
"Jesus had the most radical social agenda in the world," Bell told an audience at Southwestern University.
"For us to leave people with the impression that we're not concerned about faith, that we're not concerned about morals and values, and that we're not going to be a part of that debate simply took the party in the wrong direction."-Chris Bell
Stem cell research?
"What would Jesus do? He would not let political objections stand in the way of healing the sick," Bell told my colleague R.G. Ratcliffe last month. "Stem cell research isn't just a good idea, it's a moral imperative."
The Episcopalian from Houston is running as a Christian.
A decidedly pagan cigar
But independent Kinky Friedman is taking him one better.
He's running as Christ.
Have you seen his classy new commercial? Beautifully shot at Friedman's Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch near Kerrville, it features Kinky dressed in his trademark black hat and vest and wielding a decidedly pagan cigar, strolling among the animals and petting them.
He looks into the camera and says, "Folks, I heard an old-time preacher read from the Book of John the other day. He said, 'The Good Shepherd knows and recognizes his own, and his own know and recognize him. And when the wolves come, the hired hands flee, but the Good Shepherd stays.'
"Folks, we don't need a politician as governor anymore. We need a Good Shepherd. I want to be your Good Shepherd. I'm Kinky Friedman, and that's why I'm running for governor of Texas."
Smoking gun: capital letters
Laura Stromberg, Friedman's press secretary, volunteered that her candidate "is not implying that he is Jesus." He heard the preacher at the funeral of a friend and it stuck with him.
But while most of the Texas press (this paper excluded) missed it, the official press release announcing the ad contains the smoking gun.
It uses capital letters when quoting Kinky as saying, "I want to be your Good Shepherd."
It isn't the first time Friedman posed a parallel between himself and Jesus. In his campaign book, "Texas Hold 'Em," Friedman wrote:
"Like Jesus, I was either cursed or blessed by being born a Jew. Impressed by Jesus at an early age, I made it a point never to get married in my adult life, never to have a home, and never to have a job. Instead, I spent much of the time traveling about the countryside with a long-haired band of men, irritating many people. Also, like Jesus, I was a big believer in resurrection. I've had to resurrect my career on at least three or four occasions."
Depending on your moral philosophy, you might be surprised to hear the Good Shepherd call for:
Casino gambling to fund schools, or "slots for tots."
Legalization of marijuana. More prison room for "the pedophiles and the politicians."
Gay marriage. "Because I believe they have a right to be just as miserable as the rest of us."
Abolishment of the death penalty. Until "the criminal justice system is perfect."
Kinky may be running as the Good Shepherd, but he clearly is not trying to pull the wool over the eyes of pious Christians.
Would that the same could be said of many fine Christian politicians.
http://www.chrisbell.com/newsroom/091406_casey