Here is a good look at Kinky's true feelings about hunting.
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Texans like politicians who hunt
By Peggy Fikac / San Antonio Express-News
September 13, 2006
AUSTIN - In a state where hunting seems as natural a political campaign activity as baby-kissing, candidates for governor want to make sure they don't misfire when it comes to Texas' multibillion dollar outdoors industry.
Otherwise, they know it could cost them plenty on election day.
Just ask Kinky Friedman, the independent candidate for governor who is backpedaling from a column in which he described hunters as waging ''a one-sided war against creation.''
Since he wrote that 2002 article for Texas Monthly magazine, saying, ''I do not suffer hunters gladly,'' Friedman said he has met with a ''whole lot of hunters'' and can see the need for hunting, particularly to manage the deer population.
Still, he refuses to go easy on big-game hunters.
''Somebody that goes out and kills a polar bear or has to go out and shoot an elephant, I believe God punishes 'em by giving them erectile dysfunction,'' said Friedman, an animal-lover who founded the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch. ''That's just a theory, though.''
Long-time political watchers know that hunting is no joke in Texas.
''It's part of running for governor in Texas, and it always has been,'' said Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson.
''Living on the land, farming, ranching and hunting - that's all sort of a piece of being a true Texan. ... I would suspect by the end of the campaign he (Kinky) is going to be biting the heads off chickens just to show he's up to being governor.''
Friedman's change of heart, at least toward the likes of deer hunters, comes to light as Democrat Chris Bell plans a West Texas dove hunt and Gov. Rick Perry's camp expresses pride in the GOP incumbent's hunting prowess.
''He is an avid hunter, and he has got the heads and the pelts mounted on the wall to prove it,'' said Perry spokesman Robert Black.
He said Friedman's article taking shots at hunting ''is almost taking a shot at the soul of Texas,'' then lambasted him for having ''flip-flopped'' on the issue.
Bell's dove-hunting trip is ''a great opportunity to showcase his support for protecting hunting and fishing habitat,'' said the Democrat's spokesman, Jason Stanford. He said Bell grew up hunting. ''Kinky can argue with himself about whether hunting is a good thing. Chris Bell is just going huntin'.''
Non-hunting candidates Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, an independent, and James Werner, a Libertarian, express support for the activity.
Werner called it ''a great Texas tradition.''
Strayhorn spokesman Mark Sanders said, ''It is something her husband enjoys. That's why it's important to her.''
Friedman, who last year did a fundraising benefit for an injured hunting guide and plans another in October, said he wouldn't rule out going on a hunting trip.
''I don't rule anything out any more,'' he said. ''I don't have any great, burning desire to do it.''
What does an activity like hunting matter in the race for governor?
Political scientist Bruce Buchanan of the University of Texas at Austin disagreed with SMU's Jillson.
In an increasingly urban state, it's not huge deal, said Buchanan.
Still, hunting in Texas creates political headlines.
Democratic Gov. Ann Richards made it a tradition to hunt doves in front of the media when campaigning. George W. Bush's 1994 GOP gubernatorial campaign drew kudos for the adroit handling of his accidental shooting of a protected killdeer. More recently, Vice President Dick Cheney sparked a media frenzy when he accidentally shot a lawyer with whom he was hunting in South Texas.
Friedman took the issue seriously enough to provide hunting references after getting questions about his column.
Wally Danos of Fredericksburg and Julie Mogenis of Hunt, both in the hunting business, said Friedman was receptive to information they gave him about the value of hunting and its impact on the economy. According to a report from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, hunters generated some $1.8 billion just in retail sales in 2001, the latest date figures are available. All together anglers, hunters and other wildlife aficionados spent $5.2 billion and had a total economic impact of $10.9 billion.
''Mr. Friedman understands the importance of the hunting industry in the state of Texas, and he's behind it 110 percent,'' said Danos. Mogenis, the guide for whom Friedman did a benefit, said, ''He's a supporter of ethical harvesting of animals, within a game plan.''
Rocker and avid hunter Ted Nugent, a Perry ally who sees hunting lined up with respect for the earth, said a leader's support for hunting is ''imperative in the great state of Texas.''
Friedman said he regretted having been ''a little hard on'' Nugent, whom he called a ''bow-hunting nerd'' in the column. He said he liked Nugent's approach when he learned about it afterward, saying, ''He's a guy who uses everything (from the animal). He doesn't waste.''
Nugent said, ''God bless him, that didn't hurt my feelings. I do hunt with a bow and arrow. ... People of decency and good will and in the know - they know that that's cool as hell. So it's like Ozzy Osbourne claiming that I can't talk good. I think I can live with it.''