"The Facts" endorses Kinky Friedman

The local paper in Clute that frequently and mistakenly is called "The Brazosport Facts" instead of just "The Facts" has endorsed the "maverick" independent candidate for governor known as Kinky Friedman.

The endorsement, rumored around town last week to be coming down the pike at the exact moment it would have its greatest impact on the election, is being pooh-poohed by some as a high-schoolish attempt to "get noticed" by the media intelligentsia, but Managing Editor Yvonne Mintz writes that a vote for Friedman, even if it's in a losing cause, will send "a message to Austin that we’re sick of the double-talk and tired of special interests having the ear of power while Joe Taxpayer gets pushed to the back of the line."

Yeah, DOWN WITH THE SPECIAL INTERESTS and UP WITH JOE TAXPAYER! To THE RAMPARTS!!

While this newfound populist bent in the Clute paper's editorial stance comes out of nowhere in light of its support of more traditional themes, we admit that we read the whole editorial right down to the very last word.

As Ms. Mintz writes in the paper's Sunday editions:

"The fact that Friedman has proven himself a factor in this race, including his twice winning of The Facts’ online reader poll by huge margins [our italics], proves Texans are desperate for his brand of frankness and for a change in course in Austin only a true independent can provide."

The question now is, will The Facts' endorsement get reported by the Associated Press and spread across the country and get picked up in The NY Times, The Washington Post and The Houston Chronicle, thereby heightening the profile and importance of the Clute brand of journalism?

Will Friedman sycophant Don Imus trumpet The Facts' endorsement on nationwide radio and MSNBC on Monday morning and maybe even take out a full-page of advertising in gratitude?

Will The Facts get a thank-you note from Carolyn Farb?

Will this convince Kinky to return to the typewriter and think real, read hard about possibly replacing some of his threadbare one-liners with zippier new material?

Will this startling endorsement of Friedman amount to anything more significant than just providing us something to blog about?

The answer to these questions, we hope, all will be revealed in the fullness of time.