Kinky Favors Political Reform

I have talked about several of Kinky's stands on different issues, but today we examine probably the most important issue - political reform. Kinky has four proposals in his political reform agenda, that he hopes would take Texas out of the hands of the corporations and give it back to the citizens. As Kinky has said, "Politics is the only field where the more experience you have, the worse you get. It's time to clean house."

Kinky's first proposal is to institute a program of Initiative & Referendum. If the state government will not address issues important to ordinary citizens, this would allow the citizens to initiate a vote on issues. Several states already have this and it seems to be working well. Kinky believes, "Real political reforms occur when citizens are able to place their own initiatives on the ballot."

The second plank of Kinky's reform agenda would be to institute Same Day Voter Registration. This would allow a person to register and then to vote on the same day. Experience in other states has shown that this increases voter participation from 5% to 25%. With all our modern technology, there is no reason to have to register a month or more before an election in order to vote. Kinky believes we should be making it easier for Texans to vote - not harder.

The third plank of Kinky's reform agenda may be the most important. Kinky would like to introduce Publically Funded Campaigns. In today's campaigns, a politician is bought and paid for by the corporations before he ever takes office. Modern campaigns cost so much money that a candidate must either be rich, or he must sell out to monied interests. Publically funded campaigns would solve this. This would once again open public service to all citizens. Kinky would pay for this with surcharges and registration fees on lobbyists.

Kinky's last plank is Lobbying Reform. Kinky says we must, "Prohibit any Texas elected official or Texas state employee from becoming a lobbyist in Texas for two years from the time they leave or retire from the state." Under the current system, a public official can sell out the state and be rewarded immediately with a very lucrative lobbying job. Public service was never meant to be the key to becoming rich. We must stop these back-door payoffs.

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Kinky voted early yesterday at the Kerr County courthouse. When asked who he voted for, Kinky replied, "I voted for Kinky. I like where the guy stands on most of the issues."

The election is now upon us, and I urge all Kinky supporters to be sure you make it to the polls. If you can, vote early, but please vote! Kinky needs you, and so does Texas.