Texas Governor Sort Of Endorses Kid Rock In U.S. Senate Run

AUSTIN, TX — Who knew the Texas governor was such a fan of Kid Rock? "IT'S HAPPENING!" Gov. Greg Abbott wrote with palpable excitement Sunday (all caps, mind you) on Twitter in reference to the performer's possible U.S. Senate run.

The governor's use of capitalization denotes his excitement over the rap- rocker's run for the Senate in Michigan, where he's got a four-point lead in the polls against political rival Debbie Stabenow. Kid Rock's real name, it should be noted, is Robert James Ritchie, but we're just going to use Kid Rock in subsequent reference to avoid confusion.

The governor's palpable giddiness over a Kid Rock Senate run was shared by his followers, with 3,684 re-tweets and more than 7,300 likes at last check. Abbott's excitement/endorsement comes days after Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller made his endorsement of Kid Rock known via Facebook.

"Glad to see Kid Rock leading in early polling for his upcoming United States Senate race in Michigan," Miller wrote, adding humbly: "I certainly don't think my early endorsement of his campaign has affected the polls in Michigan, but I am happy to lend my support to his efforts to defeat progressive incumbent Senator Debbie Stabenow."

If the improbable ascendancy of real estate magnate/television reality star Donald Trump to the presidency taught us anything, it's that anything is possible now. Kid Rock emerged as a vocal critic against Hillary Clinton and avid Trump supporter in November's general election, earning the appreciation of The Donald. Another similar "artist," Ted Nugent, emerged as a prominent Trump supporter in the lead-up to the presidential run.

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Kid Rock's endorsement of Trump rested primarily on personality issues (mainly his admiration of Trump's assertive style), but perhaps we can evince some hint of his platform based on some of his lyrics:

• From his "Grits Sandwich for Breakfast" album, we can discern some measure of rejection for urban congestion when he eloquently wrote "Yo Da-Lin in the Valley/Genuine article/Cramp ya style/New York's not my home."
• In "Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp" he hinted support of an entrepreneurial spirit, particularly in reviving once-thriving cities now experiencing economic doldrums in writing, "Intro/Early morning stoned pimp/Paid/I wanna go back/Live/Detroit Thang."
• His "Devil Without a Cause" album expressed, kind of, sort of, we think, a fondness for a largely past pioneering spirit that begat metropolitan centers as economic engines in writing, "Bawitdaba/Cowboy/Devil without a cause/I am the bullgod/Roving Gangster (Rollin')."
• His thoughts on easing interstate trucking commerce through deregulation may have been telegraphed via the "Cocky" album when he wrote, "Trucker Anthem/Forever/Lay it on me/Cocky/What I learned out on the road/I'm wrong but you ain't right/Lonely road of faith/You never met a mother-----r quite like me."

On second thought, perhaps we'll have to wait until the Michigan primaries and ensuing debates to secure a real grasp of his policy stances and political platform. Kid Rock usually conveys his thoughts on the human condition in a gravelly voice— usually shrieked or in a distinct guttural shouting fashion — but it's unclear if he will choose a similar tone during the senatorial debates.

But even lacking such information, Abbott seems convinced of Kid Rock's readiness for public service. "This will shake up Washington," he added on Twitter, with all caps used there too, on the pronoun serving as the first word of his assessment.

Kid Rock does have an uncommonly spirited and unapologetic approach to life —an energy that could fuel his Senate race — with lyrics expounding on his fondness for copious drug use, excessive drinking and sexual exploits with prostitutes, strippers and Hollywood starlets, as Politico noted in its report of his political debut.

The race has the markings of a serious run, with Kid Rock creating www.kidrockforsenate.com, with a nod to the free market given inclusion of links to some of his music-related merchandise. To the uninitiated observer of today's politics and new reality, the Senate run might be skeptically seen as a novel vehicle to sell his wares.

But don't count him out, Politico notes, invoking the Trump template: "This same dismissiveness greeted (and motivated) Donald Trump throughout the 2016 campaign, and yes, given that Americans last fall elected a foul-mouthed political novice who was heard boasting on audiotape of grabbing women’s genitals without their permission, it’s worth noting that significant parallels exist between the rock star and the real estate mogul."

What's more, Kid Rock's path to the U.S. Senate is far easier than Trump's was to the White House, Politico adds.

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," Franklin D. Roosevelt once famously said in assuaging an anxious nation. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country," uttered John F. Kennedy in a celebrated entreaty ushering in unprecedented levels of civic volunteerism. For his part, Kid Rock, in heartfelt fashion, has often shrieked: "For the crooked cops and the cluttered desks/For the shots of jack and the caps of meth/Half pints of love and the fifths of stress/For the hookers all tricking out in Hollywood/And for my hoods of the world misunderstood."

That's from"Bawitdaba," yielding another ideological clue perhaps pointing to his inner vision of societal inclusiveness and endorsement for diversity. Sort of. We think.

>>> Photo: Grammy award-winning musician Kid Rock entertains the troops stationed at Kandahar, Afghanistan, in Dec. 17, 2008, USO Holiday Tour; photo by U.S. Department of Defense via Wikimedia Commons