I’ve been following press releases from gay Republican Fred Karger for about a year now and I think he deserves more coverage than he is getting from conservative bloggers. So last month at CPAC when I finally got to meet Fred, I told him that I would be publishing blog posts about him and some of his press releases even though I support Gov. Sarah Palin for president in 2012. Yesterday, Fred was the first candidate to file in the race for president and here is his press release:
Fred Karger First to File for President at FEC in Washington, DC
Statement by Fred Karger
WASHINGTON, DC — Today [March 23, 2011] is a very significant day for my community and me. I have just submitted my papers to the Federal Election Commission, making me the first candidate to file for the 2012 Republican nomination for President.
I am also the first openly gay person, in a major political party, to ever run for President of the United States.
After spending 35 years in politics behind the scenes, I want to be a participant and help shape the debate in the Republican Party and our nation.
While I intend to talk about many important issues, I dedicate today to the 6 teenagers who took their lives this past fall because they were bullied for who they were. They could not go on living for even one more day.
There is no place for hatred and bigotry in this country. We must all learn to respect each other and our differences.
I began this journey 13 months ago when I traveled from my home in California to Washington, DC, New York and then up to New Hampshire. It has been a whirlwind. I have traveled to 19 states, including 12 trips to New Hampshire and 6 to Iowa. I have talked to thousands of people, and I have been encouraged to take this to the next level.
During the months ahead, I will propose some bold new ideas on a wide array of issues, and I want to help bring back optimism like my old boss Ronald Reagan did 30 years ago.
I know that I will not be invited to participate in some of the debates and forums that will be held during the next year. Some will not include me because I am an outsider, others because I am gay. I will fight to get into each and every debate, so that my ideas and my voice may be heard.
I want to send a loud and clear message to anyone who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer, that you can do anything you want to do in this country. You can even run for President of the United States.
Fred explained yesterday on CBS why he believes a gay candidate can win the Republican nomination:
I’ve given him a few pixels on my site as well, but here’s the issues I see with Karger.
First of all, he’s making a big deal out of his sexual orientation – large enough that it will blind people to whatever other attributes he has. I know, we’ve been dealing with the sexual peccadillos of certain Presidents since even before Bill Clinton wagged his finger at us, but by putting this out there he seems to be a one-trick pony. You have to admit that being placed in that box limits his appeal, and even if he gets 99.9% of the LGBT vote (since you’re supporting Palin) he’s going to be far short of even Ron Paul if he runs.
Secondly, he’s going nowhere with the social conservatives and like it or not they will go a long way toward dictating the nominee. Just look at the influence they had on the gay marriage debate in Maryland.
Finally, while the civil rights breakthrough of having the first black President was an important factor in Barack Obama’s election, the similar civil rights attribute of being gay won’t help Karger because he’s a moderate-to-conservative Republican who worked for GOP causes. Now, if he were a liberal Democrat he could obviously write his own ticket.
Not knowing where he stands on the other issues of the day doesn’t help. Right now he’s the flip side of Rick Santorum.
That’s awesome that you have given a forum to Karger at your blog, http://www.monoblogue.us. I just want to remind you that there is a world of difference between “sexual orientation,” which is what Karger talks about, and “sexual peccadillos.” The point of gay equality is that sexual orientation is morally neutral — because being is morally neutral — morals have to do with “doing.”
Liberal Democrats are doing an excellent job of persuading gays to sit in the back of the bus, with the sole exception of the times when they are throwing gays under the bus. So I don’t think Karger could write his own ticket if he were a liberal Democrat.