Fred Karger is the openly gay political consultant running for the 2012 Republican nomination. He has a vast and impressive record of behind the scenes work for the GOP, including some state level advertising / coordinating posts on the Presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bob Dole. That said, the average voter doesn’t know who he is, his views are centrist for the most part, and he’s not gained much traction in polling. As such, he will be excluded from the upcoming Presidential debate in South Carolina. My thoughts? Let him in.
I know, Karger may be viewed as a gadfly candidate – an outsider without a real chance at the top. That said, what’s the harm in letting him in? He’s an officially filed candidate for President, one of the only ones at present. He’s serious about his campaign, treating it with the same level of seriousness that the other contenders do. He’s actively attending local GOP events / straw polls to try to build up his name recognition. And if he’s truly a crazy gadfly candidate with no chance at beating Obama, it will come across that way in the debate. Letting him in is win-win. If he’s truly a worthless candidate, we’ll see that in the debate. If he actually has something to offer, we’ll see that too. Either way – the process wins and voters become more informed.
I see no harm in letting Fred Karger debate – he’s got just as much name recognition nationally as Buddy Roemer at this point, and Roemer’s in the debate. Again, I say why not…
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-Matt Newman is a conservative blogger from Maryland who blogs at Old Line Elephant and Tweets far too often.
April 28th, 2011 at 9:07 am
119 other individuals have filed with the FEC to run for president, and another five have filed exploratory committees (although both lists seem a bit incomplete – perhaps the FEC hasn’t kept the list quite up-to-date).
April 28th, 2011 at 9:09 am
Oh, and how on earth is Roemer being allowed in the debate, seeing as he’s not even been included in most national polls, let alone receive an average of at least 1%??
April 28th, 2011 at 9:09 am
Matthew,
“what’s the harm in letting him in?”
Then on what basis to you leave out all of the other gadflys? A lot of people don’t know this, but little dozens of people officially “run” for President each time. There will probably be a dozen Democrats this year “challenging” Obama. Most all of them are loons or no-hopers that noone will ever hear of.
But I’m sure lots of armchair pundits and people with opinions would be more than happy to file a little paperwork if it would give them a forum on national TV.
April 28th, 2011 at 9:11 am
Ha! Jamison was giving me the backup info while I was writing.
Nice timing!
Jamison, but at least Roemer was actually elected to a substantial office, even if it was 80 years ago.
April 28th, 2011 at 9:17 am
Jamison / MWS – I think Karger’s a step up from your average gadfly. He’s not at the level of a Herman Cain candidacy at the moment, but he’s far above a candidate like Jimmy McMillan or Self-proclaimed Vampyre Jonathan Sharkey. That’s why I see no harm in allowing him to participate.
April 28th, 2011 at 9:23 am
That with Roemer included in the debates (who is barely in national polls, let alone at 1%) and Karger is willing / able to pay the $25,000 filing fee in South Carolina, I see no reason to exclude him.
April 28th, 2011 at 9:25 am
Karger’s not running for President . . . he’s admitted that he’s getting in the race to promote the gay agenda, and specifically, to bash Romney and Mormons for Prop 8 and other “anti-gay” policies.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/12/fred-karger-anti-romney_n_848322.html
And you think he deserves a podium? Every question he would be asked in a debate he would give 1 sentence on and then launch into his pro-gay talking points.
Next to nobody who cares about this race or the GOP wants to see that happen.
April 28th, 2011 at 9:26 am
More Karger Krap . . . http://gawker.com/#!5751235/the-gay-republican-presidential-candidates-plan-to-harass-mitt-romney
April 28th, 2011 at 9:28 am
I’ve got to agree with Jeff in #7.
Since he’s neither a serious candidate, nor held any significant office, he needs to be excluded.
April 28th, 2011 at 9:28 am
Roemer isn’t a single issue candidate trying to promote an agenda . . . but I don’t think he meets the criteria to be in the debate either. He has more of a reason to be in there than Karger, but he should still have to meet the criteria. Neither of them should be in the debate.
April 28th, 2011 at 9:46 am
I’m with Jeff. The guy’s only purpose for wanting to be there is to loudly spew Democrat/Gay Marriage agenda talking points specifically against Huck and Mitt to gain attention.
He’s out. Period.
April 28th, 2011 at 9:47 am
7: The Republican party has a long history of giving one-trick poneys an elevated platform above what they deserve. Anybody remember Tom Tancredo’s 2008 campaign, in which he–almost literally–answered every question with “stop illegal immigration”?
What state is Karger from? I’d much rather see him launch an uphill but ultimately not hopeless battle against Feinstein than jump into a presidential race where he can’t even debate. I think a gay, socially moderate Giuliani Republican might be a good statewide candidate in California, or perhaps one of the northeastern states.
April 28th, 2011 at 9:53 am
Jamison,
Good find.
But I would watch about a 16-part reality tv show featuring those 119 ambitious regular Americans debating each other. Hosted by Sarah Palin, of course on Spike TV
April 28th, 2011 at 10:09 am
I agree with the thoughts expressed here. Karger has fully admitted he’s not committed to running for President. He just wants to bash religious people. Also, he’s an idiot. He believes that Romney has the power to change the Mormon Church’s position on gay issues. He should be excluded based on his statements.
April 28th, 2011 at 10:11 am
Craig,
That would be comedy gold!!
April 28th, 2011 at 10:13 am
Given Politico’s Democrat leaning history, they will likely invite Fred Karger and Jimmy McMillan to their debates to embarass our party.
April 28th, 2011 at 10:22 am
Matthew,
The purpose of these debates is to let voters evaluate candidates who could plausibly be President, not serve as one of those pillars on college campus where everyone and anyone can post a flyer proclaiming their cause.
The issue in a Presidential debate is the candidates, not the issues. There are other forums for debating issues.
April 28th, 2011 at 10:25 am
Anyone running on a campaign slogan “Fred who”? Is a joke. period.
April 28th, 2011 at 10:42 am
“Who am I? Why am I here???”
April 28th, 2011 at 10:44 am
#19 – Nobody will top that debate performance. Nobody.
April 28th, 2011 at 11:37 am
I completely agree … let him in! There is no reason not too beyond anti-gay bigotry. I am as strong an advocate of traditional marriage rights as you will find, but that is no reason to discriminate against someone simply because they are gay.
April 28th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
#7 – And just because Karger is not a fan of Romney and that he prides himself on being the first gay candidate for President, doesn’t mean he’s not running a serious campaign. Also, we’ve had numerous issues candidates, as AJ pointed out, before who have been given national podiums. If he files for his candidacy in South Carolina, i.e. pays the $25,000 fee, is registered federally, and treats the campaign seriously – I see no reason to exclude him. Would Jimmy McMillan or Jonathan Sharkey be willing to pay the $25,000 filing fee to register as a Presidential candidate in South Carolina? No. That’s what separates him from some of the other gadfly candidates.
April 28th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Again, I don’t support Karger or endorse his campaign – but I don’t see a reason to exclude him from a debate held this early before the candidates have seriously been determined. Especially when he’s one of the few a) formally announced for President, not an exploratory committee; and b) has offered the SCGOP to pay the filing fee in South Carolina to register as a candidate there. He may be out there and he may be wrong on some of the issues, but again, I think he should be in the debate.
April 28th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Rombot,
We just listed a bunch of reasons, and none of them have to do with him being gay. Are you proposing we put all of the hundreds of people who are running on that stage? If not, why “discriminate” against them?
April 28th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
24 – I think Matthew Newman made a very good case for why he should be included and not the 100s of others. If you want to set up a polling threshold, fine. But Roemer is being included at a low threshold and Karger is not.
April 28th, 2011 at 1:08 pm
I agree with Jeff (7), but I think that if Karger used the platform to attack Romney and Mormons on gay issues, that it would be a benefit to Romney.
Generally, being attacked by fringies is a net gain for serious candidates.
May 5th, 2011 at 11:10 am
[...] posted before here on gadfly candidate Fred Karger and his bid to be included in the South Carolina debate to be held [...]