Karger For President - Fred Goes to Iowa on LGBT POV!

LGBT POV

Fred Karger’s Notes from the Road: The Possible GOP Presidential Candidate Hits Iowa

Karen Ocamb Essays 2010-05-15

 

Remember that slogan “Just Do It!” Well, Southern California political consultant Fred Karger took that to heart and hit the road to explore the possibility of becoming a candidate for the presidential nomination from the Republican Party. His latest missive from the road finds him in Iowa.

 

If you think this is just play – consider this: the Chicago Tribune’s Jon Margolis did a story on Fred called “The Gayest Republican.”

 

Here’s the open:

 

“Ye who doubt that the 2012 presidential campaign has begun, consider this: Fred Karger campaigned in Iowa this week and spent several days in New Hampshire earlier this month.

 

Fred Who?

 

Ah, he’s anticipated that. Those are the very words on the logo atop his web site.

 

The answer to that “Fred Who?” question is “Fred Karger,” a 60-year-old Illinois-bred Californian who is the first person to be openly (if, for legal-financial reasons, not yet officially) campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination.

 

Also the first openly gay candidate to seek the presidential nomination of either major party, ever.

 

And here’s Fred’s note from Iowa:

 

Dear Karen –

 

I’m on day 3 of a 6-day Iowa visit.  I started out Sunday night in Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa.  Had some meetings Monday with some influential business owners and LGBTQ activists.  I showered them with gifts, an American / Rainbow flag lapel pin and a Fred Who? – New Hampshire license plate T-shirt.

 

Then off to Des Moines, Monday night to meet up with campaign aide, Kevin Miniter.  Caught the tail end of One Iowa’s First Annual Business Symposium.  One Iowa is led by the smart and glamorous Executive Director, Carolyn Jenison.  They put on a stellar daylong event that brought together major corporations and over 100 LGBTQ attendees from all over Iowa.

 

Then two days in the capital of meetings with political reporters, LGBTQ leaders, and politicos.  In spite of severe weather all day that included pea to penny size hail, about 20 people braved the elements and attended this historic event.  The reception was held at the trendy, year old Dos Rios Restaurant downtown.  The margaritas and guacamole flowed.

 



I was able to spend a lot of time talking to everyone there.  I got to hear what was on their minds: immigration, education, health care and even marijuana legalization.  The economy isn’t quite as bad in Iowa as in many other parts of the country.  Unemployment hovers at 7.4%, still way too high.  It has nearly doubled in just the last two years from 3.8%.   In California, where I live, it’s 13%!

 

It was quite a night.

 

Iowa is a very exciting place to be.  It is so rich in all its wonderful history.  I love all the stories about Presidential campaigns past.  It’s fun to go to restaurants and bars and hear who had come in over the years and even where they sat.

 

Iowa is retail politics at its best.

 

One interesting note – I have met many men my age and younger (I’m 60) who were married and came out later in life, divorced and now out to their teenage and older children. Lots of gay and lesbian Iowans move to Des Moines from all over the state. There is a thriving LGBTQ community here. Lots of prominent gays and lesbians in business, politics, etc.

 

Iowa City has 3rd largest per capita LGBT population in the country. Real college town – U of Iowa. It’s sometimes referred to as “People’s Republic”….Poll yesterday (early results) in Des Moines Register for possible Republican candidate for president had ‘other’ winning with 20%, Romney was next with 11%.

 

Lots of dissatisfaction with government. Have not come across any real Tea Partiers yet, but there is definitely a growing unhappiness with all levels of government.

 

The economy is more stable here. Agriculture #1 industry in Iowa, not nearly as affected. Des Moines second to Hartford, CT as home to insurance companies (who are very supportive of LGBT organizations), also pretty recession proof. Marriage equality has settled in after a year with the public here, but is being used as a wedge issue in many state house elections this year.

 

Iowa primary is also June 8th and anti-incumbency is big here. Immigration issue is very passionate on both sides. I get an ear full. And younger people want to legalize and tax marijuana. Keep the money here, not give it to drug cartels. Just some observations. 

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Story on Fred Karger Presidential Run - The Gayest Republican

Check out this new story by Jon Margolis, who was the chief national political correspondent for the Chicago Tribune for more than two decades.

 

 

 

 

News Guy

The Gayest Republican

 

Fred Karger is seeking the Republican presidential nomination. Really. He won’t get it. He might make things interesting.

 

by Jon Margolis — 13 May 2010

 

 

Ye who doubt that the 2012 presidential campaign has begun, consider this: Fred Karger campaigned in Iowa this week and spent several days in New Hampshire earlier this month.

 

Fred Who?

 

Ah, he’s anticipated that. Those are the very words on the logo atop his web site.

 

The answer to that “Fred Who?” question is “Fred Karger,” a 60-year-old Illinois-bred Californian who is the first person to be openly (if, for legal-financial reasons, not yet officially) campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination.

 

Also the first openly gay candidate to seek the presidential nomination of either major party, ever.

 

Waitaminit. Did that say “gay” and “Republican,” in concert as opposed to conflict? Was there a typo involved, or at least a confusion?

 

Nope. Fred Karger is really a gay advocate—indeed a gay rights troublemaker—who is also really a Republican. He was raised by Republican parents. He first got active on behalf of Illinois Republican Senator Charles Percy. He’s campaigned for Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. This guy’s got GOP cred.

 

These days he calls himself “an old Rockefeller Republican,” fiscally conservative but socially moderate.

 

But there’s nothing moderate about his commitment to gay rights. Karger is the founder of Californians Against Hate, inspired by opposition to the anti-gay marriage movement behind the 2008 referendum overturning the California Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples could marry. Under Karger’s leadership, Californians Against Hate organized boycotts against businesses owned by donors to the referendum campaign, and relentlessly attacks the National Organization for Marriage, claiming that it is essentially funded by the Mormon Church.

 

In fact, the squabble between Karger and the NOM indirectly inspired his presidential candidacy. After Karger filed complaints against NOM with campaign finance agencies in both California and Maine (where gay marriage was also overturned by referendum), he was served with a subpoena ordering him to produce (as he wrote) “all emails, correspondence, faxes and all stored information that deal with my activities…(and ) all correspondence pertaining to three of my four web sites.”

 

In response, Karger and his supporters organized a “Five for Fred” campaign to raise money for his legal fees. It was so successful that he began to realize that there was a nationwide constituency he could mobilize. As a fellow who does not appear to be short of ambition and ego, he decided to mobilize it on the grandest scale possible.

 

Now he’s out there on the trail, doing meet-and-greets in restaurants, making speeches in hotel meeting rooms, marching in parades. He even held a press conference (though he had to crash the party and pay for the space himself) at an official Republican event—the Southern Republican Leadership Conference—in New Orleans last month.

 

At that press conference, Karger said he was running because “Our nation is facing tremendous challenges right now. I pledge to put new effective leadership in place to end our nation’s economic crisis. I will work tirelessly to bring back the spirit in every man, woman and child to help remake America the land of opportunity and equality for all.”

 

Letting the world know he can spout political pabulum like a more conventional candidate.

 

No, Karger is not going to be nominated by the Republicans at their convention in Tampa (in mid-summer? Who made that decision?) in the summer of 2012. But GOP bigwigs would be foolish to underestimate him. Not only is he persistent; he’s a pro. He made his money (a fair amount, it seems) as a California Republican political operative. That means he knows how to play the game, with sharp elbows if necessary (or even if not necessary, but just because it’s fun). A recent article about him in Mother Jones magazine said he was once “one of the GOP’s top dark-arts operators.” He’s not ashamed.

 

He worked with the late Bill Roberts, of the famed Spencer-Roberts consulting firm, in the successful 1986 recall campaign that ousted the liberal, anti-death penalty, Chief Justice Rose Bird from the California Supreme Court. He said he was also involved in the 1988 “independent expenditure” campaign that produced the commercials about Willie Horton, the convicted murderer who raped a woman while on furlough from a Massachusetts prison while Michael Dukakis was governor. Those ads were one reason Dukakis lost to George H.W. Bush. Karger is not a social moderate when it comes to the death penalty. He’s for it.

 

Now he’s using the same argument against a potential competitor in the 2012 race, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who reduced the sentence of Maurice Clemmons, who was then paroled in 2000. Nine years later, Clemmons killed four police officers in Lakewood, Washington.

 

Karger raised the Horton connection in a letter to Huckabee after Huckabee was quoted assailing the idea of gays having children, who, he said, “are not puppies,” and should not be part of “experiment.” “You have caused tremendous pain by your widely covered comments,” Karger wrote. “You owe the millions of gay and lesbian families in this country an apology.”

 

Karger has real public policy goals for his campaign: end the “don-ask, don’t tell” policy in the armed services. pass the federal Employment Anti-Discrimination law; eliminate the federal Defense of Marriage Act; make same-sex marriage legal across the country; try harder to find a cure for HIV/AIDS and a vaccine to prevent HIV.

 

But his attack on Huckabee indicates there is also a visceral element to his effort, and he doesn’t deny it. “One of my reasons for running is to keep those other candidates in line,” he said, and he will react strongly whenever another candidate “goes after my community.”

 

There’s one more reason Republicans should take Karger seriously. He will campaign everywhere, but he’s going to make a special effort in New Hampshire, the site of the first primary.

 

“I’m going to spend half my life there,” he said. “I’ll rent a house, buy a car, and conduct a massive voter registration drive.” He already has a field representative in the state.

 

As Karger pointed out, more than 40 percent of New Hampshire voters are independents, meaning they can vote in either party’s primary. In all likelihood, there won’t really be a Democratic primary because President Barack Obama won’t face a serious challenge for renomination. So a lot of those independents might decide to vote in the Republican primary, and some of them might decide to have a little fun and make a little trouble. New Hampshire voters do have an anarchistic stream in them.

 

In that context, with four or five socially conservative Republican candidates splitting the mainstream Republican vote, could Fred Karger actually win the New Hampshire primary?

 

Oh, probably not. But wouldn’t it make the morning-after political buzz a lot of fun?



Gerson: Tim Pawlenty: Minnesota's Ronald Reagan?

Gerson: Tim Pawlenty: Minnesota's Ronald Reagan?

By Michael Gerson

May 5, 2010

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/04/AR2010050404052.html

 

"A few days ago," Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty relates, "I was having breakfast with my wife, my 91-year-old mother-in-law and daughters, 17 and 13. On TV there was a news report about the financial situation in Greece. Out of the blue, my 13-year-old said, 'This is going to be us pretty soon.' I almost dropped my fork. This is an eighth-grader."

It sounds a bit like Jimmy Carter in 1980, telling the much-mocked story of a discussion on nuclear proliferation with his 13-year-old daughter, Amy. But Pawlenty -- all Midwestern, blue-collar candor -- is nothing if not sincere. And his daughter's macroeconomic judgment is disturbingly insightful.

"Something is happening for the first time of my adult life," Pawlenty continues. "Average people, not activists, are openly talking about debt and the deficit with an understanding that it matters. They know something is amiss. One of the driving sentiments is that government is out of control."

Pawlenty is among the least known of Republicans angling for his party's presidential nomination in 2012. He estimates that 75 percent of the GOP has no idea who he is. But he exhibits the confidence of a man holding at least a few aces.

If the problem is deficits, Pawlenty believes he is the solution. From 1960 to 2002, state spending in Minnesota increased by an average of 21 percent every two years. As governor, Pawlenty has held the growth of spending to just over 2 percent annually. Last year, he cut state spending in real terms -- the first time that has happened in 150 years. "We cut everything except public safety and K through 12 education," he says. "We changed the entitlement structure." All while moving Minnesota off the list of the top 10 most heavily taxed states.

Pawlenty is the successful conservative governor of one of the most liberal states in the union -- as if Ronald Reagan had been elected in Sweden. One explanation is his disarming, beer-sharing niceness, which is among Minnesota's main exports to the nation (exception: the seething Sen. Al Franken).

In normal circumstances, this virtue would be a pleasing contrast to President Obama's increasingly touchy, brittle public persona. But there are drawbacks to being a nice guy in an angry time. No Tea Party activist will find Pawlenty the most enraged choice. His attempts at stump-speech outrage come across like a Baptist trying to swear; the words are right, but the melody is lacking. Which raises the question: In a party of the incensed, can Pawlenty win the nomination without sacrificing his authenticity?

Pawlenty responds that niceness is not inconsistent with toughness. He recounts his confrontation with Minnesota's public transportation union to limit its overgenerous health benefits. "People were standing outside my house holding signs. We shut down the [bus] system for 44 days." Eventually, like Reagan staring down the air traffic controllers union in 1981, Pawlenty got his concessions.

But Pawlenty suffers from another possible handicap in the Republican race -- a history of policy innovation. In Minnesota, he instituted a performance pay system for teachers and passed a market-based health reform for public employees that reduced health cost inflation. "I can take conservative ideas and values," he says, "and make them connect at the gut level with people who are not Republicans." Pawlenty has been one of the Republican Party's most serious policy modernizers. But given the current Republican mood, modernization and outreach are not much in demand.

It says something about our political moment that Pawlenty's civility and policy creativity are not advantages in a presidential run. But he possesses other possible advantages. His quiet evangelical Christianity could attract interest, particularly if former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee does not run. His governing seriousness might impress Republican leaders and conservative intellectuals.

And Pawlenty's fiscal record may fit the moment, particularly if his daughter's worries about public debt prove widespread. "Change has to come," he says. "It is a matter of junior high school math. Entitlement spending is going up. Revenues are likely to be flat, even as the economy recovers. The outcome is certain; it is just the timing that is in question. When President [George W.] Bush attempted entitlement reform [in 2005], the country wasn't ready to take up entitlements. Congress wasn't ready for reform. But they're warming up. There is a saying: 'When the pupils are ready, the teacher will appear.' The pupils are getting ready."

 

"Fred Karger Goes to Washington"

 

 

From Canyon To Cove:?  Fred Karger goes to Washington

 

By Cindy Frazier

 

Sit down, Sarah Palin. Move over, Mitt Romney. Fred Karger would like the floor — the floor at the Republican National Convention, that is.

 

Karger, the Laguna Beach gay activist who has taken a multimillionaire to task for closing the Boom Boom Room and launched a nationwide effort to defend same-sex marriage against the National Organization for Marriage, is now looking at running for president in 2012.

 

Yes, president. As in “The President.” As a Republican — the first openly gay man of a major party (sic).

 

Karger announced his exploratory campaign a few weeks ago at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans — the same confab where Sarah Palin drew huge crowds as she both lambasted and cajoled members of the party she would like to (again) represent.

 

Despite Palin’s credibility with the “Tea Party” crowd, Karger sees himself as the only real independent in the running.

 

Here’s his opening salvo, which sounds very presidential: “Our nation is facing tremendous challenges right now. I pledge to put new effective leadership in place to end our nation’s economic crisis. I will work tirelessly to bring back the spirit in every man, woman and child to help remake America the land of opportunity and equality for all.”

 

Issues of specific interest to the gay community are central to his theme: ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; passing the federal Employment Anti-Discrimination law; eliminating the federal Defense of Marriage Act; making same-sex marriage legal across the country; and making a top priority finding a cure for HIV/AIDS and a vaccine to prevent HIV.

 

If this all sounds very serious and well thought-out, it is. That’s because Karger has a 35-year background in politics that many politicians would pay a lot for — and did, when he was in the political consulting business.

 

Karger points out that this wouldn’t be his first foray into presidential politics — far from it. As a paid political consultant, Karger has worked on numerous presidential campaigns, including that of Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan-George Bush, Paul Laxalt, Bob Dole and George H.W. Bush, among others. His own campaign would be his 10th.

 

He cut his teeth on presidential politics when Richard Nixon ran for reelection in 1972 and started out as a headquarters volunteer for Charles Percy’s U.S. Senate campaign in Illinois in 1966. He’s also worked on congressional and legislative campaigns for the likes of Maureen Reagan, Mike Curb, George Deukmejian and other prominent Republicans.

 

He was considered a “dark arts” political operative, managing hard-charging opposition campaigns such as the “Willie Horton” incident — the case of a parolee, released by the candidate, who went on to commit heinous crimes — that scuttled the presidential ambitions of Mike Dukakis. (He’s now using a similar incident to attack anti-gay conservative Republican Mike Huckabee.)

 

But for most of those years, Karger was hiding a secret that could have ended his high-flying career, and, he feared, alienated his conservative family. As a gay man, he would tremble if he found himself at a local restaurant with family or colleagues where he might meet a friend from his secret life.

 

Like many successful gays and lesbians, Karger kept up a charade, enlisting a lesbian friend as a “skirt” to accompany him to social events so he could pass as straight. It worked, but it took a toll.

 

It was only after he retired, a few years ago, that he “came out” — and came out swinging at the forces of anti-gay bigotry that led him to lead a difficult double life and that continue to this day.

 

This opened up a new world for Karger, who can now use his political savvy for causes he truly believes in. And as if to reward himself for taking the high road, he is finding out that his Californians Against Hate campaign is paying huge dividends.

 

It was, in fact, the overwhelming response to his “Five for Fred” fundraising campaign — to raise money for legal bills after the National Organization for Marriage subpoenaed all communications from the Hate campaign — that convinced him a presidential bid was the next step. He raised $25,000 in a few weeks, mostly in small donations from around the country.

 

“I’ve given it a huge amount of thought,” he said. “I went to New Hampshire and met with gay groups and moderate Republicans, and met with a representative of the Jewish Coalition in Washington, D.C.” When he visited the gay-straight alliance at Dartmouth, he said, “I met with 40 kids, and they were enthralled. I want to make it easier for kids."

 

In New Orleans, he was gratified by the attention he got from the media, but it was not without a struggle.

 

He had to fight to get a spot at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, after he was denied a place alongside the front-runners such as Palin. Instead, he went through the back door, rented a room in the conference hotel, and invited the media to his own news conference. Many showed up.

 

On Monday, he headed back to New Hampshire, where he says he plans to rent a house and begin the hand-to-hand combat of winning voters in that early-primary state.

 

Realistically, he says he’s not expecting to win the Republican nomination, but he does hope to win hearts and minds and move a gay rights agenda into the national spotlight.

 

For more information, visit www.fredkarger.com.?

Fred Karger's Week in New Hampshire

Greetings from the Granite State!  Just coming off a very successful week here.  Had lots of meetings, speeches, and the first Town Hall Meeting of anyone who is considering running for President in 2012.  We held it on Thursday night in Keene, New Hampshire upstairs at Margaritas Restaurant on Main Street  There were 50 people who came to meet and greet me.  I spoke about why I am considering becoming a candidate for President, and fielded questions.  It was quite a night.  Thanks to the organizers, and everyone in Keene for turning out!

Here is the report from Karen Ocamb from her great blog, LGBT POV:

Potential GOP Presidential Candidate Fred Karger Hits New Hampshire

Karen Ocamb Essays 2010-04-30  Print This Post

                                                     I spoke at Dartmouth's Gay Pride Week in Hanover, NH

Fred Karger is nationally known for his dogged pursuit of the truth about Mormon spending in the battle over Prop 8 through his website Californians Against Hate. Now, as a potential presidential candidate in the Republican Party, Fred is hitting the usual presidential stops in a very unusual way – as an openly gay man. I asked him to drop me a note periodically to let me know about his experiences. Here’s his first missive, received Thursday night from New Hampshire, with photos.

Hi Karen -

Had an absolutely incredible day in New Hampshire.  It was my first real day on the trail.  I started with the drive from Concord to Dartmouth to speak at their gay pride week.  Addressed a group of students in Haldeman Hall for 45 minutes and took 15 minutes of questions. One alumni drove 1 1/2 hours from the north to see me.

Then from 6 to 8:00 pm, had my first “Town Hall Meeting.”  Am told it was also the first in New Hampshire of anyone considering running for President in 2012.  It was organized by a few local supporters in Keene, and held in a private room upstairs at Margaritas Restaurant in downtown Keene.  We had 50 people there for drinks and appetizers (see pics attached).

Got lots of sign-ups, gave away pins and my new New Hampshire Fred Who? T-shirts.

I spoke about my potential candidacy, and talked about how I will develop new and creative ideas to address the problems facing our country.  Told of my plans to begin a massive LGBTQ national voter registration drive to register new and younger LGBTQ voters and our friends.

Was very fun and exciting, and am completely exhausted.

Documentarian John Keitel was with us all day and am here with campaign aide Kevin Miniter.

Tomorrow back to Dartmouth for Pride Week final banquet and then Saturday to attend the dinner honoring Cleve Jones.  He will be in New Hampshire for the dedication of the Cleve Jones Wellness Center in Keene.

That’s all folks.  Thanks!!!

Soon to be a collector's item, it's the Fred Who? T-shirt making its debut in New Hampshire

I'm speaking to Keene residents already looking ahead to 2012

 

Here I am with some of the students who turned out from Keene State University

Pictured with some of more guests at Margaritas

It was a very enthusiastic crowd!

Thank you Susan MacNeil!!!

Campaign aide Kevin Miniter (holding a Fred Who? T-shirt) helping to set up

for my speech at Dartmouth College as part of their Gay Pride Week. John Keitel

with camera interviewing Gay-Straight Alliance Chair Rigel Cable

A little cold and rainy on our way to University of New Hampshire,

but had to pose for a picture in front of the famous Cedar Waters