Fred Karger Pushes Wheelbarrow In Iowa
Presidential candidate Fred Karger won't let party opposition keep him from pleading his campaign case in Iowa.
The openly gay Republican is currently in Ames, Iowa, host of today's symbolically important straw poll, to garner support among the GOP faithful.
Via the Des Moines Register:
[Karger] and two of his campaign supporters are pushing around a wheelbarrow full of Frisbees that say “Fred Who.” They’re also passing out cards that urge straw poll attendees to write in his name.
“People have been really friendly but we just haven’t gotten started yet,” Karger said, noting that they hope to sit their wheelbarrow next to an empty space by the Faith & Freedom Coalition.
Fred Karger, whom I consider a friend, is not going to win this race; sorry, it's just not going to happen.
His presence and tenacity, however, are a great testament to how the average Joe can and should engage in the political sphere to spread their message, in this case that the GOP needs to be more gay-friendly.
Karger's quixotic candidacy is the perfect example of this nation's best trait: a free and open civil society. I mean, can you imagine a person like Karger running in a country like Iran?
I have a warm spot in my heart for Fred Karger too. Especially as his greatest enemies aren't the Republican party but the freaks of GOProud.
Posted by: David Ehrenstein | Aug 13, 2011 1:01:20 PM
Fred can spend his money any way he wants but I think that he would do more good donating to charities rather than wasting on a campaign that is going nowhere. He certainly hasn't been able to get any of our community's issues out there. Must be nice to be able to afford just tossing out thousands of dollars on some vanity campaign.
Posted by: Grover Underwood | Aug 13, 2011 1:42:24 PM
Ya, Karger's somewhat cool. He's as unlikely as he is rich so he's just having a bizare kind of fun, basically making as much of an ass out of Iowa and the GOP as he is himself. As for Iran, why state the obvious, the only running you do in any of the Abomi-nations is from the authorities.
Posted by: uffda | Aug 13, 2011 1:47:54 PM
I think the best example of a free and open civil society would be one in which he had a fair chance and wasn't considered quixotic. Iran may be hell, but if that's what it takes to make us feel better about the state of our "democracy," well then that's just sad.
Posted by: red_phone | Aug 13, 2011 1:48:57 PM
Why so much affection for Karger, but so much disdain for GoProud?
While I see one is much more charismatic than the other, aren't they on the same page politically?
Posted by: Rodney Wollam | Aug 13, 2011 2:28:11 PM
Gay republican =oxymoron or at least moron
Posted by: Kevin thor | Aug 13, 2011 3:21:15 PM
You can't be (openly) gay and run for the GOP nomination, plain and simple. They don't want you.
Posted by: Brian in Texas | Aug 13, 2011 3:46:16 PM
I certainly hope those Frisbees say more then "Fred Who?"
I agree that this campaign is silly and indeed rather pointless, and think his money would be better spent engaging in or supporting activism for our rights, homeless gay teens, or any number of causes. But it's his money, and he can spend it any way he likes.
Posted by: Paul R | Aug 13, 2011 4:06:58 PM
I like Fred Karger. Of course everyone knows he won't win, but if his campaign does anything to help gay politics in the Republican party, I see that as money well spent. He is without question the most likable Republican candidate.
Posted by: Matthew | Aug 13, 2011 4:21:13 PM
While I'm not a Karger supporter politically, I do support him personally and have great respect for his taking his fight right to the front yard of the bigots who dominate his party. Making them squirm and exposing their bigotry is worth every dollar he spends. Unlike appeasers in GOProud, he is not willing to sacrifice his civil rights just to stay in the party's elites like so many other disgusting republican homosexuals have done in the past. He is firmly and unapologetically a gay right crusader first, and republican second.
Posted by: jj | Aug 13, 2011 4:35:31 PM
Perhaps his attempted candidacy will once and for all show gay Republicans how much their party really loathes them causing them to switch their votes ?
Posted by: NYRKR | Aug 13, 2011 7:35:04 PM
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Posted by: adams | Aug 14, 2011 5:19:42 AM
Comparing the U.S. to Iran really doesn't do anything for me. Of course I can't imagine this in Iran...I can't picture much of the stuff we take for granted here happening there. I'd rather compare us to countries that aren't being crushed by religious dictatorships, which is something I hope our country continues to avoid. I agree with NYRKR re gays and Republicans.
Posted by: Matthew Rettenmund | Aug 14, 2011 1:05:30 PM
It would be great if anyone truly could run for president and have a shot at winning, but that's just not the case and to have warm fuzzies over our process is misguided and sad. The fact is, whoever spends the most money wins the election. Period. I think the last statistics were something like 80% of the winners were the people who spent the most on television ads.
Money runs our government, not people.
Posted by: RafiD'Angelo | Aug 15, 2011 12:25:07 PM