Wikinews interviews Fred Karger, U.S. Republican Party presidential candidate

April 28, 2012

United States political consultant and gay rights (LGBT) activist Fred Karger of California took some time to discuss his Republican Party presidential campaign with Wikinews reporter William Saturn. Karger holds the distinction as the first openly gay person to seek the presidential nomination of a major U.S. political party. Before entering electoral politics, Karger worked as an adviser for such prominent Republicans and former U.S.,  and. Since retiring as an adviser in 2004, he has been involved in LGBT issues: opposing, which banned in the state; and leading investigations of such same-sex marriage opponents as the  (NOM) and the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (The Mormon Church).

In 2010, Karger first announced his intentions to seek the Republican presidential nomination, but did not officially announce until March 2011. One of his early campaign goals was to participate in a, but was never invited due to polling thresholds. However, Karger argued that he did meet the requirement for an August debate, but was still excluded after the organizers deemed polls he cited as inadequate.

So far, Karger has appeared on four Republican primary ballots including Puerto Rico, where he was able to top Congressman Ron Paul, who, at the time was one of the four major candidates in the race. Karger will next appear on the ballots in California on June 5, and in Utah on June 26.

Karger brands himself as "a different kind of Republican" that wants to open the party to outsiders. He backs gay marriage, is pro-choice on abortion, and wants to lower the voting age. However, he also holds some traditional Republican views: he favors a strengthening of the private sector and believes the U.S. should be steadfast in its support for the nation of Israel.

In talking to Wikinews, Karger discusses his personal political background and activism, the 2012 presidential election and his GOP campaign, as well as his political views on both domestic and foreign affairs.

Background
'''I’m going to start with the background. What are some of your proudest accomplishments?'''
 * Fred Karger: Well, I have been involved in politics for 55 years. I am very proud that I first began working on campaigns, and then evolved into a profession. I got to work with some of the great leaders in the country: George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan. I got to involve myself in a lot of the issues of the time; involved in initiatives, elections all over the country; and then, most recently was a direct activist in discovering a lot of illicit activities by the Mormon Church, involving itself in many of the anti-Gay marriage campaigns from 1995 in Hawaii to our current election going on now; and then also taking on the National Organization for Marriage, and then investigated in Maine, which resulted in a treasure trove of documents disclosing their illicit activities. So I would think those are certainly some of my highlights in my 62 years, but I got all the fight left in me.

What did you learn from Ronald Reagan?
 * Fred Karger: Well, I learned about his great optimism and his ability to get along with Democrats and Republicans, [and] . He had an innate ability to work with people of all stripes and get along with them. Good with speaking the language of the time, building alliances to get a lot of things done in the best interest of the country, unlike President Obama and the Congress today. Ronald Reagan never took himself too seriously...

'''I read on your Facebook profile that you supported candidate Hillary Clinton during the. Why did you support her?'''
 * Fred Karger: The Republican Party has moved too far to the right for my liking. And that was not the Republican Party that I grew up with. I think there’s room in the party for a broad coalition of thought...
 * I was very disenchanted with the, and I liked Hillary Clinton. I liked her husband. I thought he was a good centrist and a good president. And I wanted to help out and support her. I didn't work for her, but I did max out. I gave $2300 over a period of time in 2008 to her. And I just thought she would have been a very good president.

Who did you support during the general election?


 * Fred Karger: During the general in, I didn't support either candidate. I had helped George W. Bush in . We were working an independent expenditure committee that I helped with a gentleman named Charles Francis that was a that supported George W. Bush, but then he let us down with his vocal support for a  banning gay marriage and other anti-gay activities that campaign and he were involved with in . So I did not help him. I did not vote for him in 2004. I voted for a  candidate because then I was not too convinced that Barack Obama was the right man for the job. So I was a  voter. I didn't do anything with his campaign or more, but I did end up voting for him.

'''You have been very critical of the Mormon Church for its support of Proposition 8, and you created a website titled, "the Top Ten Craziest Mormon beliefs". Some of your followers on Facebook wrote comments that this went too far. What is your response to them?'''


 * Fred Karger: Well, the Mormon Church as I discovered by documents that were given to me, official Mormon Chuch documents going back to 1995, has led the way on all the anti-Gay initiatives, constitutional amendments in the country. All thirty one that have been successful, the Mormon Church was instrumental in efforts. So I have announced. I don't do things secretly like they do. I've been very up front about it. I signed my name to everything.


 * And I am determined to try and get them to reconsider their vehement opposition, not just to gay marriage, but the way they treat gay and lesbian members of the Mormon faith. And there's a wonderful new video out with a dozen students from talking about that and how difficult it is to be gay and Mormon. And this church, which is on the cusp of having a President of the United States, is cruel [through] activities that have been done to LGBT members and followers and as well as all of us non-members, who have been critical of their activism.


 * I think it is the wrong direction and I will continue to shadow that and keep them honest in politics, which they have not been as we found in California. And I think as their public affairs director had invited, which is why I put that website up, the public doesn't know enough about the Mormon Church, so I wanted to help make them aware because there are some very interesting parts of that religion that I think it’s certainly open for discussion with Mitt Romney as the likely Republican nominee.

2012 presidential campaign
'''Let's talk about the campaign. I've seen from your photos that while campaigning, you've encountered such candidates as and. Do they recognize you and/or acknowledge the historical significance of your campaign?'''


 * Fred Karger: I've met every single candidate running and have general pictures with all. The only one [exception] I think is Ron Paul, who I did meet with in his office in Washington. He was the one, who actually set up a formal meeting with me in January of 2011. We had a wonderful meeting. He had not made up his mind yet.


 * But yes, knew me well. We would run in to each other all the time. Everyone was very courteous to me. Some I became more friendly with:  or Jon Huntsman, very, very cordial to me. I would actually say that Gary Johnson and me became friends. We would see each other all the time, went to meals together.


 * So I had asked all the Republican candidates running to have lunch, dinner, coffee with me. I thought it would be a good opportunity for the other Republicans running, and in a friendly manner to meet, to get to know an openly gay candidate for president, which no one has done before. But I think it was just my olive branch. As I was saying earlier, what Ronald Reagan did and what he taught me, which was to reach out to everybody. And certainly there’s some Republicans, who have said some very bad things about my community and I want to help them based on that and come up with the areas we have in common as opposed to the areas where we disagree.

You previously said that one of your goals in your campaign was to participate in a GOP presidential debate, now that no more debates have been scheduled, what are you hoping to achieve by continuing your campaign?


 * Fred Karger: Well that had been my primary goal to get in a presidential debate. A big feat for someone who has never run for office before and doesn't have tens of millions of dollars to spend on his campaign. I came very close. I did qualify. I met the criteria for the debate last August in, but they changed the rules and prohibited me from participating. So I am holding out hope that there still may be another debate. There's talk of a Texas debate. Governor Romney might not do anymore but there may be a situation where there's just a handful of candidates. There's only four of us now that are still actively running that are on state ballots like California and Utah. So I still have hope that there might be a debate. But short of that I will be campaigning vigorously in California. That's the next ballot I am on.
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 * width="10" valign=top | | The numbers obviously don't add up for me to be the nominee, but I can certainly be a factor and that is one of my goals.
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 * We are shooting our first California commercial on Saturday. It's an elaborate production, and I'm hoping we'll be running it on television in California. Hopefully it will catch on in a manner like some of our commercials have and maybe be kind of an introduction to California about my campaign years. So I'm going to be spending the next almost eight weeks all up and down my home state. I'm the only Californian on the ballot. And on our California ballot, it doesn't list occupation. It just lists hometown and state. So I will have  as my ballot designation, which none of the other three remaining candidates, of course, are from here. So that's an advantage. And we've got a lot of volunteers. A lot up and down the state. And I hope to register here. I'm going to be targeting three congressional districts, because the delegates are awarded by congressional district here. So I'm hopeful that I can pull out some delegates and be more of a factor in this race. The numbers obviously don't add up for me to be the nominee, but I can certainly be a factor and that is one of my goals.

'''As you've said, it seems very likely that Mitt Romney will win the Republican nomination. Might you support him in the general election?'''


 * Fred Karger: Well, I said that I'm very uncomfortable with anyone who signed this of the National Organization for Marriage. I asked him specifically to disavow that pledge. They just endorsed his candidacy yesterday. This is a very shady organization that is under investigation for money laundering in Maine.  It has just been revealed by four unsealed documents by a federal judge that were subpoenaed from NOM of their devious and illegal activities. We now know that there have been illegal activities that have taken place by them. And I am uncomfortable with Mitt Romney as long as he is willing to connect with this very very questionable organization. And so I'm going to weigh the field. I am not going to make any decisions if he were to be our nominee as the Republican Party. I liked  a lot. I'm not quite there with Mitt Romney, but I'll have to wait and see how things develop.

'''Your best showing in the Republican primaries so far came in Puerto Rico last month. In terms of campaigning, what did you learn from that experience?'''


 * Fred Karger: Well, Puerto Rico has an open primary as did Michigan. I tend to do better in states with an open primary because Republicans that are voting in a primary tend to be far more conservative. So if they have heard of me and know that I'm an openly gay candidate that of course could eliminate a potential vote. So I like that. I like the fact that I got an enormous amount of attention down there.
 * Karger Puerto Rico.jpg in March.]]

Puerto Rico is way behind the states in its support for gay civil rights. There's a gay and lesbian center that's only been open for one year, as opposed to the states where gay centers have been open for 25 or 30 years or more. So they are very much behind the times. But they are coming around. They are very grateful for my presence there. I got a lot of speaking engagements. The media was very interested. I was endorsed by the number one radio talk show host in, , who had interviewed me on her show. And she's a very prominent media personality. And when there was a hurricane there, they got her to chair the foundation. We just spoke, having fun with it. I didn't know that after that she would endorse me and that had a lot to do with it.


 * And we did things in Puerto Rico well: we campaigned in the big towns that were competitive right before the election; did a lot of speaking; a lot of meeting the voters; colleges that we'd go to all over. So we did a blitz there in six days that was successful and I was proud to beat Ron Paul. And of course, what Romney did, and what Santorum didn't do was to listen to the voters and listen to the citizens of Puerto Rico, which you have to have respect for their heritage. And to come in and say this whole territory must learn English in order to be eligible for statehood is just not smart, spin politics. So I listened. I do. And I respect their heritage especially years of Spanish speaking that can't expect to transform that as a bargain, a negotiating bargain for statehood. So I just had regard for the culture and the people, and responded to what I think was a good fit for Puerto Rico. But I also, along with statehood, which is still a mixed issue down there, a lot of the younger people want independence than even want statehood, but I'm open to whatever that would be and to whatever the Puerto Ricans really would like to be for themselves.

Political views
'''Let's get into policy. You proposed that the voting age be reduced. How might you convince Republicans to support this when polls suggest that the youth generally support Democrats?'''


 * Fred Karger: Well, it's something that I've not advocated as a particular constitutional amendment. I suggested that we should hold a discussion for lowering the voting age to 16 or 17. And that's one of the things I've been doing for our campaign. And in regards to your question, the Republican Party is doing everything it can to drive away this younger generation. Candidates like Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, or Mitt Romney are doing and saying things that are so anathema to younger voters. Ron Paul is doing the opposite. That's why he gets 6400 people at . He gets thousands of students coming out. And I applaud him because he's the only one who has the foresight to realize there's a future to this Republican Party beyond November.
 * Karger youth.jpg
 * So one of the things I've tried to do, I've tried to reach out to students in high school and college. I've spoken at a lot of high schools. There are 18 year old voters there. And I'm looking to the future of the Republican Party. And I think we need to do and say things and put the policies that will appeal to young voters. Currently jobs is the number one issue and I talk about that. That's a concern of younger voters in high school, college, wherever they are. So we just need to be a little more aware of that generation, so if there are 16 or 17 year old voters someday, they will be split, and that we will have welcomed them as Ronald Reagan did. There's a 70 year old man that just completely brought back a younger generation to the Republican Party that they had been driven away by . I know because I was a younger voter then who was working with then-Republicans to bring younger voters into the Republican Party. And if they think it's tough now, it was ten times tougher then.


 * We need to be much more aware. Think out all of the ways to do it: to speak the language; to offer them the opportunity to participate; to teach them voting at a younger age in high school so that they get in more of a habit once out of high school and off to college or in workforce, and are less likely to become advantageous voters. I think we need to teach voting in high school. Bring candidates like myself, Congressional candidates, their own candidates from city race, into the high school and I think that'll help people become better voters. And I also think it'll also help a certain percentage stay in high school that may not ordinarily, cause we're of course, losing a million high school students a year dropping out, and the 2 or 3 percent love politics and they're learning from politicians. They may be less likely to drop out. It's helping to then lessen that crisis.

Considering the, should same sex marriage be a state issue?


 * Fred Karger: I am a strong advocate of, but not on a civil rights issue like gay marriage. And had we left to the states, we know that would have been a long time and coming, and the Supreme Court interceded and made that the law of the land. And I think on this issue that the court will ultimately decide that this issue should not be left to the voters. That is a gigantic mistake. A legislature are better. Some have more courage. But it's too hot a political issue. It should be a legal issue. And I'm looking forward to the Nevada case for that to work its way up to federal courts and then for the . I think those two will be very important in making all the different people equal.

How can high energy costs be reduced?


 * Fred Karger: Well, that's a very complex issue. Talking about certainly making America is number one. Conservation, which no one else is talking about, and that I am beating my chest about is so important. There's so much energy that is wasted in this country. Not just driving, but in our public buildings and homes, where you go into a movie theater in the summer and it's freezing or the airports. There's so many public places where we should not have government mandates, but certainly building owners and managers to take responsibility to really make it comfortable, and to set thermostats at a comfortable temperature. And personal responsibility, there’s so many light-timers that go all night. I grew up with parents who were children of the  and World War II. So I couldn't leave my room without turning the light off. And I think we need to instill those values. We got to stop releasing so much energy. That will be a big contribution toward keeping costs down.
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 * width="10" valign=top | | I'm more like a Theodore Roosevelt, who took on a lot of corporations and was controversial at those acts he did
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 * But the oil companies need, and I know there's many factors in the high gas prices, but it's no coincidence that makes record profits when gas prices at the pump go up. You can parallel those two. I've taking on ExxonMobil. I'm not afraid to do that. I'm more like a, who took on a lot of corporations and was controversial at those acts he did, very different of course a hundred years ago, monopolies and things like that. But I have no problems with going after big oil, and fine companies that have made a trillion dollars of profit off of the consumers, who are struggling right now with of course the trickle effect of high gasoline prices [which] affects the entire economy, not just at the pump. So there's a lot of ways. I've got some on my website, the issues tab. I talk about ways to bring this down. But those are two areas certainly where we need to pick it up: conservation and making America energy independent.

'''This is my last question. On your website you say that "Israel must be defended at all costs." Does this apply to other nations as well, and if not, why should one nation be given preferential treatment over others?'''


 * Fred Karger: Well, Israel is our number one ally. Israel's enemies are our enemies. We have Syria and Iran, and for now, . We have a common way of government. We should defend them. They're a smaller country that's in a very unstable part of the world. Our mutual interests are at stake. But all of our great allies, most of which are stronger because they've been around longer, but when we have friends, just as we do in life, you look out for your friends and you defend your friends and help your friends out. And we have members all over the world and I think we need to always look out for those allies. Israel just happens to be in a more dangerous spot than Australia or Great Britain, or the other allies we have of like minded democracies around the world.