Fred Karger isn't happy running for
president in the shadows of Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas
Governor Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and
Texas Rep. Ron Paul. While he freely admits that he doesn't believe
he'll secure the GOP nomination, the nation's first openly gay GOP
candidate for president believes he has a right to be heard on the
national stage.
To that end, he's suing Fox News for
excluding him from last week's televised debate from Ames, Iowa.
The debate included most of the
announced GOP candidates for president, but not all. Excluded were
Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer, Michigan Rep. Thaddeus McCotter and
Karger, to name a few.
Karger was included in The Des
Moines Register's “soapbox” event the following day at the
Iowa State Fair.
(Related: Sarah
Palin autographs frisbee for gay candidate Fred Karger at the Iowa
State Fair.)
Karger, who in 2008 founded
Californians Against Hate, the group that went after larger donors to
the campaign to approve Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban,
insists he met Fox News' qualifications to enter the Iowa debate,
chiefly a 1 percent showing in national polls.
On Thursday, the candidate is expected
to file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FCC).
“I have tried repeatedly, my staff
has, I have written them two letters, and I have not heard one word,”
Karger told gay glossy The Advocate about attempts to settle
the issue with Fox News.
Michael Clemente, Fox's vice president
for news, flatly told the magazine that Karger had not met the
minimum qualifications because the polls cited by Karger were either
outdated or the polling methodology used was insufficient.
“I am not going to take the
second-class treatment,” Karger said, suggesting he believes Fox
News excluded him from the debate based on his sexual orientation.