Openly gay presidential hopeful Fred
Karger released his first Iowa advertisement on Monday.
Karger, the activist behind boycotts
against big donors to California's gay marriage ban, Proposition 8,
announced he's considering a 2012 presidential bid as an independent
Republican in New Orleans during the annual Southern Republican
Leadership Conference (SRLC) 2010, the most prominent Republican meet
up outside of the Republican National Convention.
The spot titled Independence Day
stresses the candidate's big tent philosophy.
“I learned from my mentor Ronald
Reagan the importance of getting along,” Karger says in the
90-second ad. “And I spent a lifetime working with and supporting
Republicans and Democrats.” (The video is embedded in the right
panel of this page.)
The
GOP-adviser-turned-gay-rights-activist-turned-candidate earlier
released a 60-second ad in New Hampshire and spent much of the summer
stumping in the state.
Karger, who in 2008 founded California
Against Hate, a group that led boycotts against major donors to
Proposition 8, told Radio Iowa that inclusion in televised debates
would represent a “victory.”
“I'm a fighter,” Karger said. “I'm
fighting for millions of people around this country who are members
of my community and so many others who are deemed second class
citizens. We will no longer accept that classification.”
Gay
GOP group GOProud has called Karger's candidacy a media stunt.