The
Washington
Post
on Wednesday reported: “The candidate – the man behind the
wheel, the man who can't find his lane – is a guy named Fred. He's
exploring the possibility of running for president of the United
States. … He's an openly gay Republican … Fred Karger, 61, is a
nice guy.”
A few days earlier – while on a
different subject – Karger told On Top Magazine that he was
in New Hampshire, where he was being tailed by a Post
reporter.
Karger is a nice guy, we can vouch for
that.
And the Post does a good job in
their profile: Gay marriage activist, GOP consultant, late bloomer.
Karger is unlike most gay Republicans
appearing on cable talk shows. He hasn't thrown gay rights overboard
in a futile attempt to win over social conservatives. He doesn't
attempt to minimize the damage of gay rights foes. He won't argue
that the GOP is welcoming to gays. He's just there: gay and proud
and ready to fight.
He's the real deal. If anyone can
change hearts and minds from within – and not sell his gay soul in
the process – it's Fred Karger.
“I want to be a messenger for my
community within the public discussion,” Karger told the paper. “I
may ask every Republican looking at running to go have lunch, to meet
and chat. If I can make headway with someone running for president,
and be perceived as 'just another guy,' I think I would've
accomplished something.”
“The Republican Party has gotta be
tweaked,” Kevin Healy, a friend of Karger's, said in Portsmouth.
“They need to focus on issues, not ideology. … [Fred is] kind of
an equivalent to a Mama Grizzly. He's a Grizzly Gay.”