WASHINGTON D.C. – Fred Karger has announced he is running for the 2012 Republican nomination for president.
He is the first openly gay presidential candidate. This is also the first time Karger has run for political office, but he has been a behind-the-scenes player for 35 years – serving as an advisor to Presidents Ford, Reagan and George W. Bush.
CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes asked him when so many of his fellow Republicans are opposed to gay rights and same-sex marriage why he would choose to run as a candidate of that same party.
Karger responded, “Being a gay Republican is kind of an oxymoron. I have been a fighter in my party, I have always been on the more moderate side but I’m also a protégé of Lee Atwater. We need to open up this party and that’s one of my reasons for running. The party should not be dominated by one faction or another. It should be open to all.”
Karger also added, “I want to be a different kind of Republican. The kind of Republican I grew up with. I consider myself to be progressive. The last progressive Republican president was over 100 years ago; Theodore Roosevelt.”
Karger is a long-shot and although he’s thrown his hat in the ring, many of his would-be opponents have the instant name recognition that he lacks, but he remains optimistic. He admits he’s an “outsider” but has “political experience.”
