Fred Karger, the Los Angeles-based businessman and activist, has launched a 2020 campaign of a different sort.
He wants voters to know that he, not Pete Buttigieg, was the first openly gay man to seek the presidency.
Karger ran in 2012 as an “independent Republican,” and fully acknowledged that he had little-to-no chance of winning. Rather, he ran to spotlight his favorite causes, and to pave the road for a more serious candidate like Mayor Pete, who kicked ass in last night’s debate.
With the rise of Buttigieg in Democratic circles, Karger has expressed his annoyance that his failed 2012 bid seems forgotten.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Related: Forget Chick-Fil-A: The Gay Community Should Boycott Amway, Says Fred Karger
“It seems like every day or two there is a new story and we reach out to the journalist via email, Twitter direct message or phone,” Karger told The Hill. “If that doesn’t work, we go public seeking a fix … Over the next several months we will be highlighting much of what we did during our 2.5 years of full-time campaigning all over the country.”
We love Fred and his underdog campaign, which helped raise visibility. For all his eccentricities, he should be looked upon as a pathbreaker. However, since he never really broke more than one percent in national polls, it’s easy to see why his campaign is not exactly on the top of everyone’s mind. Mayor Pete, on the other hand, is among the top tier of Democratic candidates this time around in nearly every poll.
Karger intends to launch a “Truth Squad” to highlight his accomplishments in 2012. He also added that he supports Buttigieg for the Presidency.
Besides his presidential run, Fred Karger worked to organize boycotts against major companies that supported California Prop 8 in 2008 and worked as a lobbyist for the tobacco industry.
Kangol2
I’ve seen him mentioned many times, especially when Mayor Peter first began his run.
Wicked Dickie
Petty bitch. Why are you trying to grab the limelight now? Support Pete, or stay quiet, if you want to be known as the “first out gay candidate”.
jw8890
I quite agree sounds like an attention whore to me
LARRY
Fred who? LMAO
LARRY
too bad you have no idea of what you speak…perhaps the folks like you should use the time spent spewing stupid and actually educate yourself our world would not be so effed up.
Coruna2018
Jw8890 and LARRY:
Now that you stopped laughing, were you helping Fred Karger boycott the companies that contributed to Prop. 8 in California? Were you the first openly gay man to declare your candidacy for President of the United States? He has every right to state that. That’s like telling Einstein that he should shut up for inventing the theory of relativity because, let’s say, Stephen Hawking’s work on black holes and quantum physics is so accurate in understanding the universe? Of course, not. It is by standing on the shoulders of people who pioneered that we enjoy whatever rewards and rights came out of these pioneering efforts. That Kool-Aid you drank as you wrote your comments must’ve been laced with something very powerful to subvert all reason and well-placed recognition of Fred Karger’s work on LGBT rights.
Brian
There is nothing wrong with Fred taking credit for what he’s done. But sending messages to people saying “I DID IT FIRST” and organizing a team to promote that is just pathetic.
I’m quite sure Einstein wasn’t calling newspapers 8 years later and saying “Hey! The theory of relativity was all me!”
Coruna2018
If Mayor Pete can acknowledge Fred Karger, Jw8890 and LARRY, you can, too.