Dear Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition: Why Are You Afraid of Fred Karger?

by Michael Jones · 2011-02-24 10:02:00 UTC
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Fred Karger is the openly gay Republican -- and former Reagan adviser -- exploring a run for the 2012 GOP Presidential nomination. He might not get as much press as, say, the Santorums or Pawlentys or Huckabees, but Karger has been vocal about his intentions of exploring a run for President, and he's been trekking to places like Iowa and New Hampshire meeting with scores of voters.

By many respects, Karger has invested himself more into his exploratory campaign than any other potential 2012 GOP nominee. Yet despite his efforts, the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition doesn't consider Karger a "legitimate" contender for President. The group's head even went so far to say a couple months ago that he'd like to personally "abort" Karger's potential candidacy.

In just a few weeks, the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition will be hosting an event for potential 2012 GOP Presidential candidates. Rick Santorum will be there. Herman Cain will be there. Tim Pawlenty will be there. Heck, even former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer will be there, and there's been virtually no buzz whatsoever about him. But at the moment, Fred Karger will not be there, because the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition has refused to invite him.

That's led Karger to start his own web site -- LetFredIn.com -- calling for his inclusion in the March 2011 event; it's led more than 500 Change.org members to put pressure on the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition to open their doors to Karger; and it's now likely to lead to an official complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), charging that the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition is violating federal law by purposely excluding Karger from their event.

The Iowa Independent has this story, with Tyler Kingkade speaking to Karger's Presidential exploratory committee about the upcoming FEC complaint.

"There is no set of rational criteria that could explain some of those who were invited but still exclude Fred,” said Nathan Treloar, Iowa director for Karger’s exploratory committee. “That only leaves irrational criteria, or bigotry.”

If I were a betting man, I'd place my money on bigotry. Here's the money paragraph from Kingkade's piece that explains the justification for Karger's FEC complaint:

Karger’s committee said the complaint states that the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition (IFFC) forum violates federal election law because it constitutes a donation to those candidates who were invited. They believe this qualifies as an in-kind donation. As a tax-exempt 501(c)4 organization, they said, the IFFC is allowed to engage in political education, but cannot donate or expressly advocate for or against a candidate.

It all leaves the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition with a lot of explaining to do. What's the criteria they've set for determining who to invite to this forum? Do they not welcome the participation of openly gay candidates within the ranks of the GOP? And don't they trust Iowa voters to make up their own minds about who is, or isn't, a legitimate candidate for President?

Heck, even Mitt Romney said earlier this month that any presidential forum ought to be all-inclusive, rather than limiting.

"Frankly, the more people we have on the stage in those debates, talking about different ideas and different approaches, the better," Romney said.

What a shame that the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition doesn't concur. Send the group a message that Karger is more than just a legitimate potential candidate for President; he's possibly the most legitimate candidate in the field for the nomination. And he deserves a spot in their forum, so that voters, and not the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, can decide who's a legitimate candidate for President.

Photo credit: Fred Karger

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.

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