Will Gay Republican Fred Karger Run for White House in 2012? Something Very Interesting Is Brewing

Gay Republican Fred Karger

Fred Karger, the openly gay Republican who battled Mormons and the National Organization for Marriage during the Proposition 8 campaign, was featured in the Washington Post yesterday, gaining major recognition for his possible run for the White House in 2012.

If Karger decides to become an official candidate and somehow pulls off a miraculous, underdog victory, he'll be the first openly gay president in the history of the United States.

The Post caught up with Karger, who lives in Laguna Beach and worked to stop the passage of Proposition 8, as he hit the campaign trail in New Hampshire.

It's been an interesting time for politically active gay Republicans, who aren't always well-received by folks in the gay community due to the GOP's general opposition to gay rights.

The Log Cabin Republicans, a gay political group, were behind a successful federal lawsuit to overturn the military's ban on gays, which put pressure on Congress and President Barack Obama to ultimately repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

In West Hollywood, Scott Schmidt is making headlines for being the first openly gay, registered Republican to run for City Council in a city that's been long known as a liberal, Democratic stronghold.

GOProud, another gay Republican group, recently stirred things up in conservative circles when it was invited to this year's Conservative Political Action Conference, which is attended by all kinds of Republican luminaries.

And now Karger has caught the attention of one of the best newspapers in the country, with gay rights veteran Cleve Jones describing him to the Post as a "Republican Harvey Milk."

Add it all together, and it makes us think some kind of trend is developing ... but we don't know exactly what.

Are gays now more comfortable coming out as Republicans?

Maybe the gay community needs to face up to the fact that gay Republicans aren't going away, and needs to better recognize and support the achievements and aspirations of conservative queers?

Maybe the gay Republican thing can be used as a political tool by gay rights activists to get Democrats and President Obama moving on gay rights legislation such as a federal anti-discrimination law that protects gays in the workplace?

Whatever the case may be, something is most definitely brewing.

Contact Patrick Range McDonald at pmcdonald@laweekly.com.