OC Gay Republican Dreams of Beating President Barack Obama

By R. Scott Moxley Sun., Oct. 10 2010 at 1:57 PM

Categories: Elections, Moxley, Politics

Fred Karger: spinning himself to the White House?

Deep inside the anti-gay Orange County GOP curtain, Fred Karger--a 60-year-old gay Laguna Beach resident, actor and longtime Republican political consultant--has formed an official presidential exploratory committee in hopes of toppling President Barack Obama in the 2010 election.

Karger isn't a lightweight in political circles. He served as a senior consultant for the campaigns of presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford while a partner at the consulting firm Dolphin Group. He helped the Bush campaign tank Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis in 1988 with the notorious "Willie Horton" ad.

But his biggest recent claim to fame is more local. After retiring in 2004, Karger lead an effort to save the Boom Boom Room, the historic gay oceanfront bar in Laguna Beach. He's also created Californians Against Hate, a pro-gay marriage group that monitored Mormon church-related donors to Proposition 8.

The presidential bid apparently isn't a cheap publicity stunt. Karger has reportedly visited Iowa and New Hampshire, the sites of the first two presidential contests.

According to an October 7 article in the Washington Blade, Karger is holding a campaign event today in Washington, D.C.

"I have worked on nine presidential campaigns," Karger told Blade reporter Lou Chibbaro Jr. "This would be my tenth. I have managed dozens of other campaigns all over the country and would bring that wealth of experience to my own candidacy."

Karger's candidacy, if he eventually formally declares, would enthusiastically espouse pro-gay rights, he says.

So if Karger is sworn in as this nation's 45th president will there be a First Gentleman?

You can visit his campaign website HERE.

--R. Scott Moxley / OC Weekly