Karger-mentum: Long Shot Fred Karger Scores 2 Percent In Poll, Possible Debate Appearance

Here at the 2012 Speculatron, we have striven to be the premiere online destination of news related to long-shot GOP 2012 hopeful Fred Karger. Because someone has to. Well, there's big news for Team Karger today. So far on the campaign trail, Karger has failed to qualify to participate in any of the GOP debates (where he hopes to bedevil Mitt Romney) because his low polling numbers have kept him below the necessary threshold to qualify. For the upcoming Fox News debate, candidates must attain an "average of one percent in five national polls based on most recent polling leading up to the registration day."

According to Karger's campaign, he's now done that. It's the August 4th Harris Interactive poll that lifts Karger over the line:

That's maybe the furthest up a poll that Karger has seen himself during this campaign. (It's also great news for the "None Of These" candidacy.) But if that 2 percent doesn't mean much to the front-runners, it means everything to Karger, who argues it qualifies him for next week's debate. In his letter to the debate organizers, Karger writes:

Here is the breakdown of five polls with links, including your own Fox News poll, the first to include me:

2% in Harris Poll August 4th

1% in Zogby Poll July 25th

1% in Zogby Poll May 23rd

1% Fox News Poll April 28th

Less than 1% in McClathy-Marist Poll June 29th

I look forward to participating in the August 11, 2011 debate in Ames, Iowa and await all details.

Add it up, and you get an average of 1 percent. Along with registering with the FEC and fulfilling all of the Constitutional requirements to hold the office of the presidency, it appears that Karger now meets all of the necessary criteria to join a primary debate.

The bad news here is that if Karger does participate in the debate, he won't be able to send us live debate commentary from the sidelines to run as a part of our coverage. (If you're Gary Johnson, Thad McCotter, or Buddy Roemer, hit me up!) We'll wait and see if Karger's suit is successful, but we have a funny feeling that the debate organizers will find some new reason to disqualify him from participating. (We imagine that it will probably have to do with Karger being openly gay, because we're cynical.)

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Comments

[camelias and sweet tea]

11:15 AM on 08/08/2011

Another Long Shot TEA/gop candidate, they are all long shots, just don't know it.

[sean from boise]

10:13 AM on 08/08/2011

Karger's appearance in a debate would make make most of the candidates look like hypocrites. They would have to watch their words because they have all said anti-gay statements. If they disagree, will people think its because they disagree or because they are anti-gay? If they wouldn't have said anti-gay statements they wouldn't have this dilemna. This will be fun to watch. It will be the first time in my life that I will watch a GOP debate.

[Clipboard]

09:13 AM on 08/08/2011

Gary Johnson at 1% is still the only one that has anything to say other than Ron Paul.

[blackraisin]

12:56 PM on 08/08/2011

Ron Paul is at 10% here, and at 19% in the last rasmussuen poll.

[KenClay]

07:59 PM on 08/07/2011

A Gay republican't ? OxyMoron.... more the latter

[lvdragonlady]

01:09 AM on 08/07/2011

The break through is only because no one has heard about him and even less care.

[92102]

12:36 AM on 08/07/2011

When the rumor that Fred Karger will be invited to the FOX debate Gretchen Carlson made a face and said, "ewwww".

[CrazyThisIs]

01:24 AM on 08/07/2011

Classy, that Gretchen!

[thaggas]

11:31 PM on 08/06/2011

Interesting, on Fox News.com absolutely no articles on Karger in the past week.
Santorum: 10
Pawlenty: 22

Seems odd for a fair and balanced network to ignore a presidential candidate.

[Bigdaddy Milkman]

09:56 PM on 08/06/2011

I really, really, really don't understand how someone can be a gay Teapublican. That sounds to me as absurd as someone saying "I'm a black Klansman" or "I'm a Jewish Nazi".
Having said that, I doubt he'll even make the debate, like the article says. Not because I'm a Cynic (which I probably am) but because I'm a realist. The Teapublican Platform is anti-gay (among myriad other things) in itself. How can a gay man say "God chose me to rule the country", which is what you have to say to get the Teapublican vote, when the Bible says to kill gay people?

[annekeb68]

10:08 AM on 08/07/2011

I believe he is trying to do his part to change the republican party. It would be too bad if he didn't get into the debate. I would love to see him go up against M.B. on social issues. Especially gay rights.

[Bigdaddy Milkman]

10:54 AM on 08/07/2011

Some things are so broken, it's better to walk away, than try to pick up the pieces.

[edtheengineer]

12:44 PM on 08/07/2011

The Batcave Lady's eyes would spin in opposite directionsif she had to debate this guy.

[Querent]

07:41 PM on 08/06/2011

I personally don't believe the Republican party has the necessary tolerance to include this candidate in their debate. He's not within their acceptable range.

[Bigdaddy Milkman]

09:56 PM on 08/06/2011

Not many people are.

[DevonTexas]

06:20 PM on 08/06/2011

Funny that a gay candidate should poll better than rabidly anti-gay Santorum! LOL

[KenClay]

08:02 PM on 08/07/2011

Duh!

[edtheengineer]

08:34 PM on 08/07/2011

People have become aware that Sanitorium is not only rabidly anti-gay, he is also just plain rabid.

[threewarveteran]

04:58 PM on 08/06/2011

Another tired runner in the race to no where.

[studioh!]

05:02 PM on 08/06/2011

in slightly hidden rainbow running shoes

[annekeb68]

10:10 AM on 08/07/2011

He's the only republican I'd vote for.

[KevinFitzz]

04:31 PM on 08/06/2011

This will be last time I sit through a "Shell Oil" commercial.

[nkurland]

03:44 PM on 08/06/2011

-Support for immigration reform.
-Support for gay marriage.
-Support for a proposed 28th amendment to give 16 and17 yr olds the right to vote.

There's not a whole lot the Tea Party loonies will say yes to these days, and Karger's platform certainly won't be one them.

[danusgram]

02:45 PM on 08/06/2011

all of these people are debating the wall....

[Cacey]

01:49 PM on 08/06/2011

Given Santorum's heated and hated positions on gay people, it must drive him up a wall that a gay man is ahead of him in the polls. Best news I've had in years....well, maybe that's an exageration, but....

[Bigdaddy Milkman]

09:58 PM on 08/06/2011

At least in days.

[Henry Juhala]

04:19 PM on 08/07/2011

I agree.

[maxfax]

04:44 PM on 08/07/2011

Are you implying Santorum is now behind Karger?

[edtheengineer]

08:36 PM on 08/07/2011

Sanitorium's underlying fear is that Fast Freddy is really behind him.