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“My brother went to Colorado College, but we just won’t talk about that,” he said.
Fred Karger is a man of controversy – he’s the first openly gay Republican primary candidate for President of the United States, and he supports more than a few non-traditional causes. And, as a 1972 DU alumni, he’s no stranger to conflict.
Sibling rivalry aside, Karger has been fighting for his causes, – which include legalizing marijuana and gay marriage, protecting a woman’s right to choose and lowering the voting age – since he graduated from DU with a major in Speech Communication and a minor in Political Science in 1972, going on to work for political campaigns for 35 years. More recently, at 58, Karger became active in defending causes for the gay community, including Proposition 8 in California.
“It was not how I expected my retirement to go,” he said, chuckling.
According to Karger, gay activism did not come naturally. It was an issue he had avoided and struggled with for years, beginning at DU. As a young student, he fluctuated between being an avid party goer and an emotional wreck, trying to reconcile his sexuality with his identity as a man.
Karger’s experiences in politics and activism made him realize that the Republican party was not representing the majority of America’s views, which inspired him to run as a candidate for moderate conservatives, independent voters and young people.
Young people are a huge part of Karger’s platform. As a former youth organizer, he has ideas on how to keep kids in school and find them employment after college.
“Jobs have been at the centerpiece of this campaign – we call it ‘Jobs First’,” said Karger. “There are 3.1 million jobs in this country that need to be filled, and we need to train people, at universities like DU and community colleges, so that they have the skills to take those jobs.
“Then, we need to relocate people to where jobs are, and pay the expenses for them to get there. We need to incentivize corporations to build plants in the U.S. and not outsource jobs.”
Education is another top issue of Karger’s, who suggests that high-profile entrepreneurs donate not just money, but time to inner-city schools by inviting colleagues to teach, providing jobs for students and taking America back to its position as the best country in the world.
“I’ve gotten criticism from education experts who say that school shouldn’t be fun. I think that times have changed. Kids need to be out on field trips, or working as part of their education.”
In fact, Karger believes so strongly in engaging students that he favors lowering the voting age to 16 or 17 so they can apply what they have learned in civics classes. There are so many ways to learn and get involved, he said, that we would develop a more dedicated and educated electorate, and increase retention rates in school.
“Austria and Brazil have voting ages of 16. Why not be innovators?” said Karger.
Karger’s passion isn’t only for domestic issues. After many briefings on a trip to the Middle East this past summer, Karger developed a more intimate position on the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in the Middle East.
“The waiting game in the Middle East is unhealthy. There is still residual anti-Semitism. It’s getting better, but the US needs to stand by its one ally in the Middle East [Israel].”
Needless to say, Karger is a complex candidate. He explains more of his personal experiences, including his crazy party days at DU in his memoir, “Fred Who?,” which is available as an e-book on Amazon. Karger may even bring his activism to DU while on the campaign trail, who said he’d be happy to return to his alma mater.
“I had a tremendous four years at DU,” said Karger. ” I still go back to reunions. I’m just sorry it was only four years!”
