received from
Fred Karger Presidential Exploratory Committee
February 7, 2011
February 7, 2011
Mr. David Keene
President
The American Conservative Union
1007 Cameron Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
VIA email
Re: No Speaking Invitation, No Exhibit Booth & No
Straw Poll Inclusion at CPAC
Dear Mr. Keene:
I am very disappointed that I have been completely excluded from this
year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (
CPAC)
being held this week in Washington, DC. I have emailed you
and other officials with
CPAC
numerous times over the past two months in an attempt to meet with you
during previous trips to Washington to discuss my inclusion. I
never
heard back.
I have been actively involved in Republican politics for over three
decades,
and
have worked on nine Republican Presidential campaigns including senior
consulting roles for Presidents Reagan, George H. W. Bush
and Gerald Ford. Additionally, I have managed
dozens of local, state
and federal elections.
A major profile of me just appeared in the Washington Post last
Thursday, the first one of any prospective 2012 Republican candidates
for President:
CLICK HERE
I was the first to announce that I was seriously considering running
for President on April 10, 2010 at a press conference at the Southern
Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans.
I was the first to set up a Presidential Exploratory Committee back on
July 18, 2010.
I was the first to run commercials on television in New Hampshire
and Iowa beginning in September of last year.
Good Morning New Hampshire ran for one week
statewide
Independence Day ran for one week statewide
I have travelled from my home in California to New Hampshire 11 times
and Iowa 5 during the last 11 months.
I was the first to hire an Iowa State Director for my Presidential
Exploratory Committee on December 1, 2010
and
the first to bring on two coordinators in New Hampshire last fall.
I have arguably shown the most interest of any possible 2012
Presidential candidate as I test the waters like all others.
When looking at
CPAC’s
chockfull schedule it seems like everyone who has shown the slightest
interest of running in 2012 has a seat at the table. You have
even
invited Herman Cain to speak at
CPAC, a brand
new name being discussed.
I cannot help but think that I have been excluded solely because I
happen to be gay.
I Was Even Turned Down for a Booth in the Exhibition Hall
In mid-December I spoke to Joseph Logue, your deputy at
CPAC
to make the necessary arrangements to at least rent a booth in the
Exhibition Hall. Mr. Logue was very happy at that time to rent me
one,
and indicated that there would not be a
problem. He took my application
and
credit card information via fax on December 21, 2010 right after we
spoke
Here’s his email from December 20, 2010 asking me to apply for a booth.
Subject: CPAC 2011 Vendor Information
Date: 12/20/2010 4:52:26 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
From: jlogue@conservative.org
To: fred@fredkarger.com
Fred
Sorry I did not get this to you earlier. Attached is the Vendor
Benefits and Registration forms. Thanks
for your interest in CPAC 2011!
Joseph Logue
Assistant to the CPAC Director
The American Conservative Union
(703) 836-8602, ext. 17
I made repeated calls to Mr. Logue over the next two weeks to inquire
about arrangements. The
CPAC office was closed
over the holidays
and did not reopen until
January 3, 2011. On January 3rd I recieved the following email
from Mr. Logue which suddenly said:
The exhibit hall was
“sold out.”
Mr. Karger,
I’m sorry that I was not able to get back to you in a timely fashion
because of the holidays. Unfortunately we can not accommodate
your
request for a booth as our exhibit hall is sold out at this time.
If
you would like to be put on a waiting list we would be happy to do
so.
Thanks for your interest in CPAC 2011!
Joseph Logue
Assistant to the CPAC Director
The American Conservative Union
(703) 836-8602, ext. 17
How could the Exhibit Hall have “sold out” if the
CPAC
office was closed
and all applications had to
be faxed in? Mine was faxed in before the holiday closure.
Others were told who called in well into January that there was space
for “120 to 130 booths,”
and “you can register
for a booth up until the day before the Conference starts.” On
the
CPAC
webs site there are only 54 exhibitors signed up so far. Several
have
been added just in the last week, including other possible candidates
for President.
I feel that I was singled out and not
allowed to rent a booth at CPAC because if I
run for President next year, I would be the first openly gay person to
ever do so.
The GOProud Controversy
I am well aware that the inclusion of GOProud at
CPAC
for the past two years has been controversial. In a previous
email I let you know how proud I was to know that
CPAC
stood by a gay Republican organization
and its
right to rent a booth in your exhibition hall last year
and again this year. You have courageously
stood up to those bigots who boycotted
CPAC
simply because you would allow a gay organization into the building.
What More Do I Need to Do?
The Boston Globe recently listed Herman Cain
and
me as “the only two notables…” of the 2012 season thus far, the Des
Moines Register includes me regularly in their list of potential 2012
contenders. The Washington Post, New York Times, CBS News, Fox
News,
CNN, Politico, L A Times, The Hill, The Atlantic, Boston Herald, Mother
Jones, the Concord Monitor, The Portsmouth Herald, Fox Radio, The Daily
Caller, The Daily Beast, Gawker
and hundreds
of more newspapers, television
and radio
stations
and
blogs have all reported on my effort.
You said in the New York Times
on January 27, 2011 that “we try to give an umbrella for all the groups
that are legitimately conservative on most issues.”
You went even further by telling the Times that “we figure that the
debates
and the discussions of issues are
worthwhile.”
I still have great faith in your organization
and
you to do the right thing. I believe those words that you told
the New York Times apply,
and I hope that I
was left out because I was overlooked rather than purposefully
excluded.
Allow me to speak. Allow me to rent a booth. Include me
in the Straw Poll
I think my experience
and ideas would fit well
with any of the following panels:
Changing the Conversation: Winning with Minorities, Women and Independents
Two-Minute Activists
Pop Culture: An Influence or a Mirror?
Are We Superman? Using School Choice and
Home Schools to Grow the Conservative Movement.
In the spirit of fairness
and the Big Tent
philosophy espoused by President Reagan, I hope that you will welcome
me as a speaker, an exhibitor
and to be
included in the
CPAC Straw Poll this year.
Thank you very much,
and I look forward to
hearing for you.
Best regards,
Fred
Karger
www.fredkarger.com
fredkarger@twitter
cc: Media Distribution