Gay activist and former Republican operative Fred Karger, who's running for president just so he can get into a Republican debate and heckle Mitt Romney about gay issues, has already half-accomplished his praiseworthy goal. The South Carolina GOP has invited Karger to its May 5 debate, presented by Fox News. But don't double-butter your popcorn just yet! Karger first has to meet a tough additional requirement.

Entry into the debate requires two things. First, Karger has to file a $35,000 check, which he says he'll do. And then there's this sneaky provision (via Politico):

But Karger also has to average at least 1 percentage point in five national polls leading up to the debate. And the little-known candidate isn't even getting his name surveyed by national polling firms, let alone registering any support.

Time to start including Karger and rounding him up to 1% from whatever he gets, pollsters. Don't you want to see him heckle Mitt Romney about gay stuff on national television? Now's not the time to worry about professional conduct.

[Image via YouTube]