SC GOP close to allowing Karger into presidential debate

Jason Linkins reports that the South Carolina Republican Party has moved closer to allowing (until today) the only declared Republican presidential candidate, Fred Karger, into their May 5th debate. The SC GOP has put forward the dual requirements that Karger must pay a $35,000 filing fee - something Karger has said he will pay - and average 1% in five national polls. I could be wrong, but I don't recall seeing a single national poll of the Republican presidential primary that has included Karger. So not only does the 1% hurdle seem difficult for a candidate who hasn't received the major media coverage other undeclared candidates have received, it might be a structural impossibility in the next three weeks.

The other big question is why the South Carolina GOP cares about national polling. If poll performance is going to be a hurdle for debate participation, shouldn't the benchmark be performance in polls of South Carolina Republican primary voters?

Generally I don't think there should be polling benchmarks for debates, though since this is sponsored by the state party, I can give them a bit more leeway than debates sponsored exclusively by media outlets.

I can imagine the low-polling Rick Santorum writing a poem on polling benchmarks in primary debates:

First they came for Fred Karger and I said nothing, because I wasn't gay...

Then they came for Haley Barbour and I said nothing, because my wife's best friend is black and she seems alright...

Then they came for Jon Huntsman and I said nothing, because no one had found my love letters to Obama yet...

And then they came for me, but no one stopped them because they couldn't find my website when googling my name.

Update by MBH:
I have received confirmation from the Karger campaign that they're talking with national polling outlets to get Fred included in future polls and so far, at least one outlet has agreed.