Mickey Kaus for U.S. Senate

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No More Debt! Fundraising is over. Thanks for the last-minute donations--the books now balance.

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August 10, 2010: Tonight is the last chance to contribute to the campaign. We'll be shutting down the contribution page tomorrow. Thanks to everyone. ...

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Here are the final results. We got more than 123,000 votes, or 5.1% of the total. Thanks to all those who helped. ... It turns out we have a small campaign debt of around $5,000 (out of about $50,000 spent). If you want to help retire the debt, you can go to the contribution page here. Thanks. ...

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June 9, 2010: Thanks to the nearly 100,000 Californians who voted for me, and to everyone else who helped out. ... Results here. ... Concession statement here. ... My blog will not come back because it never went away! You can always find it at www.kausfiles.com. ...

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Polls closed! Thanks to everyone who helped. If you are in the L.A. area, the entire Kaus for Senate campaign is planning to be at Molly Malone's (575 S. Fairfax) at around 10:15. Supporters and innocent bystanders--please stop by. ...

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Election Day! Turnout is reportedly low--that means Boxer regulars aren't bothering to vote. If Kaus supporters turn out, we can catch them napping. One hour to go ... Vote now! If you haven't yet. Thanks. ...

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Polls are open (find your polling place at this page). It's not too late to help. Here's how you can--mainly by doing two simple things:

1. Send an email to as many friends as possible urging a vote for Kaus. Even better, you could ask your friends to forward the email to their friends.

Please remind your friends that it's not only registered Democrats who can vote in this primary. "Decline-to-state" voters can vote in the race simply by requesting a Democratic ballot at the polls.

2. Leaflet your neighborhoods: There is a downloadable leaflet available here on this blog. You can leave it on the doorsteps of houses in your neighborhood.

Thanks very much. We are peaking at the right time and have a great opportunity to give the pols a jolt they won't forget! ...

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Mickey's Manifesto: The rich, full-bodied version of why Mickey Kaus is running for U.S. Senate has been posted here. ... No ghostwriters or consultants were harmed (or employed) in the production of this document. ...

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John and Ken Endorse Kaus! It's hard to overestimate their influence in Southern California. They have some strong opinions on illegal immigration and Big Labor. Thanks! ...

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Why Liberals Should Vote for Kaus: "Democrats are the party that believes in government, after all. We need to make it work. ..." A pitch to Huffington Post readers. ...

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First TV Ad Launched! Watch it here ...

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Kaus on Illegal Immigration in the Orange County Register. "The Democrats' dogma on immigration -- they've never met an amnesty they didn't like -- is at odds with common sense."

[W]e tried [the] "comprehensive" bargain before, back in 1986. It failed. Oh, the amnesty part worked fine. It was the border enforcement that failed. And, sure enough, the result was the 12 million illegal immigrants we're now talking about giving another amnesty to.

Why do I get the feeling that too many Democratic politicians -- and businessmen eager for cheap labor -- wouldn't really mind if border enforcement failed again? After all, then there would be a new group of illegal immigrants to legalize -- more potential Democrats. A new way to rev up the Latino "base" vote. And more ways to call anyone who wants to break the cycle of amnesties "anti-immigrant." Or worse.

The piece outlines a 6-point common sense plan for real reform. ...

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The Los Angeles Times discovers Kaus' outsider candidacy. Just in time. ...

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"Democrats Can't Say That": We are up with radio ads on KNX and KFWB in Los Angeles. ...

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Incumbent fails to show for debate. Place taken by cardboard box. The box gave an honest answer when asked to list Sen. Boxer's major legislative accomplishments. ...

Read initial press release. ... More photos. ... Full report from S. Kaus. ...

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Ron Kaye LA (site of civic reformer and former L.A. Daily News editor Ron Kaye) endorses Mickey Kaus

There may be dozens of great people running for office but I only have come across four of them that I believe are people who strive to be honest, have shown the courage of their convictions and just be worthy of our trust.

Politically, they are all over the map, left, right and center.

At the top of the ticket, running for the United States Senate is Mickey Kaus ...

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Tesla and Toyota are playing with fire. Is the promising electric car manufacturer Tesla really open to having its new Fremont joint venture factory be organized by the United Auto Workers union? Thanks to taxpayers who have bailed out the U.A.W. and its employers, the union now owns a major stake in Tesla's competitors. Will the union try to cripple Tesla like it crippled G.M.'s Saturn experiment? ... Today's press release ...

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Kaus Challenges Boxer to Debate: "Anytime, anyplace, before any audience."

Boxer's spokesperson recently told Amy Chance of the Sacramento Bee that "Mickey Kaus is out of the mainstream" because he doesn't support an amnesty for illegals until the border is secure.

"Fine," he said today. "If I'm out of the mainstream, then Boxer has nothing to fear from debating. Let's both present our views and see who is in what stream. Let the voters decide. That's what democracy is supposed to be about."

Kaus noted a debate would also give Boxer a valuable chance to respond to the L.A. Times editorial board's observation that "she displays less intellectual firepower or leadership than she could."

"If the Times is right, this is a chance for her to unleash the intellectual firepower she's been holding in reserve," Kaus said.

More here. ...

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S.F. Chronicle's Carla Marinucci on the Kaus campaign:

In a year when Tea Party activists and the GOP are getting a lot of attention, self-described "common sense Democrat" Mickey Kaus is stirring up a little party of his own - challenging U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer in the Democratic primary over illegal immigration and public employee unions' pensions. ...

More

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Endorsement Shocker: Amazingly, the Los Angeles Times has refused to endorse a candidate in the Democratic Senate race--choosing to remain neutral, in effect, between the incumbent, Barbara Boxer and challenger Mickey Kaus. ...

[W]e find that we're no fans of incumbent Barbara Boxer. She displays less inellectual firepower or leadership than she could. We appreciate the challenge brought by Robert "Mickey" Kaus ...

NEW PRESS RELEASE

Why a big bucks dinner with President Obama won't save Barbara Boxer ...

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Convention Report

The 14 seconds that doom Boxer. ...

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Mickey on RedEye: Gutfeld's suggested slogan: "You can call me 'M'am!'" ...

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LATEST BOXER POLL: Weak! ....

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Mickey on the John Batchelor Show (starts at 17:55) ...

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If you have a group in California and want me to come talk about the need to return common sense to the Democratic agenda on immigration, labor, and other issues, please email me at Mickey_Kaus@msn.com

If you agree with what you see here, please join us, and consider contributing to help us get our message out. This isn't a rich campaign. Every dollar counts. Thanks! ...

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NEW PRESS RELEASE: MILKING THE MORPHIN' MORPHINS!

The justifiably insecure, labor-dominated Democratic party elite clings to its gerrymandering--or tries to. Hollywood money man Haim Saban embarrasses himself by financing the anti-democratic effort. The Kaus campaign comments. ...

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EXCITING KAUSFILES.COM POLL!

Which world-historical figure does state Democratic party chair John Burton most resemble? You make the choice here. ...

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The Machine Can't Handle the Truth!

4/7 press release:

WHAT'S BARBARA BOXER SCARED OF?

The California Democratic Party has arbitrarily decreed that all the duly qualified primary election opponents of Sen. Barbara Boxer are not "viable"--and that therefore only Boxer will be allowed to speak to the state Democratic party convention.

"This is the natural reaction of a dying party machine. They don't want any debate at all," says Mickey Kaus, who is on the June 8 ballot as Boxer's opponent in the Democratic primary.

"It's a perfect illustration of why I'm running. Boxer and the machine don't want a discussion about the effects of an illegal immigrant amnesty on American wages. They don't want a debate on how public employee unions are bankrupting the state, or how teachers' unions have helped destroy the public school system.," he says.

"We intend to give it to them anyway."

"They must be very scared of anyone who brings up these issues. After all, voters might agree."

It's not like I'm asking for a prime-time slot. The logical solution from their point of view was just to give me a few minutes at 2 AM when nobody's paying attention and be done with it. But that is not how machines think, especially Big Labor machines, especially machines that know their positions can't stand up in a debate. How do you defend a teachers' union that protect incompetents so vigorously that in an entire decade only four (4) are fired in the giant L.A. school district?"

"They need to block the debate before it starts. They need to stop dissenting Democrats from even presenting their views. Here--as in union elections and the charter school debate--their first instinct is to deny people a choice."

"This is embarrassing for a supposedly democratic party that has a proud tradition of passionate debate, including the fights over civil rights in the 1960 and the dissent over the initial party line on the Vietnam War."

The party's rules now give one person, state party chair John Burton, "in consultation" with other CDP officials, the power to declare qualified candidates either "viable" or not viable and ineglible for the party's endorsement.

"They can endorse whomever they want. The only purpose of declaring candidates not 'viable' beforehand is to prevent them from even being heard before the endorsement is decided--to anoint Barbara Boxer behind closed doors, " Kaus argues.

"There's been a lot of talk about voter 'anger' recently," he continues. "There is no surer way to make people angry than to deny them fair process and an opportunity to be heard."

"Our party is going the way of the New Jersey's ex-governor John Corzine and Massachusetts' non-senator Martha Coakley if it continues to stiff the legitimate viewpoints of Democrats who dare dissent from the party dogma on immigration, union influence and other issues."

Please let CDP Executive Director Shawnda Westly know what you think of the party's "viability" decision. Her email is shawnda@cadem.org.

Suggested message: "Let Mickey Speak!" ...

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DAILY BEAST: CAN THIS BLOGGER UNSEAT BARBARA BOXER?

Veteran journalist Lloyd Grove on Mickey Kaus:

Kaus is preaching the evils of comprehensive immigration reform that grants amnesty to illegal workers without securing the borders, and he is inveighing against the allegedly destructive influence of public employees’ and teachers’ unions. ...

“Common sense tells you that when you can’t fire bad teachers because their union won’t allow it, you’ll get bad schools. Common sense tells you that when you keep flooding the labor market with new unskilled workers, wages will deteriorate.”

It’s not an appeal calculated to win over key Democratic constituencies such as Latinos and big labor.

“But it’s the truth,” Kaus told me. “I’m running to speak unpleasant truths to the Democratic Party and to talk about the elephant in the room that they don’t want to talk about. I don’t expect them to embrace me with unanimous instant applause, but I do think there’s a huge chunk of Democrats out there who agree with me. I just have to find those people and let them know that I’m here and that they can register their views by voting for me—and then I will do surprisingly well.”

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DON'T SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT THE UNIONS!

Does Senator Boxer really think what the economy needs is 'More UAW'? She should listen to Ira Glass' This American Life. ...

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New Podcast:

Mickey Kaus visits with his conservative neighbors on the Ricochet podcast with Rob Long and a surprise mystery guest. ...

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New Video:

KABC's John Phillips interviews Mickey Kaus about the upcoming primary ... and how the teachers' union hurts the public schools ...

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kausfiles.com blog

can be found here. ...

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WHY I'M RUNNING

I have no special beef with the incumbent, Barbara Boxer. She is a state-of-the-art Democrat. But to be "state-of-the-art" in our party is not such a good thing anymore.

"State of the art" means the incumbent has learned to please the party's interest groups, often at the expense of the needs of average individuals and the party's own ideals.

It means the incumbent supports a "card check" bill that would effectively take away the secret ballot from workers in order to give more power to the big unions-- including public employee unions--whose influence over our great industries and our government has led to disaster.

"State of the art" means the incumbent endorses a misguided immigrant legalization scheme, a conditional amnesty, that would create a huge incentive for more illegal immigration--before we're sure our broken border has been fixed to withstand it. We tried the legalization approach in 1986. A wave of illegal immigration followed. Another new wave would again bid down the wages of unskilled American (and legal immigrant) workers--the people who've been hurt the most in the economy of the past three decades.

It shouldn't be the policy of the Democratic party to make it worse for them.

These aren't minor questions. One affects the organization of the entire economy. The other could irreversibly alter the quality of American life.

I am a lifelong Democrat. But on those issues, and others, what has become the party's dogma--what you have to say and think if you want to run for office as an anointed Democrat--no longer passes the test of common sense.

Common sense tells you that when you can't fire bad teachers because their union won't allow it, you'll get bad schools. Common sense tells you that when you keep flooding the labor market with new unskilled workers, wages will deterioriate.

To see why the state-of-the-Democratic-art isn't working for the nation, you only have to look at the state of the public schools, the state of our auto industry, and the state of our local and national budgets .

This isn't the Democratic party I signed up for. It's not the party many common sense Democratic voters signed up for.

I intend to try my best in the months ahead to offer these common sense voters a way to make their presence known and change our party's course before it's too late. I want to debate these issues and offer alternatives, not just say 'yes' to the party's entrenched powers.

Democrats deserve a choice too.

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If you agree, please contribute, or sign up on the email or volunteer lists (there are buttons on the upper right). If we simply get our message out to everyone else who agrees, we will have a big impact on the Democratic Party.

Registered Democrats and "decline to state" voters who request a Democratic ballot may vote in the June 8 primary.

Please check back for additional information, features and videos, etc. See also the kausfiles.com blog. Thanks!

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Photo by Stephen Kaus

Contact:

Kaus for Senate
1601-B Oakwood Ave.
Venice, California 90291

(310) 577 3141

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