L.A. Times Endorsement Shocker!
Influential paper remains neutral in Boxer vs. Kaus race.
In what has to be a disorienting surprise for the well-financed campaign of incumbent Barbara Boxer, the influential Los Angeles Times has refused to choose between her and her challenger, Robert "Mickey" Kaus in the Democratic primary, in effect remaining neutral in the race.
Regarding Boxer, the paper said:
[W]e find that we're no fans of incumbent Barbara Boxer. She displays less intellectual firepower or leadership than she could.
Kaus is running on a platform to take the Democratic party back from the special interests who control it. "The Democratic party is broken," he said today. "They've stopped listening to the voters. They listen to the unions and lobbyists instead. They've lost touch with common sense. Boxer is just part of that machine."
The Times editorial board interviewed Kaus on April 9.
The paper said of his candidacy:
We appreciate the challenge brought by Robert "Mickey" Kaus, even though he's not a realistic contender, because he asks pertinent questions about Boxer's "lockstep liberalism" on labor, immigration and other matters.
But the Times said it doubted that Kaus would step away from his "Democratic-gadfly persona" were he elected.
"I can see where the Times would have that worry," he said today. "As a blogger, I've been a professional gadfly. But I understand that people need a Senator they can turn to for help--and they also need a Senator to stand up on issues, like the environment and Wall Street regulation, where the need may often be less to find new ideas than to defeat old interests."
"I've always admired the role Daniel Patrick Moynihan played in the Senate. I think there is a role for gadflies and for people who turn over ideas and question dogmas. That's what the Senate was supposed to be all about. But people want a leader too, and I would intend to be one.
"They obviously don't think Boxer is."
As for who is a realistic contender: "That's for the voters to decide. The point is the paper got a look at both of us and decided not to endorse the three-term incumbent over the blogger."
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— Mickey_Kaus@msn.com
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