Mickey Kaus

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Mickey Kaus – Life, Career, and Influence

Mickey Kaus (born July 6, 1951) is an American journalist, author, and political blogger known for his provocative commentary, the Kausfiles blog, and his book The End of Equality. Explore his background, views, career highlights, and key quotes.

Introduction

Robert Michael “Mickey” Kaus is a distinctive voice in American political journalism. Over decades he has blended policy insight, contrarian critique, and personal voice to influence debates on welfare, immigration, media, and liberalism. His long-running blog Kausfiles and his writings for outlets such as Slate, The New Republic, Newsweek, and The Washington Monthly cemented his reputation as a provocative public intellectual.

Though he has never held major elected office, Kaus has shaped public discourse by dissecting liberal assumptions, pushing welfare reform, and engaging in heated culture wars.

Early Life and Family

Mickey Kaus was born on July 6, 1951, in Santa Monica, California. Peggy A. Huttenback and Otto Kaus, a California Supreme Court associate justice and later appellate judge.

His brother, Stephen Kaus, is a judge on the Alameda County Superior Court and a commentator in his own right. Gina Kaus.

Kaus’s father, Otto, had emigrated from Vienna, Austria, and his mother was of German origin, and both came from Jewish families.

He grew up in California, attended Beverly Hills High School (via accounts of his youth) and later went on to Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

While he earned a law degree, Kaus never practiced law.

Youth, Ideological Roots & Education

At Harvard, Kaus was politically active. While still a student, he organized demonstrations protesting the Vietnam War.

Over time his views evolved. By the 1980s and 1990s, he began critiquing liberalism from within—arguing for reforms in welfare, work requirements, and more responsibility-oriented social policy.

His Harvard background provided intellectual grounding and networks that enabled his transition into political journalism.

Career and Achievements

Early Journalism & Policy Writings

After law school, Kaus clerked for a federal judge in San Francisco. The Washington Monthly and The New Republic, writing on social policy, economics, and politics.

Kaus’s work in The New Republic and Newsweek established him as a serious policy journalist, particularly on welfare reform debates.

In 1992, he published The End of Equality, a book exploring liberalism, inequality, and his proposals for reform.

Blogging Era & Kausfiles

In 1999, Kaus launched his blog, Kausfiles, which he used to both comment on politics and experiment with new formats of personal commentary. Slate until about 2010.

Kausfiles became known for its “interior monologue” style, its contrarian positions, and its willingness to criticize both left and right.

Through Kausfiles, he broke or highlighted stories that attracted wider media attention. For instance, his blog played a role in bringing up Arnold Schwarzenegger’s earlier statements during the California recall.

He also co-founded BloggingHeads.tv with Robert Wright, a video dialogue platform on politics and ideas.

Later Roles & Senate Run

Kaus has written for Harper’s, the Daily Caller, and other outlets.

In 2010, he mounted a longshot Senate run in California’s Democratic primary against Barbara Boxer, running as a “Common Sense Democrat.”

Later, in 2015, he resigned from The Daily Caller after its editor refused to run a column by him critical of Fox News coverage of immigration.

Over the years, Kaus has appeared on C-SPAN, conducted media commentary, and participated in debates on immigration, welfare, media criticism, and liberal ideology.

Views, Style & Ideological Position

Kaus is often seen as contrarian and heterodox—neither a standard liberal nor a conservative.

• On welfare policy, he argued for replacing cash welfare with job programs and promoting what he called “civic equality” (i.e. contributing to society) rather than passive redistribution.

• He has criticized labor unions and liberal orthodoxies when he deems them inefficient or counterproductive.

• On immigration, he has been critical of low-skilled immigration and supported more restrictive enforcement in several cases—taking positions that have sometimes aligned with conservative critics.

• Media criticism is central to his work: he calls out media biases, propaganda, and the co-option of journalism by partisan forces.

• He sometimes defies party norms—endorsing or criticizing candidates across the spectrum, depending on policy alignment rather than loyalty.

Stylistically, Kaus is blunt, opinionated, and willing to embrace inconsistency when he feels it follows logic or principle. This has earned him both admirers and critics.

Notable Quotes

Here are a few representative statements from Mickey Kaus:

“I think things can have more than one meaning and still connect with people.”
(This uncited quote appears in public commentary reflecting his belief in nuance—Kaus is known for multiple-interpretation views.)

On media and public discourse:
“Deploying the moose” (a metaphor he used on BloggingHeads) refers to raising “the unaddressed important issue,” akin to an “elephant in the room.”

Reflecting on his political stance:
From earlier in his career: he wrote that he once began ideological life close to Marxist leanings, but evolved to embrace new policy directions.

Because much of his writing is in essays and blog posts, many of his best lines appear in context rather than as famous pithy quotes.

Legacy & Influence

Mickey Kaus’s influence is more intellectual than institutional. His legacy includes:

• Helping pioneer the blending of journalism and blogging in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

• Pushing welfare and social policy debates in new directions within liberal circles.

• Modeling a style of political commentary that values nuance, internal criticism, and ideological mutability.

• Encouraging media literacy and skepticism of journalistic authority—especially in how news is framed.

• Inspiring a cohort of writers and commentators who see themselves as public intellectuals beyond party lines.

While he never achieved major electoral success, his role as a critic, provocateur, and thinker continues to matter in American media circles.