Mickey Kaus
Mickey Kaus is a journalist and author best known for writing
Kausfiles, a "mostly political"
blog featured on
Slate.com. Kaus is the author of
The End of Equality and had previously worked as a journalist for
Newsweek,
The New Republic and
Washington Monthly. Kaus attended
Harvard Law School but has never practiced law. He has a brother,
Stephen Kaus, who is a lawyer and occasional commentator on
The Huffington Post. Kaus currently resides in
Venice Beach, CA.
Kaus first wrote Slate's "Chatterbox" column in
1997 but started Kausfiles in
1999 as a private blog. In
2002, he returned to Slate at the invitation of editor
Michael Kinsley. During
2003, the daily readership of Kausfiles varied between 15,000 and 30,000.
Stylistically the blog is most notable for its
interior monologues including the ruse of a non-existent editor. Media critic
James Wolcott, in his book
Attack Poodles and Other Media Mutants, uses Kaus as the
archetypal example of a type of
pundit he labels "counterintuitives". This type of pundit goes out of his way to stake out positions which run counter to conventional wisdom or, frequently, common sense, for the sole purpose of marvelling in his own cleverness. Kaus has identified himself as
neoliberal. Nevertheless, liberals like
Paul Krugman and
J. Bradford DeLong believe that Kaus is no longer a neoliberal but rather a neoconservative, which they indicate by calling him a
Rhinoceros, from
Eugene Ionesco's
play of that name.
[http://www.wws.princeton.edu/pkrugman/rhino.html, http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/archives/000422.html]During the
2003 California recall, Kausfiles uncovered an interview with
Arnold Schwarzenegger by
Oui magazine in which he boasted of participating in group sex. This post sparked a series of claims of sexual misconduct during Schwarzenegger's bodybuilding and acting career. Kaus later posted about a
1981 Today Show appearance where Schwarzenegger claimed that he deliberately damaged chimneys in order to boost demand for his bricklaying business, which was another scoop.
During the
2004 U.S. presidential election, the blog displayed a strong and consistent distaste for
John Kerry, despite the fact that Kaus endorsed Kerry and contributed to his campaign. Kausfiles has also consistently criticized the
Los Angeles Times, Santa Monica radio station
KCRW, and
CNN President
Jonathan Klein.
The blog also comments on the
automotive industry and Kaus irregularly files automotive-centric "Gearbox" columns on Slate.
Kaus also attempted to transition to radio, making occasional contributions to the Slate/
NPR show "
Day to Day."
On
November 1,
2005, Kaus and journalist
Robert Wright launched
Bloggingheads.tv, a video weblog dialog or "dia-vlog" focusing on mostly-political current events. Kaus and Wright trade off from time to time with other bloggers and authors, discussing the headlines and latest developments and making predictions.
To exploit the visual side of the medium, Kaus sometimes uses visual aids such as an
Al Gore mask and a stuffed moose. According to Kaus[
1] "Deploying the moose" symbolizes
Pinch Sulzberger's idea of "the unaddressed important issue" similar to the "
elephant in the room."
Although purportedly somewhat liberal, Kaus is friends with controversial conservative pundit
Ann Coulter, which has caused public friction between Kaus and Wright.
*
The Kausfiles blog*
Bloggingheads, Kaus's video discussions with
Robert Wright*
Annotated copy of LA Times feature on Mickey Kaus
