Mickey Kaus Took 5.3% Of Vote

Mickey Kaus, a journalist who spent a grand total of $40,000.00 had no staff (1 volunteer) and used his beat up old Volvo received 93,599 votes.  That really has to say something about the angst that is rising against the status quo.  Here is his concession statement any emphasis is mine. 

I congratulate Senator Boxer on her primary victory. But the results send more than one message.


I'm a blogger. I spent about $40,000. I had one part-time aide, a recent college grad who was prepping for his LSATs. We had no headquarters, no pollsters, no highly paid strategists and consultants. We had a couple of laptops and an old Volvo. And we still ripped off more than 100,000 votes from a three term incumbent because there is a large group of voters who are dissatisfied with the prevailing dogma of the Democratic party.

I entered the race because I wanted to start up an argument among Democrats about the party's direction--about the need to say "no" to the unions and to insist on securing the border before we even talk about amnesty.

We not only started that argument, but perhaps we helped demonstrate who, in the end, is going to win it. That's because there's no question that if we'd had more money we could have gotten a much bigger vote. Many Democratic pols know this deep down, I think. They know their days are numbered if they continue to obey the labor bosses and amnesty fantasists while denying average California voters the common sense solutions they want: working borders, working schools, affordable government, a flexible economy and higher wages.

Those common sense policies don't mean abandoning the traditional Democratic ideal of equal respect for all citizens, regardless of income. They're the only way we are going to achieve that ideal.

The pols are leading us down a dead end. This election has shown their weakness. It's not a good sign when their anointed choice for Senator, a well-known three-term incumbent, loses 20% of the vote in their own primary against a couple of complete unknowns--after two transcontinental trips by President Obama to support her.

It's a weakness I hope other Common Sense Democrats will exploit, soon.
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Thanks to all those who assisted and supported me--sometimes secretly--in this brief campaign. I especially want to thank Ted Howard (hope the LSATs went well), Marc Danziger, Rob Long, Scott Immergut, Darla Brown, Emily Calderone, Jodie Burke, plus Mystery Mavens 1 through 4.
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I also want to say a word about the passing of Stephen Rivers, a seemingly ubiquitous and indefatigable activist for Democratic causes. I didn't know him that well, but when I saw him at events or ran into him at the all-night Sav-On, he was always friendly and helpful, even though he knew we disagreed on some issues. He didn't like the idea of my campaign--as a Boxer loyalist he wrote on my Facebook page that he wished there was a "dislike" button so he could use it on me. I thought that was a bit harsh. But when I ran into him in a sidewalk cafe a few days after that, he was cheerful, not scornful, advising me that my brownie run to Pain Quotidien was "not a good use of your time, Senator." He didn't act as if he was a few weeks away from dying. There was no bitterness. He must have known what was ahead, but he didn't want it to disrupt everyone else's lives. It's not only Democrats who will miss him.