The following article was originally published in The St. Croix Review April/May edition.
“My name is John Kennedy. That’s really my name. I’m a United States Senator, though I have tried to rise above it.”
Thus opens Sen. Kennedy’s book How to Test Negative for stupid and Why Washington Never Will, that was published in 2025, and has become a bestseller on Amazon and on The New York Times’s bestseller list. Politico called him “America’s most quotable senator,” which he certainly is.
With chapters on everything from running for office to lawfare, Sen. Kennedy’s acerbic folksy wit takes dow a lot of the ridiculousness of Washington political life, along with the egos of many politicians. “Common sense in illegal in Washington, D.C.,” he says. “I know, I’ve seen it firsthand.”
The power of this book is that Sen. Kennedy make you chuckle while you also learn about laws, nomination procedures, political dynamics, and the like. It’s like taking a fun history class.
Sen. Kennedy may make fun of himself, but he has an impressive resume. He was raised in Zachary, Louisiana, and elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 and 2022. He practiced law; served as treasurer of his state; secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue; and special counsel to Gov. Buddy Roemer, among other jobs. His education couldn’t be more stellar: BAs from Vanderbilt University in political science, philosophy, and economics; a law degree from The University of Virginia where he was executive editor of The Virginia Law Review; and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from Oxford University (Magdelen College) in England. For many years he was an adjunct professor at Louisiana State’s law school. He is the father of a son. He and his wife live in Madisonville, Louisiana, where they attend a Methodist church that they helped to found.
Sen. Kennedy also volunteers as a substitute teacher a few times a year in local public schools. One would be hard pressed to find a more hands-on senator.
What I appreciate about Sen. Kennedy is that he insists on candor even if he is criticized. Isn’t candor what we want in our representatives? He says his book is saying the quiet part out loud.
Everything in Washington now, he writes, comes back to President Trump. The endless negativity is debilitating our country.
He says in description of most senators:
“Many think they should be president. Many act like they discovered gravity. Plenty assume Americans hand on their ever word. They think they could teach Jesus a few things when they get to heaven.”
He makes fun of both sides. He is a Republican (and a former Democrat from the days when you could actually recognize the Democratic Party).
His book is far from silly as he makes many valid points that are especially powerful because he is a Washington insider. He writes about the damage of Trump Derangement Syndrome, the bias of the media and the fiascos of the Biden years. He does not mince words when President Biden and his staff “did serious damage”: Inflation, men in women’s sports and locker rooms, COVID 19 lockdowns, weak waste-of-time diplomacy with our enemies, use of the race card, and the cultivation of hate and shame toward our country. Sen. Kennedy stood up against all of it, and good for him. He admits he doesn’t agree with President Trump all of the time.
Sen. Kennedy has harsh words for the state of our media.
“But when your job is to report facts and you report opinion, or use facts selectively to advance a narrative, or you continue to balance on your nose, like a trained seal, what ‘your’ side tells you, and you squeal with delight when the ‘other side’ stumbles, or your rationalize that this is all okay because it is for Americans’ own good, because Trump hates democracy, well, people stop believing you.”
He is right.
Sen. Kennedy, who describes himself as “an optimist who worries,” is at his most entertaining when he describes growing up in a small town. His stories of local characters and the goings-on, a tableau of small-town America, all played a major role in the shaping of his personality and beliefs that helps to explain why he is so connected with the people he represents from all walks of life. There is a reason he has been elected twice to the Senate.
Because I live in a small rural town in Southside, Virginia, I could certainly identify and laugh along with so many of his observations on growing up in a place where everyone knows everything about each other. Life can be very colorful.
In a Newsmax review Matt Latimer, co-founder of the literary agency Javelin, told The Washington Post that Sen. Kennedy “… is able to make fun of himself, make fun of Washington, and make fun of his collegues. Where is the book that makes fun of Washington that fails?”
At 216 pages the book is a very quick read. You will probably reach the same conclusion I did: That we need more representatives like Sen. John Kennedy.
Indeed, this is such a wonderful book that I gave several copies as Christmas presents.
