If Mark Twain was alive today, it’s a good possibility he and Louisiana senator John Kennedy would be great friends. As a social critic and humorist, Twain often satirized the political elite and congressional proceedings with equal doses of wit and wisdom. Kennedy does the same in his bestselling book, “How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will—A Senator’s Funny and Perceptive Takedown of Washington Politics.”
The difference is that Twain parodied politicians from the outside. Kennedy has been Louisiana’s U.S. senator since 2017.
Often labeled as “America’s most quotable Senator,” the affable favorite son of Zachary, Louisiana, is widely known for saying the quiet part out loud or, in his own words, “I have the right to remain silent, but not the ability.”
Kennedy refers to his reflections as a story book rather than a policy book. It is replete with personal stories of the people and experiences that shaped him. Most importantly, he’s tried to bring common sense and candor back to our political discourse. The American people deserve that, Kennedy said.
Quiet Part Out Loud
Kennedy recalled that, in his early days as a senator, it didn’t take him long to learn that speaking the truth plainly and simply isn’t how things are done in the Senate.
“I noticed that a few people around Washington seem to act as if they are one of the Founding Fathers,” he said during a television interview when asked his opinion on senators’ suggestions for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominees in 2017.
Fellow senators quickly advised him about the importance of tradition, custom, and decorum. When he once challenged an expert witness on his facts, again, he was warned by Senate colleagues not to rock the boat.
“It’s been almost nine years since those warnings, and I haven’t stopped talking,” Kennedy admitted. “Why? Because only dead fish go with the flow.” Kennedy believes that candor is a mighty weapon, and that most people in Washington only have a casual relationship with that trait.
“You can’t make good policy unless you talk about it critically. You can’t change bad policy unless you talk about it plainly. The American people can’t decide which is which unless they hear the truth explained to them succinctly and in a way they can understand. So that’s what I do,” he wrote.
Candor and Commonsense
Kennedy is a voracious reader who loves learning and has a good memory. He graduated magna cum laude in political science, philosophy, and economics from Vanderbilt, received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, and earned a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from Oxford University.
All those degrees notwithstanding, the author believes people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Throughout his public career as Louisiana’s secretary of revenue, 17 years as state treasurer, and eight years as Louisiana’s junior senator, Kennedy has been scrupulous about his obligations to the public. He is diligent about being accountable and transparent to his constituents.
As the secretary of revenue and, later, as state treasurer, he managed to return $400 million dollars in unclaimed property to over 600,000 people. He also played a prominent role in reforming campaign finance law in Louisiana and overhauled the state’s product liability laws.
Offer a Big Quip
The narrative tone in Kennedy’s book is casual and conversational. The language reads like the senator talks: folksy, down-to-earth, and imbued with common sense. As one might expect from those who have seen Kennedy interviewed on television or listened to him question nominees in Senate hearings, his anecdotes and recollections are laced with humor and wit.
“A senator speaking to an empty chamber is the perfect metaphor for Washington.”
About the food served in the dining hall at Oxford he wrote, “Magdalen College’s dining hall was architecturally majestic, but the food tasted like fiberboard marinated in fishbowl water.”
“Peace through weakness—or wokeness—never works.”
Describing growing up in his hometown, “The town was so small that we didn’t have a town drunk. Several people had to take turns.”
In a book covering just over 200 pages, Kennedy’s reflections are concise, pulls no punches, and provides some fascinating insights into how the Senate works and some of its bizarre rules. “The rules read like they were put together by a heroin addict with a socket wrench,” Kennedy quips.
He shares that many rules aren’t even written down. They are precedents, meaning things are done a certain way only because that’s the way they’ve always been done. For instance, milk and water are the only drinks allowed on the Senate floor.
Kennedy concludes his musings with a “speed round” where he expounds on immigration, the media, crime, China, race, and the controversy of transgenders competing in women’s sports.
“As you know by now, I believe in personal responsibility, the rule of law, equal opportunity, merit, respect for human dignity, and faith in human progress,” his epilogue states.
‘How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will—A Senator’s Funny and Perceptive Takedown of Washington Politics’
By John Kennedy
Broadside Books: Oct. 7, 2025
Hardcover, 224 pages
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