Untitled Document

[00:00:00] You don't have to be crazy to serve in [00:00:02] the United States Senate. They will [00:00:04] happily train you. If President Biden [00:00:06] had told many of my Democratic [00:00:08] colleagues to join the Taliban, they [00:00:10] would have said, "Where's the line?" [00:00:11] >> Joining us online is Senator John [00:00:13] Kennedy from Louisiana. His new book is [00:00:16] How to Test Negative for Stupid and Why [00:00:18] Washington Never Will. Senator Kennedy, [00:00:20] thanks so much for taking the time. [00:00:22] >> Thank you for having me, Ben. [00:00:25] >> So, let me ask you, how stupid is the [00:00:28] Senate? Uh, it seems that Americans [00:00:31] approval ratings of Congress in general [00:00:32] are very low of of the Senate. They are [00:00:34] also incredibly low. Is it as dumb [00:00:37] inside the building as it appears to be [00:00:38] from outside the building? [00:00:40] >> Well, let me put it this way. You don't [00:00:43] have to be uh you don't have to be crazy [00:00:46] to serve in the United States Senate. [00:00:49] They will happily train you. Um, [00:00:53] Congress is unpopular. [00:00:55] Uh, I understand why. Every poll I've [00:00:59] seen, we uh we poll right up there with [00:01:03] toenail fungus. There's a reason for [00:01:06] that. I think part of it generally, Ben, [00:01:08] is that the Americans today, American [00:01:11] people today have much less confidence [00:01:14] um in their institutions and that's the [00:01:17] fault, frankly, of both parties. And [00:01:19] it's happened over a long period of [00:01:22] time. The only institution that I know [00:01:24] of, there may be others that that the [00:01:27] American people seem to have confidence [00:01:29] in um is the military, [00:01:32] but other than that, the numbers have [00:01:34] been have been down. Part, let me say [00:01:37] this, and if I go on too long, cut me [00:01:39] off. Part of the reason many people [00:01:42] complain that the Senate gets nothing [00:01:44] done. Um and and you know, you know the [00:01:48] old joke, doing nothing is hard. You [00:01:51] never know when you're finished. But [00:01:53] part the the Senate is assigned in part [00:01:56] for that for that purpose. Um about half [00:01:59] of my job is to advance good ideas. The [00:02:04] other half of my job is to kill bad [00:02:07] ideas and and that uh in large part [00:02:11] explains why the Senate moves so slowly. [00:02:14] I think our founders intended it too. [00:02:18] >> Yes. And so Senator Kennedy, I I think [00:02:20] that's a it's a fantastic point. It's [00:02:21] something I' I've emphasized on the show [00:02:23] is that because the American people have [00:02:25] been sold a bill of goods by their [00:02:26] politicians, which is that government [00:02:28] can fix everything, that government is [00:02:29] there to alleviate all the problems in [00:02:31] your life, they get angry when they [00:02:33] don't see tremendous action coming out [00:02:35] of the Senate. And and you see this now [00:02:37] increasingly on both sides of the aisle. [00:02:38] Calls by Republicans to end, for [00:02:41] example, the Senate filibuster, which [00:02:43] means that of course if Democrats were [00:02:45] to ever gain control of the House and [00:02:47] the Senate and the presidency, they [00:02:48] would then run roughshod right over the [00:02:50] rest of America. What is your take on on [00:02:52] the Senate filibuster? and and really [00:02:54] should we be spending a lot more time [00:02:56] just as as a party and as a movement [00:02:58] explaining to people that you actually [00:02:59] want the government doing less and that [00:03:01] stalemate is is part of the process the [00:03:03] founders designed in order to ensure [00:03:05] that the government couldn't run you [00:03:06] over completely. [00:03:08] >> Well, I that's a that's a a good point, [00:03:10] Ben. I understand how people feel. The [00:03:13] American people look around and they see [00:03:16] they see too many at the top [00:03:19] getting getting bailouts. they see too [00:03:22] many people at the bottom getting [00:03:23] handouts and they're in the middle and [00:03:26] every single time they get stuck with [00:03:29] the bill. Um, and I and I do understand [00:03:33] the frustration about Congress. I don't [00:03:36] support getting rid of the filibuster. [00:03:38] And I'll tell you why. U, I spent four [00:03:42] years under President Biden. Um he he [00:03:45] had a a a lot of um a a lot of bad ideas [00:03:51] and many most many many many most most [00:03:54] really of my Democratic colleagues went [00:03:56] right along with him. If President Biden [00:03:59] had told told them to my my many many of [00:04:02] my Democratic colleagues to join the [00:04:03] Taliban they would have said where's the [00:04:05] line? We killed those bad ideas and a [00:04:09] lot of bad judicial nominees frankly [00:04:11] because of the filibuster. Now, the [00:04:14] argument's been made to me, well, as [00:04:16] soon as Democrats get back back in [00:04:18] power, they're going to kill it, so we [00:04:20] might as well kill it. Now, that may or [00:04:23] may not be true in terms of the [00:04:25] Democrats, but if if if I park my car on [00:04:29] the street in a dangerous area, and I'm [00:04:32] pretty sure it's going to be stolen, [00:04:35] um that doesn't mean I'm just going to [00:04:37] hand hand them the keys. I'm going to do [00:04:40] everything I possibly can to try to keep [00:04:42] it from getting snow stolen. And and [00:04:44] that's that's the way I look at it. I [00:04:47] also don't support getting rid of what [00:04:48] we call the blue slip. That means that [00:04:51] the uh the blue slip allows me as a [00:04:54] United States senator to have a say in [00:04:57] who makes it to the federal bench for my [00:04:59] state. And I know my state better than [00:05:03] somebody in Washington DC in the White [00:05:06] House. whoever is in the White House who [00:05:08] who couldn't find Louisiana [00:05:12] uh with a with a map or a search party [00:05:15] or even on Google. Well, the Cali [00:05:17] Markets right now and Khi is one of our [00:05:19] sponsors. They say 63% of people say the [00:05:21] Republican party is going to retain [00:05:23] control of the US Senate. 37% say that [00:05:27] they believe the Democrats will take [00:05:28] control of the Senate. But those are the [00:05:30] worst numbers for the Republican party [00:05:31] this cycle. So those numbers seem to be [00:05:34] converging. Again, the the hopes for the [00:05:36] Democratic party in this election cycle [00:05:37] are going up. The couch markets also [00:05:39] suggest 78% of people saying Democrats [00:05:41] are going to win the House. Only 22% [00:05:43] saying that Republicans will retain [00:05:45] control of the House. Senator, yeah, [00:05:47] obviously a lot of the dispsia that's [00:05:49] happening now on the right is happening [00:05:51] because we are still in the Trump era. [00:05:53] The president, of course, a very [00:05:54] powerful figure, but people can see [00:05:56] that, you know, in the future, in the [00:05:58] next few years, obviously the president [00:05:59] will no longer be the president. [00:06:01] President Trump will not be in office [00:06:03] anymore. And so the sort of future of [00:06:04] the Republican party seems seems pretty [00:06:06] unclear at this point. There's a lot of [00:06:08] infighting over what that future looks [00:06:10] like, whether it's going to be an [00:06:11] isolationist future, a big government [00:06:13] right future, a sort of common good [00:06:15] nationalism future, or or more [00:06:17] traditional Reagan-esque future for the [00:06:19] Republican party. What do you see as as [00:06:21] sort of the consensus that's building [00:06:23] among Republicans, if there is one, or [00:06:24] is it going to be sort of a long [00:06:26] internal battle here? [00:06:27] >> Well, I hope we have a very robust [00:06:29] debate. Now, here's what I see around [00:06:32] the world. This is based on unclassified [00:06:35] information but also classified [00:06:36] information that that I have access to. [00:06:41] President Xi and China, Putin and [00:06:43] Russia, the Ayatollah and Iran have [00:06:45] formed a partnership. Uh President Xi [00:06:48] and China is the managing partner. The [00:06:52] their their objective is to have Russia [00:06:54] dominate Central and Eastern Europe to [00:06:57] have the Ayatollah and Iran dominate the [00:06:59] Middle East. to have Russia dominate the [00:07:01] Indo-Pacific with freedom to roam in [00:07:05] subsaharan Africa and South America and [00:07:07] both Russia and China want to want to [00:07:11] control the Arctic and space. Now that's [00:07:14] not a world safe for America. I don't [00:07:17] want uh America to be the world's [00:07:20] policeman but I don't want Xi Jinping or [00:07:23] or or Putin or the Ayatollah to be [00:07:26] either. And I think we have to fight [00:07:29] back. Let me give you an example. [00:07:32] This is going to sound strange to some. [00:07:34] I think the Middle East is safer today [00:07:38] than it has been [00:07:40] in years, maybe in my lifetime. Here's [00:07:42] why. [00:07:44] uh with the support of the United United [00:07:46] States particularly President Trump some [00:07:49] I'll give him credit from President [00:07:51] Biden uh Israel has been allowed to give [00:07:55] a curb stomping to Iran to uh Hezbollah [00:08:01] to Hamas and to Iran. [00:08:04] Uh Iran for years exported terrorism. [00:08:07] They're not doing that anymore. Um, uh, [00:08:11] this has led to peace. And I will tell, [00:08:14] you probably know this, Ben, better than [00:08:15] I do, but but the Arab countries, [00:08:18] they're not saying it loud out loud, but [00:08:21] under their breath, they're saying, "Go [00:08:24] Israel. Take Iran out. Take Iran out." [00:08:29] Uh, now this has given rise, in my [00:08:33] opinion, to a lot of anti-semitism, [00:08:37] particularly in America. [00:08:39] And what we're going through in terms of [00:08:42] this anti-semitism, [00:08:45] this new sentiment, frankly, is a stress [00:08:48] test for American democracy. We'll win [00:08:51] it, but um I hate to see us go through [00:08:55] it. [00:08:57] So, Senator Kennedy, in your book, How [00:08:59] to Test Negative for Stupid and Why [00:09:01] Washington Never Will, you talk a fair [00:09:02] bit about your Senate colleagues. [00:09:04] There's been a lot of talk in recent [00:09:05] years about the inability of people on [00:09:07] both sides of the aisle to to get along. [00:09:10] What is your personal experience with [00:09:11] with people on the other side of the [00:09:13] aisle because you'll hear people now [00:09:14] lament, you know, Ronald Reagan and Tip [00:09:16] O'Neal, they used to go out at Cats and [00:09:18] Dogs and then they would go out and get [00:09:19] a drink afterward. What's the actual [00:09:21] mood in the Senate? Is it true that that [00:09:22] nobody will sit with each other? Is [00:09:24] bipartisanship dead? [00:09:26] >> No. Um, I can't speak for the House. [00:09:29] Look, Ben, I don't hate anybody. I look [00:09:31] for grace wherever I can find it. [00:09:34] Now, I know all 100 of my colleagues [00:09:36] well. We're together often. I like them [00:09:39] all. Some I like better than others, but [00:09:42] I have many friends who are uh who are [00:09:44] on the Democratic side of the aisle. Um [00:09:48] the Senate is is, how can I put this [00:09:52] charitably? The Senate is more um um [00:09:57] hospitable [00:09:58] and charitable to each other than other [00:10:01] legislative branches. Um, we have some [00:10:05] sharp disagreements, [00:10:07] but but nobody tries to throw anybody [00:10:10] off of a committee. Uh, no, we don't get [00:10:14] personal on the floor of the Senate. In [00:10:16] fact, we have a rule against it. Um, you [00:10:20] can disagree viferously without without [00:10:23] being a total a-hole about it. And and I [00:10:26] think that's the way most senators [00:10:28] operate. Things get a little tense [00:10:30] sometimes when you're there at 2:00 in [00:10:32] the morning and somebody offers an [00:10:34] amendment that you know doesn't have a [00:10:36] chance to pass and there's some [00:10:38] grumbling, but there there's generally [00:10:40] people say, "Okay, it's a free country." [00:10:42] Um, do what you got to do, but let's try [00:10:45] to get along. And I'm proud of that. I [00:10:46] don't I don't want that to change in the [00:10:49] Senate. [00:10:52] >> So, let's talk about 2026. [00:10:54] >> If I can say this, Ben, that doesn't [00:10:55] mean it's not a weird place. I I I [00:10:58] talked about some of that in in my book. [00:11:00] We've got some uh being in the Senate is [00:11:03] it's uh on on occasions it can be deeply [00:11:06] weird. We've got some characters. [00:11:11] >> Well, Senator John Kenny, you should go [00:11:13] check out his new book, How to Test [00:11:14] Negative for Stupid and Why Washington [00:11:15] Never Will. Senator Kenny, thanks so [00:11:17] much for the time and good luck with the [00:11:19] book. Of course, [00:11:20] >> you're a rock star, man. I enjoy your [00:11:22] show. Thanks. Thanks, Ben. [00:11:24] >> Hey, thanks so much. I'm not that short, [00:11:26] but you know what is short? This clip.