April 8, 2024 • 27 mins
In this episode, Lisa is joined by Senator Kennedy to discuss the loss of humor in politics, the importance of being oneself, and the inability to have open conversations about race. He also talks about the division in Washington, D.C., the concerns about common sense being ignored, and the impact of Joe Biden's policies on inflation and immigration. Senator Kennedy expresses his worries about the state of our institutions and the lack of trust in them. He emphasizes the need for people to vote and make their voices heard. The Truth with Lisa Boothe is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network - new episodes debut every Monday & Thursday.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So I am so excited for this guest. He is
absolutely hilarious and brilliant as well. You might know him
for some of his funny quips, like this from a
twenty twenty two campaign ad.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
If you hate cops just because of the cops, the
next time you get in trouble, caw crackhead.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
See you heard the man. The next time you get
in trouble, call crackhead if you hate cops. But he's
also known for eviscerating Joe Biden's judicial nominees and witnesses
who come before him.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Tell me what Article five of the Constitution does.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Article five is not coming to mind at the moment.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Okay, how about Article two?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Neither is Article two missile?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
What is collateral estoppele?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Collateral estoppel? I certainly do know collateral estoppable. I'm finding
that the bright lights of the moment are for me
to recall it.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Okay, So you don't recall it, okay. And the man
on the bench he's going to decide my case, tells
me to stand up and announce my pronoun that's not voluntary,
that's oppressive. And that alone. Forget his writings which Senator
(01:21):
from Cruise went through very eloquently. That alone tells me
that he cannot exercise power maturely. If I could vote
no twice, I would, I think.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Because the man is so hilarious, people forget how brilliant
he is. The guy graduated in magna cum laude from
Vanderbilt University. He got his law degree from the University
of Virginia, where he was an executive editor of the
Virginia Law Review and also elected to the Order of
the KOI if which I'm told his very prestigious. He
(01:55):
got his Bachelor of Civil Law degree with first honors
from Oxford Universe. He's written and published several books and
articles on constitutional law, the Louisiana Products Liability Act, and
the Federal Power Commission. But because he grew up in
a small town, he has his finger on the pulse
of the electorate. He seems to really have an understanding
(02:16):
of what we all care about, of what Louisiana's care about.
So I think that's what makes him so interesting. To
have all of these combine, sitting in the Senate, viscerating
judicial nominees, bringing common sense to the Senate and the country,
all while having a sense of humor. So I am
so excited to interview him about the state of the country,
(02:38):
his sense of humor, and where this is all going.
Stay tuned for Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana. Well, Senator Kennedy,
it's so great to have you on the show. I
got to meet you recently and I was like, please,
please please come my MOP podcast. So I appreciate you
making the time.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So you're you're a funny guy in a town that
really lacks a sense of humor. You know, in fact,
it seems like as a country we've lost or sense
of humor. You know, you're famous for equips like a
twenty twenty two campaign ad, Look if you hate cops
just because they're cops, the next time you're in trouble
called crackhead. You've joked about Joe Biden that voters don't
(03:21):
trust him to open a can of prinkles. About the
one point three trillion dollars stimulus bill, you said, this
is a great Dane size whiz down the leg of
every tagspair. How do you come up with this stuff? Like,
what's your creative process?
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Well, there's there's not really a process. So what before
I'm interviewed my my, My good team, my communications team
knows they give me all kinds of facts and figures,
do a great job with that, but they know to
leave me alone for about five minutes for the interview
(04:01):
so I can sort of think what I want to say,
because usually the interviews, as you know, are very short
period of time, and you don't want to waste people's time.
And the American people don't read their Startled every day
because they're too busy earning of living. So when they
do see on TV, they want you to make your points.
(04:22):
I have always admired a clever turn of phrase and
people who can write. I can write, but it's painful,
and I don't know. The good Lord just gave me
a brain that causes me to remember the way people
cleverly put things sometimes, and some of it just comes
(04:44):
to me from my upbringing. I was raised in a
very small, blue collar town in the South, in Louisiana.
You know what, you know what a small town is.
A small town is where where everybody knows whose check
is good and whose spouse isn't. And that was the
(05:07):
way that that was the way I was raised, and
so I don't know. Also I can't think of a
better way to put this. I've always believed you ought
to always be yourself now unless you suck. If you suck,
you ought to try to be something else, but always
try to be yourself. And that's what I do. Sometimes
(05:28):
it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
I think it works more than not. You know, C
do you think have we lost our sense of humor
as a country.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
A little bit? There are things that we can't talk
about anymore with or without humor. I really regret that
we can't talk more about, for example, race in America.
I think we've made a lot of progress in our
(05:58):
country in one hundred and fifty years. Uh. You know,
we America caught, like every other civilization, caught the disease
of slavery, but we beat it back, and since then
we passed I don't know a dozen civil rights laws.
That doesn't mean that there aren't racists in our country,
(06:21):
but I think most people in America today think more
about about character than color. I think most people understand
that that to to to a bear, we all taste
like chicken. But you can't talk about race anymore, and
you've got to be not that you want to use
(06:42):
humor necessarily talking about race. But when you do use humor,
you've got to think about it ahead of time because
you don't want to you know, you don't want to
offend anybody and lose the point of your message. But
there are a lot of I mean, the the moon owing. Well,
let me back up. I don't hate anybody. I really don't.
(07:05):
When I say my prayers. One of the things I
asked God for. Don't want me hate because it's hard
in Washington, DC, because the deck stacked against you if
you're conservative. But I don't hate anybody, and I try
to get along with everybody. But I do say what's
on my mind, and some people like that, some don't.
(07:28):
But there are a lot of just professional victims out
there in America today who hyperventilate on their yoga mats
if you say something they don't like. I try to
ignore them. In fact, I try not to worry too
much about what anybody thinks about me except dogs. I
(07:48):
really like dogs. I care what dogs think about me,
but I just let it rip.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Well, and that's what I've heard. I've heard you're a
big dog lover. You know, there is that saying if
you want a friend in Washington and get a dog.
Is that why as you talk about sort of the
difficulty in Washington, d C. And sort of the hostility there.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Well, look, here's the problem in Washington. It is a
democratic town. Ninety percent of the people in Washington, or
or corporate phonies or entrenched politicians or academics or members
(08:31):
of the news media, most of them are Democrats. I
would have to say today that most of them are.
They're they're they're deeply weird, They're nauserously woke. They they
hate George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln and
(08:55):
doctor Zeus and mister Patata. They they want to seriously
debate whether a man can breast steed. They think they're
smarter and more virtuous than most Americans. And that's one
of the reasons people hate Washington and one of the
(09:17):
reasons our country is is divided. My experience in Washington,
and again, I don't hate anybody, I do not. I
would for grace wherever I can find it. But common
sense in Washington, DC is illegal. And when I when
(09:37):
I feel inadequate in Washington, which I many times do,
I console myself by just looking around, going well, you know,
I may feel inadequate, but I don't understand how some
of these people made it through the birth cannot and
some of the things they come up with. But again
(09:59):
I try. I don't hate anybody, I really don't.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
You've got to take a quick commercial break. Stay right
there for more of citer John Kennedy, you talk about
how common sense is illegal in Washington, d c. But
it really seems that way, you know, throughout the country.
I guess, how did we get to this point where
common sense is illegal? Why? While you know, how do
(10:24):
we get to this point while we have so many
Americans who seem to lack common sense or or ignore it.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Well, let me say firsts, that's a great question. Congress
is divided because America is divided. Some have argued that
while President Trump divided, mayor I think I think I
think the country was was divided before President Trump. In fact,
(10:55):
I think that's why President Trump was in part elected.
I mean, I noticed two things about President Trump when
he ran in twenty sixteen. And you may like him,
you may dislike him, but this, to me, what I'm
about to say, I think, at least for me, is
an objective fact. Though he is a wealthy man. President Trump,
(11:22):
he never talks down to people. He really doesn't. He
also in some again you may think this is good
or bad, but he's authentic in the sense. In this
sense he says exactly what he thinks, and people find
that refreshing. Now a lot of my Democratic colleagues, well,
(11:43):
he broke it all. He angered a lot of people.
People were angry ahead of time before he took office,
but I think they're even angrier today. Nobody I know
is better off to day than they were four years ago.
(12:03):
With the possible exception of the illegal immorals, they're clearly
better off. President Biden has been, in my judgment, breathtaking
me awful. And he's mismanaged Congress. He's mismanaged COVID, he's
mismanaged the border. He's mismanagedcrime. He's mismanaged economy. He's mismanaged inflation.
(12:26):
He mismanaged Afghanistan. I could go down the list, and
all of this directly impacts the American people. I mean
just inflation alone. You didn't have to be you didn't
have to be mins material to understand that when you
spend the extraordinary amounts of money that President Biden has
(12:50):
spent and create all this demand without changing the supply,
you're going to have inflation and it's not getting any better. Yes,
the inflation rate is coming down, but what does that mean.
That means prices are not rising as rapidly as they
once were. That doesn't mean that prices, these high prices
(13:13):
are going to fall. They're just going up less quickly.
And the American people viscerally instinctively know that they can't.
They don't have time to sit down and look up
the definition of deflation versus distintlation. But they know that
even though inflation is coming down, prices are still high
(13:34):
and they have to seriously think about selling blood plasma
before they go to the groctree store. And that angers people.
And I don't blame it. And that's just one example.
The border. This has become a cliched expression, but cliches
become cliches because they're true. Every community is a border
state now presently.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Why do you think he's allowing it though? You know,
because the Center for Immigration Studies recently found that the
foreign born population in the United States is now at
a high of fifty one point four million, accounts for
fifteen point five percent. This has increased dramatically under Biden.
Why why is he allowing this?
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Well, of course I don't know for sure, but I
will give you my best guess. I think the people
who are advising President Biden believe in open borders. They
won't say, but they clearly have to judge people by
what they do, not what they say. They couldn't believe
in open boarders, and it's worked. I mean, we have
(14:43):
added I don't know nine million people that's for Nebraska's
under President Biden. We don't have the slightest idea of
who they are. We don't even know where they are
in our country. We just know that they are here.
I think his advisors talked him into doing that. I'm
not saying he's not responsible because he's the boss, but
(15:04):
he went along with it. I think he depended upon
the media to cover for him and for buying large
the main street media did. But as an issue, it
has broken clearly broken through, and now the president doesn't
know what to do about it. Now. He could solve
(15:24):
seventy percent of it by just going back and doing
things that were in place the day before he took over.
For example, seventy percent of the people coming into our
country through Asyblum claims or otherwise are not from Mexico.
So if he implemented a say third country program, which
(15:47):
we can talk about if you want to, that would
eliminate about seventy percent of the folks right there. But
he stared to do it because the Moon wing of
the Democratic Party has taken over the Democratic Party and
Joe Biden believes that he has to have their votes
to be relect That's what I think is going on.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Well, and of course you know it impacts the apportionment
of House seeds and electional though some of us political Yeah,
I mean because you had Youvet Clerk, a congressman from
New York, who said that her district can absorb a
significant number of these migrants, adding that I need more
people in a district just for redistricting purpose. So I
don't think as many Americans, you know, know that these
(16:30):
non citizens, these legal immigrants are being included in that.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Yes, and that's I'm not saying that's the motivation of
all people who believe in open borders, but you would
be naive if you didn't believe it was the motivation
of some When a state the number of state House
members that a state has is determined by the number
of people. So if you add more people, you add
(16:58):
more House members. Uh. And that's what's been going on.
And that's some motivation not of everyone, but of many people.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
You know, I've got to get you with you know,
of course, your your background in constitutional law and just
you know, being a having your law degree and this
being an area, and also just you stumping. You know,
so many judicial nominees that have come before you, as
well as just witnesses in general. You know, you tweeted
last year that federal judges would know the difference between
(17:31):
a law book and an E. LO Bean catalog. But
President Biden keeps nominating people who can't answer basic legal questions.
I guess what if it tell you about the judicial
nominees or the caliber of the judicial nominees that Joe
Biden has selected, and having a lot of these people
previously come before you, what can you tell us about
the caliber and what does that mean for the future
(17:53):
of the country.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Well, it tells me that President Biden's picks are primarily
activists first and a judge's lawyer second. That's not the
way our constitution is supposed to be set up. A
(18:16):
judge is supposed to be a neutral arbiter. A judge
is not supposed to be a politician in robes. The
Supreme Court is not supposed to be a mini congress.
It's supposed to be a neutral arbiter that calls balls
and strikes. Now, when President Biden has nominated good people,
I'm voting for it. But a lot of the people
(18:38):
that he has nominated, they don't know. They don't know
the law, at least they I mean, I don't ask
esoteric questions. I taught law school for fifteen years. The
kind of questions I ask were the kind of questions
I would ask my students if the subject came up
in class. This is not some game to play, got you.
(19:03):
This is what these people want to be judges. I mean,
they're going to be there unelected, they will be there
for life. They will have the full power of the
federal United States federal government behind them, and they they
(19:23):
have an obligation, a moral analytical labligation to be neutral arbiters.
If if I don't want a nominee whose whose goal
in life on the bench is to try to rewrite
the Constitution, every other Thursday to try to advance some
(19:43):
social or economic agenda that that ought to be in
front of Congress if it's going to be implemented. And
that's the way many of these activists approach it. Uh,
you say, well, why don't you go to the Congress,
to your legislature Because they know that they're half baked
ideas aren't going to pass, so they try to do
(20:05):
it through the courts. That's not the role of the
federal judiciary in America, or the state judiciary for that matter.
But President Biden has I would say seven to eight
out of ten of his nominees have been activists first
and lawyer's second. And you've got to know them law
(20:26):
to be a judge. And just because you've seen my
cousin Denny, doesn't mean you're qualified to be a federal judge.
You need to know the basic tenants of them all.
And I think that's what I want. That's my job
is to see if they know.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
We've got to take a quick commercial break more with
Cedator John Kennedy. But there are obviously a lot of
problems facing our country right now. I guess what worries
you the most, like what keeps you up at night.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
I worry about our institutions. I mean, I worry about
a lot of things, and I think moms and I
try to focus my energy on the things that moms
and dads worry about at night when they lie down
to sleep and can But I mean, I could talk
about inflation in the border and educating your children, but
(21:23):
in a thirty five thousand foot view from that point
of view. To answer your question, I worry about our institutions.
You mentioned the courts. Many, not all, but many of
my Democratic colleagues, if they had their druthers, they would
just pack the Supreme Court because they don't like the
way the Supreme Court votes. I don't like the way
(21:45):
the Supreme Court votes sometimes, and that goes back fifty years.
But I read their opinions and I try to understand
how they're deciding the case based on legal principles, not
based on some political preference. I worry about the institution
(22:06):
of Congress. We haven't gotten this bad in the Senate,
but I don't like it in the House. And I've
got a lot of friends in the House, but I
don't like it in the House when instead of legislating,
people are calling each other an ignorant slut and throwing
people off committees and censoring everybody and seeing who can
(22:31):
get the most cliques. Now that's not all House members,
but it's some House members. I don't think that's productive.
I worry about the institution of the presidency when you
have a president of the United States who on a
Monday lectures the American people about democracy and then on
a Tuesday ignores, just ignores laws passed by the United
(22:56):
States Congress, for example, the border laws. So we just
talked about the Supreme Court already struck down President Biden's
plan to forgive a student debt. They're coming back with
another plan. They're taking a second run at it. We
already had a plan for student debt. It was called
(23:17):
a job and the Supreme Court has said, mister President,
you can't do this. Wellther he's going to try it again.
That that impacts the institution of the executive branch, and
it worries me. I think our institutions will hold. But
but but let me put it another way. I don't
mean to talk so long, but right now, and I
(23:40):
find this very ironic. One of the few institutions left
in our country that people have respect for is the military. Now,
I'm delighted that that is the case, but I can
remember a time during the Vietnam era when when that
wasn't the case. But when you pull it and say,
(24:02):
we know, what do you think about the Supreme Court,
it just bothers me that people don't respect it as
an institution.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
But I think some of these institutions have does some degree.
You know, we've been lying to a lot by you know,
by the people in charge, particularly during COVID, and so
I think there's just a real lack of trust and
faith in our institutions, and some of that's warranted.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Yes, well, look, I don't blame people. Doctor Fauci and
many of his colleagues did more to set back public
health than anybody in all of human history. I mean, now,
(24:47):
if a directive comes from the public health community, you
don't have people on both sides that you should go.
I wonder if this is about science or if this
is about politics. Uh. That's that's the institution of public
health has been undermined, uh dramatically. And that's just that's
(25:09):
just one example.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Sid Mary Kennedy, I want to be respectful of your schedule.
I could talk to you forever. I really love to
have you come back on the show. You're just such
a smirky and I love your sense of humor. I
just think that, especially with all the craziness going on
in the country, in the world, I think levity is needed.
So I appreciate your sense of humor.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
We'll do to get through this. I mean, look, the
United States of America is the greatest country in all
of human history. And our institutions will hold. They will
and and and the fever that we have will eventually break.
(25:49):
But this is is in my lifetime. Uh this I
can't I can't think of a time in our country
when we faced greater danger, not just domestically but internationally
as well. And it scares me. We'll be okay, but
we've got to take it sers.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
It scares me too, which is why you know we
have these conversations on the podcast to try to address
it and also bring people on like you. Who are
you trying to make a difference in the Senate. So,
Senator Kennedy, it's an honor. I really appreciate you making
the time. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Well, listen, tell all your listeners my last piece of advice,
go vote, Go vote, go vote. If if dead, people
can do it, so can you make your voice heard?
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Exactly said people can do it, you can too.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
We're gonna thank you so much. Senator You're awesome.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
That was Senator John Kennedy. Hilarious, brilliant. Really appreciate him
making the time. It was such an honor. I want
to thank you guys at home for listening every Monday
and Thursday, but you can listen throughout the week. I
want to think John Cassi or my producer for putting
the show together until next time.
So I am so excited for this guest. He is
absolutely hilarious and brilliant as well. You might know him
for some of his funny quips, like this from a
twenty twenty two campaign ad.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
If you hate cops just because of the cops, the
next time you get in trouble, caw crackhead.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
See you heard the man. The next time you get
in trouble, call crackhead if you hate cops. But he's
also known for eviscerating Joe Biden's judicial nominees and witnesses
who come before him.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Tell me what Article five of the Constitution does.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Article five is not coming to mind at the moment.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Okay, how about Article two?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Neither is Article two missile?
Speaker 2 (00:47):
What is collateral estoppele?
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Collateral estoppel? I certainly do know collateral estoppable. I'm finding
that the bright lights of the moment are for me
to recall it.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Okay, So you don't recall it, okay. And the man
on the bench he's going to decide my case, tells
me to stand up and announce my pronoun that's not voluntary,
that's oppressive. And that alone. Forget his writings which Senator
(01:21):
from Cruise went through very eloquently. That alone tells me
that he cannot exercise power maturely. If I could vote
no twice, I would, I think.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Because the man is so hilarious, people forget how brilliant
he is. The guy graduated in magna cum laude from
Vanderbilt University. He got his law degree from the University
of Virginia, where he was an executive editor of the
Virginia Law Review and also elected to the Order of
the KOI if which I'm told his very prestigious. He
(01:55):
got his Bachelor of Civil Law degree with first honors
from Oxford Universe. He's written and published several books and
articles on constitutional law, the Louisiana Products Liability Act, and
the Federal Power Commission. But because he grew up in
a small town, he has his finger on the pulse
of the electorate. He seems to really have an understanding
(02:16):
of what we all care about, of what Louisiana's care about.
So I think that's what makes him so interesting. To
have all of these combine, sitting in the Senate, viscerating
judicial nominees, bringing common sense to the Senate and the country,
all while having a sense of humor. So I am
so excited to interview him about the state of the country,
(02:38):
his sense of humor, and where this is all going.
Stay tuned for Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana. Well, Senator Kennedy,
it's so great to have you on the show. I
got to meet you recently and I was like, please,
please please come my MOP podcast. So I appreciate you
making the time.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So you're you're a funny guy in a town that
really lacks a sense of humor. You know, in fact,
it seems like as a country we've lost or sense
of humor. You know, you're famous for equips like a
twenty twenty two campaign ad, Look if you hate cops
just because they're cops, the next time you're in trouble
called crackhead. You've joked about Joe Biden that voters don't
(03:21):
trust him to open a can of prinkles. About the
one point three trillion dollars stimulus bill, you said, this
is a great Dane size whiz down the leg of
every tagspair. How do you come up with this stuff? Like,
what's your creative process?
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Well, there's there's not really a process. So what before
I'm interviewed my my, My good team, my communications team
knows they give me all kinds of facts and figures,
do a great job with that, but they know to
leave me alone for about five minutes for the interview
(04:01):
so I can sort of think what I want to say,
because usually the interviews, as you know, are very short
period of time, and you don't want to waste people's time.
And the American people don't read their Startled every day
because they're too busy earning of living. So when they
do see on TV, they want you to make your points.
(04:22):
I have always admired a clever turn of phrase and
people who can write. I can write, but it's painful,
and I don't know. The good Lord just gave me
a brain that causes me to remember the way people
cleverly put things sometimes, and some of it just comes
(04:44):
to me from my upbringing. I was raised in a
very small, blue collar town in the South, in Louisiana.
You know what, you know what a small town is.
A small town is where where everybody knows whose check
is good and whose spouse isn't. And that was the
(05:07):
way that that was the way I was raised, and
so I don't know. Also I can't think of a
better way to put this. I've always believed you ought
to always be yourself now unless you suck. If you suck,
you ought to try to be something else, but always
try to be yourself. And that's what I do. Sometimes
(05:28):
it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
I think it works more than not. You know, C
do you think have we lost our sense of humor
as a country.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
A little bit? There are things that we can't talk
about anymore with or without humor. I really regret that
we can't talk more about, for example, race in America.
I think we've made a lot of progress in our
(05:58):
country in one hundred and fifty years. Uh. You know,
we America caught, like every other civilization, caught the disease
of slavery, but we beat it back, and since then
we passed I don't know a dozen civil rights laws.
That doesn't mean that there aren't racists in our country,
(06:21):
but I think most people in America today think more
about about character than color. I think most people understand
that that to to to a bear, we all taste
like chicken. But you can't talk about race anymore, and
you've got to be not that you want to use
(06:42):
humor necessarily talking about race. But when you do use humor,
you've got to think about it ahead of time because
you don't want to you know, you don't want to
offend anybody and lose the point of your message. But
there are a lot of I mean, the the moon owing. Well,
let me back up. I don't hate anybody. I really don't.
(07:05):
When I say my prayers. One of the things I
asked God for. Don't want me hate because it's hard
in Washington, DC, because the deck stacked against you if
you're conservative. But I don't hate anybody, and I try
to get along with everybody. But I do say what's
on my mind, and some people like that, some don't.
(07:28):
But there are a lot of just professional victims out
there in America today who hyperventilate on their yoga mats
if you say something they don't like. I try to
ignore them. In fact, I try not to worry too
much about what anybody thinks about me except dogs. I
(07:48):
really like dogs. I care what dogs think about me,
but I just let it rip.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Well, and that's what I've heard. I've heard you're a
big dog lover. You know, there is that saying if
you want a friend in Washington and get a dog.
Is that why as you talk about sort of the
difficulty in Washington, d C. And sort of the hostility there.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Well, look, here's the problem in Washington. It is a
democratic town. Ninety percent of the people in Washington, or
or corporate phonies or entrenched politicians or academics or members
(08:31):
of the news media, most of them are Democrats. I
would have to say today that most of them are.
They're they're they're deeply weird, They're nauserously woke. They they
hate George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln and
(08:55):
doctor Zeus and mister Patata. They they want to seriously
debate whether a man can breast steed. They think they're
smarter and more virtuous than most Americans. And that's one
of the reasons people hate Washington and one of the
(09:17):
reasons our country is is divided. My experience in Washington,
and again, I don't hate anybody, I do not. I
would for grace wherever I can find it. But common
sense in Washington, DC is illegal. And when I when
(09:37):
I feel inadequate in Washington, which I many times do,
I console myself by just looking around, going well, you know,
I may feel inadequate, but I don't understand how some
of these people made it through the birth cannot and
some of the things they come up with. But again
(09:59):
I try. I don't hate anybody, I really don't.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
You've got to take a quick commercial break. Stay right
there for more of citer John Kennedy, you talk about
how common sense is illegal in Washington, d c. But
it really seems that way, you know, throughout the country.
I guess, how did we get to this point where
common sense is illegal? Why? While you know, how do
(10:24):
we get to this point while we have so many
Americans who seem to lack common sense or or ignore it.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Well, let me say firsts, that's a great question. Congress
is divided because America is divided. Some have argued that
while President Trump divided, mayor I think I think I
think the country was was divided before President Trump. In fact,
(10:55):
I think that's why President Trump was in part elected.
I mean, I noticed two things about President Trump when
he ran in twenty sixteen. And you may like him,
you may dislike him, but this, to me, what I'm
about to say, I think, at least for me, is
an objective fact. Though he is a wealthy man. President Trump,
(11:22):
he never talks down to people. He really doesn't. He
also in some again you may think this is good
or bad, but he's authentic in the sense. In this
sense he says exactly what he thinks, and people find
that refreshing. Now a lot of my Democratic colleagues, well,
(11:43):
he broke it all. He angered a lot of people.
People were angry ahead of time before he took office,
but I think they're even angrier today. Nobody I know
is better off to day than they were four years ago.
(12:03):
With the possible exception of the illegal immorals, they're clearly
better off. President Biden has been, in my judgment, breathtaking
me awful. And he's mismanaged Congress. He's mismanaged COVID, he's
mismanaged the border. He's mismanagedcrime. He's mismanaged economy. He's mismanaged inflation.
(12:26):
He mismanaged Afghanistan. I could go down the list, and
all of this directly impacts the American people. I mean
just inflation alone. You didn't have to be you didn't
have to be mins material to understand that when you
spend the extraordinary amounts of money that President Biden has
(12:50):
spent and create all this demand without changing the supply,
you're going to have inflation and it's not getting any better. Yes,
the inflation rate is coming down, but what does that mean.
That means prices are not rising as rapidly as they
once were. That doesn't mean that prices, these high prices
(13:13):
are going to fall. They're just going up less quickly.
And the American people viscerally instinctively know that they can't.
They don't have time to sit down and look up
the definition of deflation versus distintlation. But they know that
even though inflation is coming down, prices are still high
(13:34):
and they have to seriously think about selling blood plasma
before they go to the groctree store. And that angers people.
And I don't blame it. And that's just one example.
The border. This has become a cliched expression, but cliches
become cliches because they're true. Every community is a border
state now presently.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Why do you think he's allowing it though? You know,
because the Center for Immigration Studies recently found that the
foreign born population in the United States is now at
a high of fifty one point four million, accounts for
fifteen point five percent. This has increased dramatically under Biden.
Why why is he allowing this?
Speaker 2 (14:18):
Well, of course I don't know for sure, but I
will give you my best guess. I think the people
who are advising President Biden believe in open borders. They
won't say, but they clearly have to judge people by
what they do, not what they say. They couldn't believe
in open boarders, and it's worked. I mean, we have
(14:43):
added I don't know nine million people that's for Nebraska's
under President Biden. We don't have the slightest idea of
who they are. We don't even know where they are
in our country. We just know that they are here.
I think his advisors talked him into doing that. I'm
not saying he's not responsible because he's the boss, but
(15:04):
he went along with it. I think he depended upon
the media to cover for him and for buying large
the main street media did. But as an issue, it
has broken clearly broken through, and now the president doesn't
know what to do about it. Now. He could solve
(15:24):
seventy percent of it by just going back and doing
things that were in place the day before he took over.
For example, seventy percent of the people coming into our
country through Asyblum claims or otherwise are not from Mexico.
So if he implemented a say third country program, which
(15:47):
we can talk about if you want to, that would
eliminate about seventy percent of the folks right there. But
he stared to do it because the Moon wing of
the Democratic Party has taken over the Democratic Party and
Joe Biden believes that he has to have their votes
to be relect That's what I think is going on.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Well, and of course you know it impacts the apportionment
of House seeds and electional though some of us political Yeah,
I mean because you had Youvet Clerk, a congressman from
New York, who said that her district can absorb a
significant number of these migrants, adding that I need more
people in a district just for redistricting purpose. So I
don't think as many Americans, you know, know that these
(16:30):
non citizens, these legal immigrants are being included in that.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Yes, and that's I'm not saying that's the motivation of
all people who believe in open borders, but you would
be naive if you didn't believe it was the motivation
of some When a state the number of state House
members that a state has is determined by the number
of people. So if you add more people, you add
(16:58):
more House members. Uh. And that's what's been going on.
And that's some motivation not of everyone, but of many people.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
You know, I've got to get you with you know,
of course, your your background in constitutional law and just
you know, being a having your law degree and this
being an area, and also just you stumping. You know,
so many judicial nominees that have come before you, as
well as just witnesses in general. You know, you tweeted
last year that federal judges would know the difference between
(17:31):
a law book and an E. LO Bean catalog. But
President Biden keeps nominating people who can't answer basic legal questions.
I guess what if it tell you about the judicial
nominees or the caliber of the judicial nominees that Joe
Biden has selected, and having a lot of these people
previously come before you, what can you tell us about
the caliber and what does that mean for the future
(17:53):
of the country.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Well, it tells me that President Biden's picks are primarily
activists first and a judge's lawyer second. That's not the
way our constitution is supposed to be set up. A
(18:16):
judge is supposed to be a neutral arbiter. A judge
is not supposed to be a politician in robes. The
Supreme Court is not supposed to be a mini congress.
It's supposed to be a neutral arbiter that calls balls
and strikes. Now, when President Biden has nominated good people,
I'm voting for it. But a lot of the people
(18:38):
that he has nominated, they don't know. They don't know
the law, at least they I mean, I don't ask
esoteric questions. I taught law school for fifteen years. The
kind of questions I ask were the kind of questions
I would ask my students if the subject came up
in class. This is not some game to play, got you.
(19:03):
This is what these people want to be judges. I mean,
they're going to be there unelected, they will be there
for life. They will have the full power of the
federal United States federal government behind them, and they they
(19:23):
have an obligation, a moral analytical labligation to be neutral arbiters.
If if I don't want a nominee whose whose goal
in life on the bench is to try to rewrite
the Constitution, every other Thursday to try to advance some
(19:43):
social or economic agenda that that ought to be in
front of Congress if it's going to be implemented. And
that's the way many of these activists approach it. Uh,
you say, well, why don't you go to the Congress,
to your legislature Because they know that they're half baked
ideas aren't going to pass, so they try to do
(20:05):
it through the courts. That's not the role of the
federal judiciary in America, or the state judiciary for that matter.
But President Biden has I would say seven to eight
out of ten of his nominees have been activists first
and lawyer's second. And you've got to know them law
(20:26):
to be a judge. And just because you've seen my
cousin Denny, doesn't mean you're qualified to be a federal judge.
You need to know the basic tenants of them all.
And I think that's what I want. That's my job
is to see if they know.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
We've got to take a quick commercial break more with
Cedator John Kennedy. But there are obviously a lot of
problems facing our country right now. I guess what worries
you the most, like what keeps you up at night.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
I worry about our institutions. I mean, I worry about
a lot of things, and I think moms and I
try to focus my energy on the things that moms
and dads worry about at night when they lie down
to sleep and can But I mean, I could talk
about inflation in the border and educating your children, but
(21:23):
in a thirty five thousand foot view from that point
of view. To answer your question, I worry about our institutions.
You mentioned the courts. Many, not all, but many of
my Democratic colleagues, if they had their druthers, they would
just pack the Supreme Court because they don't like the
way the Supreme Court votes. I don't like the way
(21:45):
the Supreme Court votes sometimes, and that goes back fifty years.
But I read their opinions and I try to understand
how they're deciding the case based on legal principles, not
based on some political preference. I worry about the institution
(22:06):
of Congress. We haven't gotten this bad in the Senate,
but I don't like it in the House. And I've
got a lot of friends in the House, but I
don't like it in the House when instead of legislating,
people are calling each other an ignorant slut and throwing
people off committees and censoring everybody and seeing who can
(22:31):
get the most cliques. Now that's not all House members,
but it's some House members. I don't think that's productive.
I worry about the institution of the presidency when you
have a president of the United States who on a
Monday lectures the American people about democracy and then on
a Tuesday ignores, just ignores laws passed by the United
(22:56):
States Congress, for example, the border laws. So we just
talked about the Supreme Court already struck down President Biden's
plan to forgive a student debt. They're coming back with
another plan. They're taking a second run at it. We
already had a plan for student debt. It was called
(23:17):
a job and the Supreme Court has said, mister President,
you can't do this. Wellther he's going to try it again.
That that impacts the institution of the executive branch, and
it worries me. I think our institutions will hold. But
but but let me put it another way. I don't
mean to talk so long, but right now, and I
(23:40):
find this very ironic. One of the few institutions left
in our country that people have respect for is the military. Now,
I'm delighted that that is the case, but I can
remember a time during the Vietnam era when when that
wasn't the case. But when you pull it and say,
(24:02):
we know, what do you think about the Supreme Court,
it just bothers me that people don't respect it as
an institution.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
But I think some of these institutions have does some degree.
You know, we've been lying to a lot by you know,
by the people in charge, particularly during COVID, and so
I think there's just a real lack of trust and
faith in our institutions, and some of that's warranted.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Yes, well, look, I don't blame people. Doctor Fauci and
many of his colleagues did more to set back public
health than anybody in all of human history. I mean, now,
(24:47):
if a directive comes from the public health community, you
don't have people on both sides that you should go.
I wonder if this is about science or if this
is about politics. Uh. That's that's the institution of public
health has been undermined, uh dramatically. And that's just that's
(25:09):
just one example.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Sid Mary Kennedy, I want to be respectful of your schedule.
I could talk to you forever. I really love to
have you come back on the show. You're just such
a smirky and I love your sense of humor. I
just think that, especially with all the craziness going on
in the country, in the world, I think levity is needed.
So I appreciate your sense of humor.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
We'll do to get through this. I mean, look, the
United States of America is the greatest country in all
of human history. And our institutions will hold. They will
and and and the fever that we have will eventually break.
(25:49):
But this is is in my lifetime. Uh this I
can't I can't think of a time in our country
when we faced greater danger, not just domestically but internationally
as well. And it scares me. We'll be okay, but
we've got to take it sers.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
It scares me too, which is why you know we
have these conversations on the podcast to try to address
it and also bring people on like you. Who are
you trying to make a difference in the Senate. So,
Senator Kennedy, it's an honor. I really appreciate you making
the time. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (26:24):
Well, listen, tell all your listeners my last piece of advice,
go vote, Go vote, go vote. If if dead, people
can do it, so can you make your voice heard?
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Exactly said people can do it, you can too.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
We're gonna thank you so much. Senator You're awesome.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
That was Senator John Kennedy. Hilarious, brilliant. Really appreciate him
making the time. It was such an honor. I want
to thank you guys at home for listening every Monday
and Thursday, but you can listen throughout the week. I
want to think John Cassi or my producer for putting
the show together until next time.
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