My grandfather had a term for those who possessed lengthy educational pedigrees but lacked the common sense to safely pour catsup from a bottle without endangering someone’s shirt at the next table:
An educated fool.
Such a person is Louisiana’s junior senator.
John Neely Kennedy is just that: an educated fool.
That he’s educated is well-documented but no less so than the mounting evidence that he is a pseudo-hillbilly philosophizing fool who loves nothing more than to have his platitudinous homilies aired by network television news so all the world to see that Will Rogers isn’t really dead – he just smells funny.
But when your 1950s red-baiting tactics conjure up the ghost of Tail Gunner Joe McCarthy, it has to leave one asking, in the immortal words of Joseph Welch, “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?”
That’s precisely what happened on Thursday when Kennedy, caught in a time warp, went out hunting for communists when the State of Louisiana might well have been better served with improved roads and bridges, less poverty, higher levels of education, and better job opportunities for its citizens.
But never mind all those things; they don’t garner face time on the networks. Grandstanding, obviously, does and grandstanding is what Kennedy does best. In fact, in the five years he has been in the U.S. Senate, that’s about all he has done.
It was during the confirmation hearings for President Biden’s nominee as head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that Kennedy really mooned the world (in polite terms – in cruder terms, showed his ass).
And it’s the irony of the entire exchange (which I’ll get to presently) that really brought out the hypocrisy of Kennedy.
“You used to be a member of a group called the Young Communist, didn’t you?” Kennedy asked Saule Omarova, who is a professor at Cornell University specializing in financial regulation.
Kennedy was referring to the Leninist Communist Young Union of the Russian Federation, aka the Komsomol.
Omarova answered in the affirmative explaining that because she grew up in the Soviet Union, membership in the group was mandatory. Unimpressed (or more likely, unhearing, because senators and representatives in Washington – and Baton Rouge – would rather hear themselves than their constituents or witnesses), Kennedy pressed on:
Did she resign from the group? Did she send them a letter of resignation? No, Senator, she explained patiently, that’s now how it works. Somehow, Kennedy never got around to questioning her about her qualifications for regulating banks, which is what OCC does. Instead, he was hell-bent on rooting out communists.
Now, I’m all for properly identifying communists wherever they might be, including those who might consider launching misinformation campaigns over Internet social media platforms in order to get a favored demagogue elected president say, in 2016, but to zero in on this person while ignoring all the intel that points to the Russian interference in the 2016 election is more than a little hypocritical.
I have no sympathy for the communist philosophy of government. I’ve seen what it’s done in countries like Russia, Cuba and Venezuela and it’s not pretty. But I’ve also seen what this country has done in countries with legitimately-elected leftist regimes in an effort to overthrow those governments and that ain’t pretty, either.
I also have no sympathy for those in power who would deny any citizen the right to vote, who would deny housing, jobs, or education to someone because of their skin pigment, or who would refuse to increase the minimum wage even as corporate CEOs’ remuneration has increased astronomically.
I question the values of a system that would allow someone who gets caught with a joint to spend a lifetime behind bars while a white kid from a wealthy family is allowed to go free after RAPING four (count ‘em, four) girls. (Try to be honest in answering the question of what would have been the result if the boy had been black?)
I have a real problem with a judge (in Tennessee) who expeditiously (and falsely) creates new law out of whole cloth just so she can SENTENCE black children to prison.
But John Neely Kennedy, so long as it gets him on TV, has no problem with castigating someone who, while living under a tyrannical government, was forced to adhere to its oppressive rules by “joining” an organization of the state. Never mind that that same person managed to escape that life for what she thought was freedom in this country – only to be “outed” by camera whore.
I guess it comes back to the Bible verse John 8:7, which says, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
But Kennedy, like his idol, would apparently rather just hold the Bible up for a photo-op than actually read what it says.
He is, after all, just an educated fool.
“Camera whore.” Good one. I’ll have to remember that.
How about “Political Prostitute?”
Rather redundant in most cases (Cassidy may be an exception).
Calling John Neely Kennedy an educated fool is paying him a compliment. He is much cagier than that label implies – and, therefore, more dangerous. One thing I believe he must believe is that the majority of Louisianans are so dumb they only remember his name and that they are able to pick up the dog whistles in his diatribes and fit them to their pre-conceived notions. With regard to his embarrassing grilling of Omarova, he is betting people in Louisiana are so backward that they see a Communist behind every tree. I am surprised he has not amped up the 1776 movement by introducing a law to require the kind of indoctrination we got when I was in high school, and even my freshman year in college. i. e., a course in Americanism vs. Communism. Of course, we were all so dumb we didn’t know the difference so it was a big help.
John Neely Kennedy should resign from the U. S. Senate.
Alas, John Neely Kennedy alias Sen. Cornpone will never, never resign from the U. S. Senate…unless he is offered a higher position. He is “stomping in high cotton” (as they say down South) and he knows exactly how to manipulate these Republicans and not just in Louisiana. He gets replies on his post of worship from many other states. Republicans love the uneducated all over America….therein lies our problem!
And why is Senator Camera Whore with his soundbites attacking Saule Omarova, President Biden’s nominee to regulate banks? Because the banks do not want government watchdogs and regulators interfering with their hoards of cash and greed for more. Wonder how much these banks and lobbyists are spending and/or contributing to this senator and other Republican election committees? These banks, in the words of Rockin’ Sidney don’t want anyone messing with their “Toot Toot”. Good article from NPR with this link:
ttps://www.npr.org/2021/11/18/1056252505/saule-omarova-occ-treasury-nomination-confirmation-hearing-criticism
I agree that John Kennedy thinks he is a Will Rogers or a Mark Twain. He’s neither. His feigned “old skule” words of wisdom are just performance art that please both the educated and uneducated “conservatives.” The educated cons are in on his charade and the uneducated Republicans don’t know they’re the butt of his folksy philosophizing nonsense. Senators Kennedy, Cruz, and Hawley know the “emperor has no clothes,” but they act out the part their “conservative” constituents think they want — insisting the emperor is not naked — because their ignorant, vindictive, jealous, poorly educated and mis-informed voters aren’t “smart” like them. Kennedy reminds me of a ventriloquist with his own face/mouth being the puppet spouting out craziness and fallacies, that he, the puppet master, knows are flat out wrong and deceptive. Ignorance is apparently bliss. I oftentimes wish I did not know how evil and conniving the Republican cons are. I stopped drinking the Republican Kool-Aid when I went to college and learned me some critical thinking skills. Once you realize the emperor is naked, it is difficult to hang out with others that are still duped or are also in on the con.
Bravo!
Sent from my iPad
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His narcissism prohibits Louisiana’s progress.
Is it too early to campaign for Luke Mixon?
No
No, never too early to campaign against the Russians in the Senate.
Communism is an economic system and Cuba, Russia, and Venezula had a bastardized form of it. What hurt those countries was Totalitarianism, something the US (through the CIA) has happily supported in many countries, when it suited those in power here.
Exactly
Mr. Ward, that’s an excellent observation. So many people go beserk at the mention of the words socialism and communism when they really have no true concept of what the words actually mean. I suppose it’s a conditioned reflex.
And your comments about the CIA are spot on. Thank you for your political acumen.
Excellent article, Tom. I always cringe when I hearTV anchors say “LA Senator John Kennedy” as I know LA is in for another humiliation at the hands of this charlatan.
While Kennedy was making a fool of himself asking Dr. Omarova useless & pointless questions about Russia then, he has yet to explain why he was in Russia few years back. I’ve asked, but he only response to “constituent” correspondence with routine form letters.
@ Winham, let’s hope that Louisianans are not so dumb as to re-elect Kennedy next year, but I won’t bet the farm on it.
I happen to love John Kennedy he has a wonderful sense of humor even better than President Trump and I loved his too. More people should have a sense of humor of their own but unfortunately these days they don’t!!!
And you think a sense a humor is all that is needed? Why not elect Jeff Foxworthy president? Or Rosanne Barr? But if you think Trump has a sense of humor, you have set the bar awfully low. My gawd, what he ever said that was even remotely funny?
What did your time-warped paragraph about ppl being denied the right to vote, denied housing and jobs because of the color of their skin, etc. have to do with your tacky talk about Senator Kennedy? Dude, the civil rights law got passed before you were born. Enough of the race-baiting! And enough name-calling aimed at Kennedy. Talk about casting the first stone! Kennedy is brilliant! Too bad you can’t see that.
Dude, I was 21 when the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964. You really should get your facts straight before shooting from the lip. And, by the way, were you a Kennedy supporter when he ran for the senate as a liberal Democrat? You’re just frothing at the mouth with nothing to add to the discussion.
When did you ever hear Trump speak in person, unedited?
I might attempt to respond to your question if I only knew what the hell you were talking about. But the truth is, I don’t respond to boneheaded questions out of left field that have nothing to do with what I write.
If humiliating someone of a different ethnicity is humorous to you then I have no words that I can publicly say to you. I will pray for you. That’s about all I can say.
This is satire, right?
Yeah Larry the Cable Guy is down-home folksy humor too.
But he’s not responsible for voting rights and such.
And I doubt he ever vacationed in Moscow on a 4th of July.
I wrote John Neely Kennedy about his embarrassing questions to this lady. I wrote several times because he is embarrassing our wonderful state, which is a mix of many different heritages, which makes Louisiana Louisiana. We are a mix of Spanish, French, English, Italian, and yes Chinese. How many politician’s pictures hang in Hunan’s Chinese Restaurant? Most all of them! And I told John N. that Trump absolutely loves the UNeducated. Told him Trump loves him. Asked him what does that say about him, that Trump “loves” him? You can be a Yale graduate, Harvard graduate, but you can be pretty dumb as well. When you denigrate another person it makes you quite illiterate and profoundly dumb, especially if you do not know the history or circumstances.
Our state deserves better representation than Mister John N. Kennedy and I pray our state responds in kind. Thanks for posting this.
Amen, K. Still pickleballing? Wish I could, but after 2 broken bones, I had to give it up.
I had been writing JNK repeatedly ever since he went to the Senate, thinking maybe one of his minions would pass something along to him, particularly since I actually worked with him during the last reform effort in Louisiana government many years ago. I finally became convinced an algorithm was answering my letters and that no human eyes were laid on them. Then I tried to rationalize continuing in the hope that same algorithm was keeping up with how many people were inquiring about which issues. Then I realized that, even if that was true, he and his colleagues were going to do whatever the polls, their party and big money told them to do and that we mullets (as the late, great C. B. Forgotston called us) mattered not a whit, so I gave up. I guess I became a poor citizen.
Great article and great comments! Being educated erases the “fool” and turns the thinking to egomania. Again, quoting from Grisham’s Reckoning, “cowards never tell the truth.” Algorithms are numbers repeating lies. We (this nation) have a model process to seek the truth, and it is messy and dangerous, but we must never become mullets, like Trumpites. Keep learning and keep loving. thanks ron thompson
And this from today’s Washington Post: (may have paywall)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/21/sen-john-neely-kennedy-goes-full-joe-mccarthy-questioning-biden-nominee-born-ussr/
Kennedy’s intent was to embarrass and humiliate Dr. Omarova. He failed spectacularly, but thoroughly succeeded in embarrassing and humiliating himself. Again.
Great. The Washington Post published an opinion piece this morning saying that Kennedy “has gone full on McCarthy” with his treatment of Saule Omarova. It’s hard to argue with that point. Among the more amusing and pithy comments on the editorial was this:
“Senator Foghorn Leghorn Kennedy (R) will surely go into cardiac arrest, should he ever find out about Trump having married two female handlers from Soviet Bloc countries.”
…Not to mention his main, number-one handler: his not-so-secret idol Vladimir Putin himself.
I emailed “Senator” Kennedy about his 2018 Independence Day trip to Moscow to see trump’s idol. Funny that Putin had no time for a gaggle of republican members of the US Congress. Kennedy’s got some ‘splaining to do. Still waiting.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eight-republicans-spent-july-4-in-russia-where-are-the-fireworks/2018/07/06/beae30be-812e-11e8-b658-4f4d2a1aeef1_story.html
Yeh, guess that’s the word. Pickleballing. It is useless to waste my time writing, but I do. I get that from my dad I think. Just never give up. When we give up they win.
I decided to give his email algorithm one more shot and be a better citizen so I sent this message to him yesterday. The response, if any, it generates will be interesting:
Senator Kennedy:
With all due respect, do you pattern your political presence after the 1940s fictional character, Senator Beauregard Claghorn? Your speech is often compared to that of the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn, but he was/is not a politician. Though also fictional, Senator Claghorn was a southern politician and research shows Foghorn Leghorn was was actually based on him. If you watch one of his movies, you will easily see why I ask this very serious question. You and I worked together 30 some-odd years ago when you were actually more like another fictional character, Atticus Finch – an infinitely more admirable figure. I thought I knew you then. Your current actions tell me I was wrong.
Our very own Bob Mann nails him best of all in his Washington Post piece: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/22/our-foghorn-leghorn-republican-senator-little-resembles-his-former-democratic-self-louisiana-we-know-type/
Dec 07 2021 – Sitting in a small coffee shop in Stockholm, I just read your article. You’re so right about everything you wrote. From some of the members, like John Neely Kennedy, nothing constructive is coming out of their mouth.
What a degrading institution the Senate has become. Something has to be done.
Thanks for your article.
The author of this article certainly shows his bias. The nominee said more than once she wanted to bankrupt the oil and gas industry. Not anyone America needs in a position of authority.
To insult a nominee, ask her if she resigned. As a child she no control over living under communism.
Sen. J. Neely Kennedy of Louisiana is a buffoon, fool. Needs to focus on Louisiana’s problems like education, rate of children in poverty. Sad,
we have the same buffoons, demagogues in Texas. Gov.Abbott, Dan Patrick, long list of fools
Fred Fischer did not say those famous words, they were were said to protect him by his boss, Joseph Welch.
OMG, you are absolutely correct! I’ve quoted Mr. Welch many times in the past. Can’t believe I got the men mixed up. Thank you so much for calling me out on this. My sincere apologies to historians everywhere.
He said Robrrt Mueller “quit”.
(He retired for the 2nd time after being brought out of retirement the first time to do The Mueller Report.)
He called Bob Woodward book a “gotcha” book.
(Woodward recorded some 19 conversations with Trump fully aware he was being recorded.)
He went with 7 other senators to Moscow ON THE 4TH OF JULY and asked Russia not to interfere in our elections–again!
(But but but–
I thought there was NO interference before?!)