My Thoughts on the Book, How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will, 3/7/2026….

I admit, I expected something else when I read this book; I expected a “How To” Book, complete with concepts, instructions, and perhaps even illustrations—well, maybe not illustrations—but I think you get the idea. In reality, I guess I was expecting a somewhat humorous roast of Washington, D.C., and all the players therein.

What I got after I finished reading the book was something else. It read like an extended curriculum vitae, resplendent with self-congratulation and political views. Politics aside, if I wanted to read a memoir, I’d read a memoir. Not something written by a Republican, current commander-in-chief-loving, U.S. senator.

Senator Kennedy is a good writer, I’ll say that about him; his style is very accessible, and his sense of humor shines through. I wouldn’t call this book an all-out hurrah for MAGA, but his praises for our current president are, as a moderate Democrat, a little tough to stomach. It’s also a smacking indication of the tribalism our nation is currently suffering. Indeed, the biting critiques he had for former President Joe Biden are the very same, almost identical slings and arrows Democrats throw at Trump.

I try to remain apolitical, and perhaps I should have done more homework on this book and its author before I began to read it (or purchase it).

If you’re a tribal Republican or a MAGA cheerleader—which is probably one and the same—this book is for you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend it. At all.