The U.S. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana that I knew when he worked for two Louisiana governors and served as state treasurer for 18 years has resurfaced. Kennedy’s views on President Donald Trump’s tariffs are different from Louisiana’s other Republicans, and that is welcome news.

First, let’s talk about those earlier years. Kennedy was a close adviser to the late-Gov. Buddy Roemer who served from 1988 to 1992. He was secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue during the late-Gov. Mike Foster’s first term from 1996 to 2000.

Kennedy was elected state treasurer on Oct. 23, 1999. He defeated Ken Duncan 56% to 44%. Both were Democrats.

As treasurer, Kennedy did such a good job he was unopposed for re-election in 2003, 2007, and 2011. He had become a Republican in 2007 and he easily defeated a Republican challenger in 2015.

Kennedy’s unclaimed property division returned millions of dollars to Louisiana citizens and he served as chairman of the State Bond Commission. Both positions served him well.

In 2004, Kennedy ran for the U.S. Senate, a race won by former U.S. Sen. David Vitter of Metairie. Former U.S. Rep. Chris John of Crowley made the runoff with Vitter and Kennedy came in third in the primary.

Kennedy ran for the Senate again in 2008, losing the runoff to former Democratic U.S. Sen Mary Landrieu who had 52% of the vote to 46% for Kennedy.

In 2016, Vitter didn’t run for re-election and Kennedy made the runoff with Democrat Foster Campbell. There were 24 candidates for that Senate race in the primary. Kennedy defeated Campbell 61% to 39% in the runoff.

Kennedy quickly won a name for himself in the U.S. Senate and this is what NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune said about him in January of 2019:

“Freshmen in the U.S. Senate don’t wield a lot of influence. But Louisiana’s John Kennedy has quickly developed an out-sized reputation as a folksy, eminently quotable politician since arriving in Washington in 2017,” the news report said.

During his 2016 Senate campaign, Kennedy said he would “rather drink weed killer than vote for Obamacare.” When questioning a number of judicial candidates, Kennedy has said, “Just because you’ve seen ‘My Cousin Vinny’ doesn’t qualify you to be a federal judge.”

When Mark Ballard of The Advocate asked about tariffs last week, other Louisiana Republican members of Congress supported tariffs and trust in President Donald Trump. But Ballard said Kennedy was different.

Ballard said Kennedy set aside his folksy sayings “and let his savvy New Orleans bond attorney who was state treasurer from 2000 to 2017 persona emerge.”

Here is the Kennedy I recognized from many years ago:

Ballard said, “Perhaps surprising his interlocutors looking for a pithy quote, Kennedy instead tapped his deep expertise in sophisticated finances during a series of national media interviews last week.”

Kennedy told  Fox News that Trump should take “a deal” being offered by 40% of 195 nations.

“He’s like the pit bull, though, who caught the car,” Kennedy said of Trump in The New Republic. “I hope he takes a deal. I hope he and (treasurer secretary) Scott Bessent go to every one of those countries and reduce those tariffs and trade barriers down to zero and let American businesses compete with those foreign businesses. Competition makes us better.”

The senator said he’s telling the Louisiana business community, “with tariffs, an eye for an eye just leaves both people blind. When a government imposes a tariff, it’s putting its thumb on the scale. It interferes with people’s freedom to exchange goods and services.”

Kennedy is an extremely intelligent individual. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, the University of Virginia School of Law and Oxford University.

As former chairman of the Louisiana Bond Commission, he is an expert on bonds. After Trump announced a tariff pause, Kennedy told Punchbowl, a Capitol Hill online  news source, that everyone will have to wait to see if the bond market stabilizes.

“The only way you can judge investors’ sentiment is to watch what they do,” he said.

The voters of Louisiana will be the beneficiaries if Kennedy uses his intellect on more occasions. The media loves his folksy sayings, but they have given him a reputation that doesn’t fit the experienced public official I have known for many years and who resurfaced last week.

Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than six decades. Contact him at 337-515-8871 or jim.beam.press@gmail.com.

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