Louisiana Voice

You won’t read this in The Hayride, but it turns out there’s quite a bit more to the story of Tommy Teepell than just his lame—and amateurishly foolhardy—effort to engage Abdul El-Sayed in a DEBATE on the candidate’s home turf earlier this month.

Social media has been rather active on the subject and now we learn that Tommy, son of political consultant Timmy Teepell and his political consulting firm which was on the payroll of one Bobby Jindal—to the tune of $250,000—to, among other things, to provide hecklers in El-Sayed rallies like some variant of Dick Tuck, the erstwhile pain in the butt Richard Nixon in his earlier campaigns.

Yep, that’s correct. Bobby Jindal, who took Louisiana to the brink of disaster by closing mental health treatment centers, escalating the costs of college tuition so as to be out of reach for many Louisianans and lavishing tax breaks on corporations and the wealthy, is back as a black-ops political operative.

Tommy’s daddy, Timmy Teepell, architect of Jindal’s successful gubernatorial campaigns and his not-so-successful 2016 eye-blinkingly brief campaign for the Republican presidential nomination (as in less than 1 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses), is list as the principal in BREAKTHROUGH LLC.

Strangely enough, Breakthrough LLC shares the same address (5800 One Perkins Place Drive, Suite 8B) as AMERICA NEXT, which just happens to be Jindal’s very own DARK MONEY PAC.

This month alone, America Next paid Breakthrough $250,000 for influencer marketing in opposition to El-Sayed.

It also paid for services recently in the Kansas governor’s race on behalf of Philip Sarnacki who lost the Republican primary to Ty Masterson. Coincidentally, Tommy Teepell was Sarnacki’s campaign’s political director.

Breakthrough also served in Josh Hawley’s campaigns in Missouri but the real eyebrow-raiser after Iman Dashti, a Republican influencer who had heckled El-Sayed at a town hall meeting, was stupid enough to post on social media that Jindal’s dark money group, America Next, was offering to pay young Republicans $200 to harass El-Sayed at events.

The results of the confrontation between young Teepell and El-Sayed at that town hall meeting earlier this month might give Jindal pause to wonder if Tommy gave him his full $200 worth before meekly exiting the event to the jeers of the pro-El-Sayed crowd.

The entire episode should serve as a gentle reminder that old Repugnantcans don’t die—and they don’t necessarily fade away. And they sure as hell aren’t above dirty tricks and underhanded tactics.

Both political parties are fully capable of misdirection and subterfuge but it is the Repugnantcans who would have us believe they are the party of purity, family values (despite more than ample evidence of sexual chicanery), and wholesomeness.

Some things just never go away, like those lawyer tv ads on the noon news and the equally timeworn GMC ads that run virtually every commercial break.

And of course, the same can be said for some people. Stephen Miller, who just keeps popping up even as other Trump appointees are fired for conducting their own side hustles or for lying about their credentials.

Remember Timmy Teepell, the architect of all things Louisiana during the disastrous Jindal administration?

Well, not him, exactly, but his progeny, Tommy, is out there trying to make a name for himself. And boy, did he ever succeed.

The name would be delusional.

Apparently, working in Sen. Josh Hawley’s campaign while carrying the Teepell name went to his head when it should’ve gone to his feet–as in walking away from a confrontation quickly.

He recently attempted to crash a campaign appearance by Abdul El-Sayed in Caro, Michigan. It didn’t go well for him.

‘Tommy’ from viral El-Sayed video is former Sen. Hawley staffer with Christian nationalist ties

He was there to ambush El-Sayed by challenging his loyalty to the U.S. Constitution over his Islamic faith but El-Sayed was more than up to the task and Teepell ended up leaving the packed town hall meeting with his proverbial tail between his legs as several in the crowd chanted, “Bye-bye.”

First of all, as any stand-up comic knows, the first rule is to read the room. The room in this case was a heavily El-Sayed partisan one. The second might be to know your opponent and your subject matter in a debate and to be prepared. He struck out on both.

That’s what happens when you send a boy to do a man’s job.

Maybe he can come back to Louisiana and work in another campaign, say Jeff Landry or Mike Johnson, where he’d be more at home.

Okay, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say since Diaper Don has now taken it upon himself to LIFT SANCTIONS against Russia, we can only assume he is pro-communist after all the rhetoric said he was not. Actions, after all, do speak louder than words.

By lifting sanctions “in the national interests” (without saying what “interests” were involved), we have to wonder what that means for Ukraine, yet another of our allies on which we, through Trump and a milquetoast Congress, have turned out backs.

His decision supposedly will allow for freer flow of diesel but it would be more interesting to see what investments relative to the decision the Trump family may have made in the meantime. (I would be willing to bet just about any of his executive decisions only enriches the Trumps.)

But now for the real zinger. If the Pedophile President does anything in the interest of Russia, he is aiding and abetting communism and Russia’s war against Ukraine and Republikkkan members of Congress, by their silence, are acquiescing.

That includes Speaker Mike Johnson, Sens. John N. Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, and Reps. Julia Letlow Steve Scalise and Clay Higgins.

To them I say: if I’m wrong, then DO YOUR FREAKING JOB! You weren’t elected to stand mutely by why an idiot sells the entire country down the drain. You—each one of you—are communists by extension if you do not act RIGHT NOW.

It’s really that simple.

With less than three weeks until the midterm elections, the 10,000 Women and Indivisible North Louisiana chapters across the state will be holding coordinated “No Kings: Vote Early rallies” in a final push to get people to the polls on Nov. 3 to ensure an anticipated Blue Wave Democrat win in Congress.

Indivisible North Louisiana, Indivisible Baton Rouge, local organizers, community members, and volunteers will join communities across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., for No Kings: Vote Early, a nationwide day of action focused on nonpartisan voter participation and election protection.

In Lincoln Parish, the sidewalk sign waving rally will take place on N. Trenton and Vienna Streets in Ruston from 10:00-11:00 am – check in at 9:30 at No 9 Books and Records in Ruston, 301 N. Trenton Street, which will serve as a local gathering site where neighbors can double-check their voter registration, locate polling places, organize rides to the polls, and connect with voter protection networks ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. In-person early voting begins in Louisiana on Tuesday Oct 20 through Tuesday Oct. 27.

“With early voting starting next week in Louisiana, casting our ballot is our primary tool of authority,” said Paula Stinson, Co-Director of North Louisiana Indivisible.  “On October 17, we’re coming together to wave signs telling people to vote early and make sure everyone has a concrete voting plan and that every legal vote in our community is protected and counted.”

The Ruston event is one of 7 in Louisiana, including Shreveport, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Metarie, Covington and Slidell, and over 2000 local No Kings: Vote Early actions nationwide. Groups organizing the events across the country include the ACLU, American Federation of Teachers, Black Voters Matter Fund, 50501, Indivisible, League of Women Voters, MoveOn, Public Citizen, State Voices, and Voto Latino, among others. A full list of current partners is available at nokings.org/partners.

REGISTER HERE for No Kings Ruston

For a full list of participating cities and event details, visit www.NoKings.org.

To speak with a local No Kings event organizer:

Paula Stinson, Indivisible.north.la@gmail.com, 318-224-2722

NO KINGS – GET OUT THE VOTE RALLY

TO BE HELD SAT., OCT. 17

EARLY VOTING Oct. 20 – 27

(excluding Sunday, 10/25)

WHAT: The No Kings – Just Votes! Call to Action Rally is Saturday, October 17.  Check your voter registration. Make a plan to vote early if possible.  Indivisible Baton Rouge joins with Indivisible chapters and other civic engagement organizations nationwide to rally and encourage people to GET OUT AND VOTE!

WHO: Indivisible Baton Rouge is organizing the Baton Rouge rally, but this is a non-partisan event.  There will be information on how to contact both political parties’ headquarters for anyone who attends.

WHEN: Saturday, October 17, 2026 – 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.

WHERE: State Capitol Gardens (400 State Capitol Dr.), near the Huey Long statue, Baton Rouge, LA, 70802

There will be a table where people can get assistance in registering to vote or updating their voter registration information through the Louisiana Secretary of State’s website.  Volunteers will also assist people in downloading the non-partisan LA Secretary of State’s free Geaux Vote app, where one can find everything related to their personal voting and election information, including districts for elected officials, and ways to update personal information.

For more information contact No Kings at events@nokings.org.

Once The No Kings programming concludes, all campaigns for the Nov. 3 election are welcome to have tables near the capitol area to distribute information and canvassing materials and provide any necessary training.

THIS A DAY OF ACTION!

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in favor of Dr. Joy Banner, co-founder of the nonprofit The Descendants Project, in her free-speech case against St. John the Baptist Parish officials.

The case involves a November 28, 2023 Parish Council meeting where Banner tried to speak during a public comment period. Parish President Jaclyn Hotard claimed Banner was breaking the law with her words, and Parish Council Chair Michael Wright threatened Banner with imprisonment under a criminal statute.

Notably, the statute that the officials threatened Banner with had been declared unconstitutional nine years earlier, and ironically, Wright at the time was even reading from a copy of the law that said “Unconstitutional” at the top.

When she was silenced, Banner was attempting to address the impropriety of President Hotard using taxpayer money for a private attorney to defend herself against ethics charges. It was later revealed that Hotard’s husband had a secret financial interest in an $800 million dollar grain elevator project that Hotard was promoting as Parish President.

At a FEDERAL TRIAL regarding the free-speech issues last January, the parish officials’ lawyer engaged in a range of conduct that the trial court judge determined to have “repeatedly crossed the bounds of proper advocacy.” At the end of the trial, the jury decided in favor of the parish officials and against Banner.

It remains something of a mystery how a court could allow a verdict against freedom of speech to stand when the verdict is based on a law that has long since been held unconstitutional.

But as the Fifth Circuit ruled on Friday, the “sheer volume of misconduct in which defendants engaged at every stage of trial casts a pall over the jury’s deliberations.” The Fifth Circuit condemned “defendants’ egregious behavior at trial,” and noted that regardless of “of how frequently and aggressively the court declared these prejudicial subjects to be out of bounds, defendants petulantly persisted in tainting the jury with their barrage of ill-conceived statements.”

The Fifth Circuit observed that “you can throw a skunk into the jury box and instruct the jurors not to smell it, but it doesn’t do any good.” The Fifth Circuit granted Banner a new trial.

Upon learning of the ruling, Banner said, “This win is momentous for me and many in the community who’ve had our rights blocked and our freedom disregarded. The judges demonstrated their commitment to justice by ensuring that my rights, the court, and the law are all respected.”

Her attorney, William Most, said, “We are so proud to represent a client who has the courage to stand up to repeated misconduct by government officials, and we look forward to vindicating her rights in court.”

Banner and her sister Jo are co-founders of THE DESCENDANTS PROJECT established to protect the community against industrial encroachment and to protect the health of area residents. Woodland Plantation was where the largest slave revolt in North American history on Jan. 8, 1811, ignited. In 2024, the Banner sisters, through The Descendants Project, PURCHASED THE PLANTATION.