Bloodless Coup

Gov.-Elect Jindal's First Appointments

Crikey. It's not as if the pro-gun, pro-forced pregnancy Gov. Kathleen Blanco had a far leftist staff in Baton Rouge, but these quick biographies of Bobby Jindal's first two appointees suggest they'll be taking the state to the right - far to the right.

His campaign manager, Timmy Teepell, will be chief of staff when Jindal takes office in January. Teepell also will direct the transition team. Teepell, 32, is a Baton Rouge native who served as chief of staff in Jindal’s congressional office. Before joining Jindal’s staff, he worked for the Republican National Committee. He also worked for the Madison Project, a Washington, D.C., group whose Web site says it raises money for candidates endorsing their stands on "Pro-Life, Pro-Family, Limited Government, (and) Defenders of Religious Freedom." Growing up, Teepell was home schooled during part of his formative years. Unlike his boss, a Rhodes scholar with a degree from Brown University, Teepell never graduated from college. "(I) studied on my own. I’m what you call a road scholar," Teepell said.

Another campaign aide, Stephen Waguespack, will be deputy chief of staff for policy. For the next two months, he will be deputy director of the transition team. Waguespack, 33, was policy director for Jindal’s gubernatorial campaign. He also worked as an aide to U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican who is on the House energy committee, and as a lobbyist for The Alpine Group in Washington, D.C., which largely focuses on energy issues. He graduated from LSU and has a law degree from Columbus School of Law at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Teepell and Waguespack spent the bulk of their careers on Capitol Hill working for Republicans in Washington’s partisan political climate.