INTERVIEW: Tezlyn Figaro Talks 'Push The Line,' Trump & Conservatives, Bernie Sanders, Buying Votes + More

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Breakfast Club – INTERVIEW: Teslin Figaro Talks 'Push The Line,' Trump & Conservatives, Bernie Sanders, Buying Votes + More

Release Date: April 16, 2025

In this engaging episode of The Breakfast Club, hosted by DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, and Charlamagne Tha God, special guest Teslin Figaro delves deep into his new political training program, critiques current political strategies, and offers insights into effective activism and campaign management. The conversation is rich with analysis, personal anecdotes, and actionable advice for aspiring political activists and organizers.

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1. Introduction and Background

Teslin Figaro joins the hosts, bringing with him a wealth of experience as a senior public policy advisor and chief political correspondent at Revolt News. Celebrating his recent acceptance into FAMU Law School, Teslin shares his academic journey and the personal motivations behind pursuing a law degree.

Teslin Figaro ([00:54]): "I've always wanted to get my law degree, even though I've worked with Attorney Crump as a senior public policy advisor for the last 10 years."

Teslin also highlights his family life, mentioning his daughter Jada's acceptance into Prayer View on scholarship, illustrating his dedication to both his personal and professional growth.

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2. Launching 'Push The Line' – A Nonpartisan Political Training Program

Teslin introduces his new initiative, 'Push The Line', a comprehensive, nonpartisan political training program designed to equip activists, organizers, and campaign workers with essential skills.

Teslin Figaro ([04:39]): "It's a five-course program. I'm the trainer. I say masters in education... it's important that you know that because I actually built the curriculum myself."

The program encompasses various aspects of political campaigning, from understanding roles and responsibilities to effective community organizing and coalition building. Teslin emphasizes the program's accessibility, offering both live interactive classes and replay options.

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3. Understanding Roles in Political Campaigns

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on differentiating between candidates, activists, and organizers. Teslin underscores the importance of recognizing these distinct roles to ensure effective collaboration and successful campaigns.

Teslin Figaro ([05:41]): "You can know your role, which is Push the Line. My logo has a person pushing the P, the U, the S, the H."

He highlights common pitfalls where candidates overextend by trying to fulfill multiple roles simultaneously, leading to ineffective campaigning and eventual dropout.

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4. Critique of Current Political Strategies and the Democratic Party

Teslin provides a critical analysis of the Democratic Party's current strategies, particularly in comparison to Donald Trump's approach. He argues that while Trump excels in organizing, branding, and maintaining a consistent message, the Democrats lack similar infrastructure and grassroots mobilization.

Teslin Figaro ([14:23]): "Trump is an organizer and an activist and a candidate and a marketer and an entertainer. He makes everything a spectacle."

He points out that the Democratic focus often skews towards federal levels, neglecting local and state-level engagement essential for sustained political influence.

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5. The Importance of Local Government and Grassroots Efforts

Emphasizing the significance of local governance, Teslin asserts that true political change begins at the grassroots level. He stresses the need for robust local campaigns and the training of community organizers who can effectively manage and influence local policies.

Teslin Figaro ([24:32]): "Local, state, we gotta stop this fascination with federal. We really, really do."

He cites examples like Commissioner Regina Hill in Orlando, showcasing the impact of dedicated local leadership.

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6. Effective Messaging and Organization

Teslin critiques the Democratic Party's inability to maintain consistent and strategic messaging, contrasting it with the disciplined approach of conservatives. He advocates for a structured, message-focused strategy to ensure that political messages resonate and mobilize effectively.

Teslin Figaro ([16:08]): "Conservatives have the digital discipline that you do not have on the left."

He also discusses the role of podcasts and media in shaping public perception and the necessity for Democrats to leverage these platforms more effectively.

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7. Addressing Current Political Events and Figures

The conversation touches on recent political cases, such as the Carmelo Anthony incident in Frisco, Texas, distinguishing it from the basketball player. Teslin uses this to illustrate the broader issues of criminalization and the need for more robust criminal defense and civil rights advocacy.

Teslin Figaro ([04:30]): "But I think I can be a beast at that defense table."

He also reflects on the dynamics within the Democratic Party, mentioning figures like Jasmine Crockett and Bernie Sanders, and their approaches to activism and campaigning.

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8. Enrollment and Details of 'Push The Line'

Teslin provides detailed information about his courses, outlining the five cumulative modules designed to cover all facets of political campaigning and activism. He encourages listeners to enroll, highlighting the affordability and comprehensive nature of the program.

Teslin Figaro ([32:25]): "All five of these courses are cumulative. You can sign up for each one individually if you want, it's only 50 bucks."

He emphasizes the practical benefits of the training, including live sessions, course materials, and interactive quizzes.

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9. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, Teslin shares final insights and extends gratitude to his supporters, reinforcing his commitment to fostering a more organized and effective political landscape.

Teslin Figaro ([35:27]): "I'm doing great things, but I love you guys. And I just wanted to say give everybody love you too."

The hosts express their appreciation for his participation, while Teslin promotes his podcast and forthcoming projects, leaving listeners with actionable steps to engage in political activism and campaign management.

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Notable Quotes

• Teslin Figaro ([05:41]): "You can know your role, which is Push the Line... it's important that you know that because I actually built the curriculum myself."

• Teslin Figaro ([14:23]): "Trump is an organizer and an activist and a candidate and a marketer and an entertainer. He makes everything a spectacle."

• Teslin Figaro ([24:32]): "Local, state, we gotta stop this fascination with federal. We really, really do."

• Teslin Figaro ([16:08]): "Conservatives have the digital discipline that you do not have on the left."

• Teslin Figaro ([32:25]): "All five of these courses are cumulative. You can sign up for each one individually if you want, it's only 50 bucks."

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Accessing 'Push The Line'

Listeners interested in Teslin Figaro's 'Push The Line' program can visit his website at teslinfigaro.com to enroll and access course materials.

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This episode serves as a crucial resource for individuals interested in understanding the intricacies of political campaigning, the importance of defined roles within activism, and the need for strategic grassroots organization. Teslin Figaro's insights offer a roadmap for fostering effective political change through education and disciplined campaign management.

Transcript

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[DJ Envy]

Wake that ass up early in the morning. The Breakfast Club.

[Charlamagne tha God]

Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious. Charlemagne the guy. We are the breakfast club. Laura LaRosa is here as well. And we got a special guest in.

[DJ Envy]

The building, the Hood Whisperer.

[Teslin Figaro]

Family. I'm not special guest, Breakfast Club family.

[Charlamagne tha God]

Tesla Figueroa is here. Good morning.

[Teslin Figaro]

Good morning. Good morning. Good morning.

[Just Hilarious]

Good morning.

[Teslin Figaro]

How you feeling? I'm feeling good.

[DJ Envy]

Congratulations. I saw that you officially got accepted in the FAMU Law School.

[Teslin Figaro]

Yes, congratulations.

[DJ Envy]

Absolutely.

[Teslin Figaro]

Yes. Thank you for saying that. Yes. I'm very excited. Famu. Hbcu. Very, very important. My daughter shout out to my daughter Jada. She actually got into prayer view.

[Charlamagne tha God]

Okay.

[Teslin Figaro]

She'll be going on scholarship and mom will be taking advantage of my empty nest situation and going to law school.

[DJ Envy]

What made you decide? Because you already got two degrees, right?

[Teslin Figaro]

Yes. I've always wanted to get my law degree, even though I've worked with Attorney Crump as a senior public policy advisor, as you know, for the last 10 years, just wasn't able to do it. You know, having a daughter running a business, 300 employees in Atlanta, hustling, working. Your first year of law school is really like a hazing. Like, you really have to be able to, you know, focus. I've always had to worry about getting money. So I want to say thank you to you for the Black Effect podcast network, because without that knowing that I can at least have some type of income coming in. That's really a lot of why it's made possible so that your credits could never period. That's really, really important. You know, it's not like I'm wealthy or, you know, anything like that. But one of the things with law school, it took me over a decade to finish my bachelor's. I had to stop, start, stop, start, stop, start because of money. You know, do I got to work full time? Do I have to be a teacher substitute? All those different things. So to really finish the law school program, you need a job. And how do you do that and still study? So I am part time because I'm still chief political correspondent at Revolt News and managing editor over there. But now I can kind of breathe and, you know, I got some income coming in, so. Shout out to Charlotte.

[Charlamagne tha God]

Will you actually go to class and school there, or will you do online campus?

[Teslin Figaro]

I know you always ask about online. Yes. No, I will be in class in Orlando, Florida, going back to Orlando, finishing up some, which is a full circle for me. I leave when, due to health care reform, when I lost my business. So, no, it's actually Monday through Thursday, and then I'll be going to Atlanta to record on Friday.

[Charlamagne tha God]

Tell them students gonna be trying to holl at you now because you're gonna be in class. Tell them students gonna be trying to.

[Teslin Figaro]

Holla at you now, nephew, you think they'll try to.

[Charlamagne tha God]

Nephews don't be trying to holler at you now.

[DJ Envy]

What's your other two degrees? That's what.

[Teslin Figaro]

Master's in adult education.

[DJ Envy]

Okay.

[Teslin Figaro]

And then management. And then right now, I'm actually Sam Houston University online, working on my second master's in political science.

[Just Hilarious]

Straight A's, by the way, law degree. So when you finish all of that, you're just gonna apply it to what you're already doing. Do you have a new area you want to venture into?

[Teslin Figaro]

No, I will still always be in civil rights. No doubt about that. But criminal defense, it's very, very important to me. My main thing that I advocate for is the criminalization of black men in particular and black folks. And we need more criminal defense lawyers. We really, really do. If you look at the case right now with the Carmelo Anthony that's going.

[Charlamagne tha God]

On in Frisco, Texas, not the basketball player.

[Teslin Figaro]

Right.

[Charlamagne tha God]

The young man in Texas. The tracks are.

[Teslin Figaro]

Yeah, yeah. I built my first two houses in Frisco, Texas. 5913 Blazing Star Road, 11410 Promenade Road. So I'm very familiar with Frisco. Very familiar what he's up against. Shout out to do you know the case? I. I know a little bit about it. I just got briefed on it yesterday. Dominique Alexander, Next Generation Action Network. He's doing the activism. He just gave me an award in January for called Voice of the People. And so now I'm kind of getting involved within the last 24 hours. But I know that the issues that he's going to be faced with. And so this is why, again, we need criminal defense. What attorney Crump does is important. We need more civil rights attorneys. But I think I can Be a beast at that defense table.

[Charlamagne tha God]

I think so too.

[Teslin Figaro]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne tha God]

Well, we got a lot to talk about. I like to discuss.

[DJ Envy]

Where do you want to go? I see you got your laptop.

[Teslin Figaro]

Well, no, I came to talk to you guys about Push the Line. I've talked to you about it many, many times. My training program, Politics until Something Happens. It's a nonpartisan political training. We did it in 2022, you remember, at 300 people that came from all over the country, in Atlanta, that came from la, Jersey, Houston, Dallas. I was overwhelmed to see how many people came in. They sat with me for 12 hours and in the rain, waiting in the rain at 7am and so people have asked Tesla bring the program online. And so I finally got it online. It's a five course program. I'm the trainer. I say masters in education. Not to stunt because, you know, I'm the hood whisperer. But it's important that you know that because I actually built the curriculum. And so there's a lot of folks that build courses but may not know, you know, the technicalities of building a curriculum, having objectives and meeting those. So I've built the curriculum myself. And so now it's virtually online. I'm happy to go through the. You want me to go through.

[DJ Envy]

Let's do it.

[Charlamagne tha God]

Ok.

[Teslin Figaro]

So course one is called we are soldiers. And what that is is it's talking about the roles and responsibilities for candidates, campaign workers, organizers and activists. So this training is, even if you are black, conservative. I want you to know, come on in. If you are liberal, if you are progressive, you are Democrat, it's nonpartisan. I'm not pushing any agenda. I'm teaching you the basic fundamentals that you need. I've been a candidate myself. I've worked on campaign campaigns, state, local, federal. I was the only black person on the ground in 2015 to flip Michigan for Bernie Sanders. I have been an activist, obviously still am, and an organizer. So this training really brings all those things together and giving you information that the other trainings won't do. I've probably been to every major training, Congressional Black Caucus, boot camp, White House project, Go run lead, Yale Law School for Women. They have a training. I have not found one that really breaks it down. One tells you the truth on what you really gonna have to do to run. And so I just decided to create it myself. That first course is critically important now. You can enroll now. TeslaFearGo.com there's course curriculum in there now for you to study. There'll be a live interactive class with me on June 14th. If you miss it, it'll still be available for replay. So that's the good thing about it. But a lot of people don't understand roles and responsibilities and the difference between those two. And I'll just kind of give an example. You and I talk about it all the time. The difference between candidates and activists. One of the reasons why you see a lot of candidates crashing out is because they're trying to be an activist and a candidate and an organizer and all these different things, and people don't really know the difference. And I blame the candidates for setting them up for that expectation. So to give you an example, we talk about it a lot. An elected official actually serves the constituents. So you'll hear a lot of people online. Why is such and such black candidate talking about immigration? Why are they talking about this? Why are they not talking about black folks? Well, they are, but you got to understand that candidate in Congress is representing 200,000 people, 150,000 people. And that job literally says to advocate for your constituents, so they have to take care of everybody. So that's why people was pissed when they said, oh, BP Harris said, I'm not gonna only do stuff for black people. I feel it. I understand what they meant. But what she was basically trying to say is, you have to represent everybody, which is why I would not be a good candidate. It's really important that you know where you fit. I wouldn't be a good candidate unless I'm in south Fulton, which is Atlanta, outside of Atlanta, Georgia, 98% black city commissioner. That so I can talk about black issues. But if you're in Congress running for president, you're talking about everybody. That's literally a part of their job. And people have to be okay with saying, I'm. That's not a good fit for me, an activist. And this is where people get confused. An activist is the one that is pushing the candidate that is saying, hey, what about me? What about me? So if that's reparations activists, immigration activists, health, healthcare activists, your job is to literally put pressure on the elected official. The elected official has to sit around and say, okay, I got to take care of a little bit of this. This is this squeaky oil. What they say squeaky or what's up? So your job is to push. However, because candidates. And this is where I criticize them. Candidates, elected officials don't work with activists the way that they should. Because you want to be at all. You want to be the candidate, you want to be the activist. You Want to be the organizer.

[DJ Envy]

Are they scared to work with the activists because they think they'll get backlash?

[Teslin Figaro]

Right. Or want to be on this microphone. You have over 400 people in Congress. How many do you see on the microphone? A handful. So you have your Jasmine Crockets. You have like Nancy Mace. Yeah. So you have. But technically they're the elected official. Technically, they shouldn't have to be on the microphone being the activist. Because what happens is what you see. And we went, we had a big old group chat about, about this. We. What happens is if Jasmine Crockett is talking about all the different things, immigration. I tell people, lay off on get being upset with her talking about immigration. She's in Texas, she must talk about immigration. So you have black people online. Oh, why is she talking about immigrate? Because she represents people, you know, in Texas. So when you have her having to be the activist because there's not leadership in the Democrat Party that's loud, or there's not activists on the ground that are loud enough or they're not coordinating with those activists. And when I say coordinate, I mean give them money so that they can crash out on your behalf. Then. Now you have a candidate trying to do it all. So what happens when she runs for office? When I looked at her ballotpedia, I think it was a hundred something thousand had voted in a general election. So when I look at that and I see 50,000 people in the primary, that can move you out your seat. That's what happened to Representative Bowman, Jamal Bowman, when you are being the activist and he's talking about Gaza, Gaza, Gaza, Gaza, Gaza, and damn near half of your district is orthodox Jews. They actually have the power to put you in and put you out. Not the podcast, not the national media. So when you're not coordinating with your activists, say, hey, go run this play, run this offense and let me do this. And you do that. That's how you see a lot of the issues. And you set up false expectations for the elected official. And then the organizer is very different than the activists. A lot of people think that's the same. It's not the same. Perfect example, Rashida Tlaib in Detroit organized a hundred thousand people to go to the polls. So most of the people you see online, these podcasts, they're activists. Hey, hey, reparation now. Reparation that revenue, that's important. You know, healthcare now, health care now. But organizing is actually getting people in the room. Like we did at the town hall a couple of weeks ago. I had in Atlanta, 150 people standing outside in the rain, that's organizing. Screaming and yelling is one thing, but getting a hundred thousand people to go to the polls to say we are voting, no commitment, that is actually organizing. Which is why Tamika always says, I'm an organizer first. So when you understand these roles and responsibilities, now you can know your role, which is Push the Line. My logo has a person pushing the P, the U, the S, the H. Everybody, like at this table has a role. If you know your role and then we know how to work together now we can move forward on an agenda.

[Just Hilarious]

I have a question.

[Teslin Figaro]

Yeah.

[Just Hilarious]

With politics today, though, like, when I look at, like, Trump, I feel like he, you know, he doesn't stay within any lines or anything. Things that you just said. Do you feel like there's. It's changed now because he's changed the way that politicians move and what they say and what they stand for. Like, he, he pushes whatever he wants to switch and he's successful at it. So how do you kind of counter what he's doing and kind of make it where the people that you're raising up on either side are just as strong, voice wise, is what we see him do.

[Teslin Figaro]

Yeah, it's not about really countering it. So, see, one of the, one of the modules that I have is, it's called. It's not about we, it's about me. If you are already strategizing to be against somebody and not doing your role, like you always say, just stay consistent. Consistent. Don't compete with anybody. Do your role. Push the Line is not about trying to focus on Trump or focus on what Republican parties are doing, because Trump never focused on you. He never focused on the Democrat Party. So when people set that up to say, I know it felt good when they say, oh, Barack Obama, he's everybody's president, actually. You're really the president of the people that vote you in. Yeah, I know people don't want to hear that, but it's really catering to who votes you, who put you in. That's just like my household. I'm catering to my man, not catering to what your man say or what somebody else may say. So Trump has done, and they hate it when I say this because they say, he don't, he don't. He didn't do a good job. He's a liar. No, I'm not saying I like it. I'm telling you how it is. Yeah, it's a difference between how it is and how you want it to be. He is only Talking to his base, even though he knows good and damn well he cannot dismantle the Department of Education because Congress is going to have to do it. He don't give a damn about that. He signed an executive order saying, let's dismantle it. We beg for those things. You remember Charlemagne, like, why don't y'all just do an executive order for the George Floyd justice and Policing Act? But everybody's so smart in the crap party. That's not how it work. You got to go through Congress. You got to go. People want to know you at least fighting you at least in the ring. You willing to sock somebody in the eye. You willing to take. You willing to fight for my love? You know what they say every night? I got to fight for my love.

[DJ Envy]

I think it's a combination of both, though, because Donald Trump did, you know, he did call them the woke left, and he did say that the Democrats are the enemy from within. But he didn't just run a campaign of Democrats are bad, Democrats are bad, Democrats are bad. He actually said, these are the things I want to do for my constituents as well. I think Democrats just run a whole Trump is bad campaign, but they don't ever tell the constituents exactly what it is they want to do for them.

[Teslin Figaro]

Right. And they also don't teach constituents how to do it. They're terrible with training, which is why I started this training program also. Trump is an organizer and an activist and a candidate and a marketer and an entertainer. He makes everything a spectacle. He makes everything a big deal. He always knows how to play to the camera. All of the things that the Democrats feel they lack. Too good to do. Yeah. And so I'm just gonna tell you, like, straight up, oh, no, don't do that. That's not president. He doesn't give a damn. And so when you. He's been campaigning for the last eight years.

[DJ Envy]

He's campaigning now.

[Teslin Figaro]

Yeah, he's campaigning now. We said that. He's literally campaigning. When you have a rally every month or every other month, that's actually organizing, getting people in the room, they pop out crazy. They pop out crazy. So he's been doing that the whole time. It's hard to catch up with that. It's hard to catch up when you've been talking, it's not a matter of how many people you have. Conservatives are the majority minority of this country. So it's not about who's the biggest, it's about who's the strongest. That's why I like to use LA gang banging. For those who grew up in the 90s, Bloods were always the smallest, but they also were the most powerful. How did Inglewood survive with crips all around it? Why? Because they knew how to push a line. Which by the way, that's what blood say push the line. Crips say press the line. So when you're able to take a small group, organize consistent message, message, message. Conservatives have the best and again, don't come for me in the car. I don't give them y'all come in comments or not. They have the digital discipline that you do not have on the left. You do not have that on the left. Conservatives listen to podcasts where they listen to AM talk radio. We talked about this before all the way in the work an hour commute. Messaging, messaging, messaging.

[Just Hilarious]

Right?

[Teslin Figaro]

They go in a job, they listen to a podcast. 70% of podcast listeners are white, which is why we're doing that. Black effect is so important. So then they at work, messaging, messaging, messing, bad, bad, bad, enemy, enemy, enemy, enemy. Then they go home and they watch Fox News. Then they get in the comments. I try to teach people how to be the common caucus. I talk about that too. They, they stay on it like we stay on it with Shade Room. They stay on it non stop. Look at the interview that I did here with Vivid Ramasami is a perfect example. Then people still commenting on that. I upset them so much. They are still coming on that. Do you know, I don't know, if you knew this Joe Biden, you would say that's probably one of the most popular interviews that you've had. The you ain't black. Go look at the comments under YouTube. Under YouTube. We I think the last time I checked it might have been 20.

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[Teslin Figaro]

8,000 something comments under the Vivid Ramasami interview. The last time I checked, 50,000 comments and Joe Biden had millions of views. We only hit a couple of hundred thousand. But look at the engagement then. People was on my ass every day over angry, masculine. They made 150 videos about me. They shout out to y'all though they know how to message over and over and over, even if it's wrong. And so you don't see that on the left. And so I don't give a damn is left or right. I want to see it more in our communities. Know how to message. Same way y'all follow gossip, same way y'all followed it. If we have that same type of organizing, which by the way is course two called ambition of a rider, it's talking about community coalition building, how to be the common caucus, how to make sure you click and like how to get the engagement. You have to be very strategic in this and if you're not, we don't get anywhere.

[DJ Envy]

So how do you agree with that? I agree with that. I also think that that's why when somebody, when you see somebody scoring points, you just got to keep feeding them the ball. Republicans did that with Trump. Once they saw that Trump is the guy that the media gravitates towards and this is who people are listening, that's the guy. And I think Democrats don't do enough of that. If it's aoc, give her the ball. If it's Jasmine Crockett, give it a ball. If it's Bernie Sanders, give him the ball. Those are the people that folks are gravitating towards right now. He just had a rally in LA.

[Teslin Figaro]

I think with like 20 something, 30 something thousand people.

[DJ Envy]

That's what I'm saying. Like if that's the people folks are gravitating towards, that's who needs to be getting the ball right now.

[Teslin Figaro]

My criticism, well, not criticism, my pushback with that, with Bernie Sanders is because working on this campaign, 2015, they did great getting people to the rallies, but you couldn't get them to the polls. So it's great to stand up there and say, hey y'all, this is. But if you're not giving people the tools, which again, this is why this training is so important. If you're just saying get involved in your community, a lot of people literally don't know how. They literally need a step by step guide. Democrats should Be running a play. You should see commercial just as much as they ran y'all commercials every 15 minutes. It should be who want to run, who want to run, who want to run, who want to work on the campaign, who want to work on the campaign. Constant. Y'all raised $100 million in 90 days. Where's $100 million to actually train people? Just so we clear, nothing is bad. People pay for the course, but nothing is backing me. It's not a Republican, it's not a Democrat. It's not any of that. Why are they not using that money to train you how to run for local office? You have midterms next year. Then you need to train people how to actually work on the campaign. There's a lack of infrastructure. One of the reasons Rashida Salee was 7, 4, 56 black people to ran against Rashida's leave in Detroit. They had to hire a friend of mine from Kansas City to run the campaign because of the lack of infrastructure, of knowing how to run a campaign, how to be a volunteer coordinator, how to be a campaign manager, how to be a comms director. So they don't build up the infrastructure, which means you don't have a bench. It's not just getting a good candidate. You also need your organizers, you need your campaign workers. And that's what my criticism is of Bernie Sanders and anybody that's doing a rally. You're not training these people. You're getting them upset.

[Charlamagne tha God]

But for what I was gonna ask you. You know, a lot of times Democrats get butt hurt a lot when you ask them, when you push back on a lot of the things that they say. Why do you think that is? It almost feels like they are upset when we question the things that we should be able to question.

[Teslin Figaro]

Well, there's a lot of ego in politics, which is one of the things, again, that we teach, that I teach here. The thing to remove your ego out the way. Meaning not about me, not about we. It's about me. They know it all. I'm just gonna be straight up honest with you. They know it all. They know it all, but seem to not know how to win consistently. You have people who are highly educated in what they do. Again, I'm not anti education. I love degrees, the more the better. But they just refuse. Many of them, not all, but refuse to really connect to the concrete. I go by concrete roots, not mud, because mud is too soft for me. I got this shit out the concrete. Not a manager, not an agent, not my family was in this. Not somebody put me on. So they can't have those conversations and they don't know how to get the plate, get a ball to the people that can have a conversation. But you know why? Because they want to be on microphone envy. It's just like a rapper. Like they have to be the one on the microphone instead of saying, you know what? Such and such know how to talk to this group. Let me give them the play.

[DJ Envy]

Yeah, I don't want to see Hakeem Jeffries.

[Teslin Figaro]

Yeah.

[DJ Envy]

I want to see aoc. I want to see Jasmine. I want to see those people. That's really the problem.

[Teslin Figaro]

But then there's also people that they can't connect to as well. Why are, are you not connecting to the streets in California? Well, Governor Newsom, who to me don't have a shot in hell on the national level, but still very good pushing this message. I know some homies right now in LA that would organize right now, who's never voted, who's never. Because of what he did with the gang enhancement, what he's done with health care. You hear a lot bad about California, but health care.

[DJ Envy]

What do you call the streets though? Because I mean, Bernie and ELC did just have 36,000 people in LA.

[Teslin Figaro]

Well, they still not. There's still a demographic, people that are not involved at all. People that don't give a damn about none of this Bernie Sanders demographic. And I'm just going to be honest, the progressive demographic, the Rainbow Coalition, is white liberals, pretty much white progressives. There's still a lack of talking to those that have completely given up, completely disenfranchised, obviously. And, and also with Coachella, the Average ticket was 7, 800.

[DJ Envy]

Well, no, that wasn't Coachella. Bernie came out of Coachella, but they had a whole other event.

[Teslin Figaro]

Coachella too though.

[DJ Envy]

Yeah, he came out to Coachella, but.

[Teslin Figaro]

They had a whole other video working on that campaign. I'm just gonna be straight up with you. You know, I'll. I'm very clear about my position with Bernie Sanders. He is talking to a very progressive white ran movement. To me, and even if you're Hispanic is still white adjacent, it's still. Let's just as long as everybody. As long as we get everybody who make money out the way, as long as everybody make 15 an hour, all will be well. He struggles with dealing with race. I'm saying it as his former racial justice director also, everybody ain't mad at Rich People Charlemagne like some people really trying to get the bag. So those conversations, I know what they mean with the Elite the top.

[DJ Envy]

Yeah, I think the Fighting Oligarchy tour is a good message, but I think it's a hip. Well, it's not a hypocritical message from Bernie Sanders and AOC but from majority of the Democratic Party is a hypocritical message because they all taking money from the billionaires in the corporate lobbyist.

[Teslin Figaro]

Well the hood don't know who the obligatory is what, how do you say it?

[DJ Envy]

Fighting oligarchy.

[Teslin Figaro]

They don't even know what the hell you're talking about. I mean they don't. You know when the people talking about neoliberal, they don't know what you're talking about. So there's different messages that people need to have to engage. And I think The Democrat Party 10 is too big. It's too big. Oh, I agree. It needs to be broken down. Everybody's not going to relate to Bernie Sanders. Everybody not going to relate to aoc. Everybody not going to relate to Jasmine Crockett. Everybody not going to relate to me.

[DJ Envy]

So that's why everybody should be doing like Killer Mike said. Everybody does a little. Nobody got.

[Teslin Figaro]

That's right. And again, local, state, we gotta stop this fascination with federal. We really, really do. You all of your powers is your city commissioner, your mayor. They are managing billion dollar, you know, budgets. Look at Atlanta, the black mecca. The mayor get to decide who gonna get this grant, who's gonna get this funding, how do we keep this program going, how do we keep the, the, the after school program going? Okay, if y'all don't want to do it, we gonna figure it out. It's the local.

[Just Hilarious]

I think it's because the local government. Even though when you, when you get old enough to understand that the local government is not like the glisten and glamour isn't there.

[Teslin Figaro]

Right. They want the sexiness.

[Just Hilarious]

I feel like when Keisha Lance Bottoms was mayor in Atlanta, Bottom was mayor in Atlanta, she did a good job of like you knew who she was even if you didn't live in Atlanta. Like you, you cared about what she was doing even if you didn't live there. Like she was a talking point. But a lot of local government people don't do that. Like you don't.

[Teslin Figaro]

Well, they don't need to do it. It's called actually serving your constituents. See, so again this is where I go back to these politicians. I appreciate what they're doing. Don't. Don't get me wrong. Because we need the voices because you don't see it damn sure not coming from the Democrat Party, But Keisha need to be worrying about Keisha's constituents. All of this. I'm trying to be a national spokesperson and all of that, that's how you get. You end up crashing out. That's why. That's how you get out of office. That's how you get your constituents. Seeing you at the grocery store, they're seeing you at church. They don't care nothing about you trying to be no voice for everybody else. They're concerned with. Are you taking care of these 100,000 people in your district or 200,000 people in your district? It's not about. You can't get Keisha in, and you can't get her out. You have zero power. So. So she can get on these podcast mics if they want to, but in the day, they not vote. They don't vote for you. So either you want to be an elected official, or do you want to be a podcaster?

[DJ Envy]

I agree, but I think sometimes it's not your fault. Like in Keisha's case, I don't think it was her fault. She just happened to be a black woman who was the mayor of Atlanta. So, like, all the rappers were talking about it. What was the slogan? Atlanta got got a man named Keisha. Like, it was a thing.

[Teslin Figaro]

I'm not blaming her. Yeah, I'm definitely not blaming her. I'm just. I'm. I'm using that name for any local.

[Just Hilarious]

I just pointed to her because she's the only person. I just think about it, like, locally, in Delaware, like, you would know, because like you said, you see them, you hear them. But outside of if, whether it's Delaware, Philly, wherever, you don't just know of these people. And I think a lot of it is because even if they're not at the microphones, I don't know. It's just. Local level is not glamorized.

[DJ Envy]

Sometimes it's scandal. Like Marion Barry. Like, you didn't. You know.

[Teslin Figaro]

But guess what? They could never get them out. I encourage people to go watch the 10 lies, the nine lies of Maren Barry. Scandal or not, they could not get him out. You know why they couldn't react? Because he was doing the work. Yeah, he was doing the work. When you do the work, like, shout out to Eric Mays, my friend. Rest in peace. Shout out to every. Y'all seen Eric Mays. I'd be cussing out people. When you're doing the work, people know about you, but you cannot get Eric Mays out of office for nothing because he took care of his district. This is a district conversation. Even Congress is still a district. It's still a local conversation. So when you get out on these microphones and you're. Because I've seen it happen real time. And you're trying to please all of these different. Different constituents that can't vote for you. Because I want to say what this. What they want me to say. I want to say what they want me to say. Okay, the people that's actually voting for you are the ones that make that. Make the decision. So you don't hear about it, Lauren. Because they're doing their job. But they should. Those candidates should also stop trying to be seen all the time, which I think is important. I'm not dissing note because they don't have a choice. The Jasmines and all that don't have a choice. Ain't nobody else stepping up. So this is not shitting on her. I'm saying that I wish they would work more with activists and fund those activists because they're crashing out, literally. They can't get jobs. They can't go transition anywhere. Fund those activists to run that play for you so that you can actually be in office to vote. Cori Bush, Jamal Bowman, they're no longer in Congress. They can't vote for nothing. Because when they were pushing those issues, which is important, but the district said otherwise. So you got the money to say, yeah, push, push, push, push, push. But your district said, nah, we gonna do something different. So now you don't even have an ally that can actually vote, you know, to make a difference. And so that's what I mean.

[Charlamagne tha God]

What do you say to people that they always feel like is a money play, like both sides of money play. Right. They look at Democrats and they see, for instance, Eric Adams, who was the mayor of New York City, who a lot of people voted for him. Cause he was a Democrat. Then you see him buddy, buddy with Trump and then pardoning him. Or you see Kamala Harris giving a lot of these organizations money, whether it was Al Sharpton or Roland Martin. And then they do interviews with him. And of course, if people feel like if you give me money, I can't be part. I have to be partial to you. So how do you feel when people look at those things?

[Teslin Figaro]

Okay, well, one course, four is stand on business. It talks about legal compliance and how to really work with that money so you don't go to jail. So that's one of the courses. That's why I love you. That's one of the courses. Of course. 3. And this is all in one course. Thinking of a master plan also talks about that your roadmap on literally how you navigate that. So I teach that because if you.

[Charlamagne tha God]

Give me money and I interview you, can I be partial or am I just gonna be on your side the whole time? Because I know I got a check coming.

[Teslin Figaro]

Let's just be real. I mean the people that you're talking about that you named, they're staunch Democrats. So whether it's a check or not a check, but we still gonna push back.

[Charlamagne tha God]

Like you know, these same people have been up here.

[Teslin Figaro]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne tha God]

We haven't been paid for nothing. But we ask questions on both sides like we want. We ask for the people. We don't ask to be your friend.

[DJ Envy]

Well, again that is the money by.

[Teslin Figaro]

Yeah, we getting paid.

[DJ Envy]

Where the guy where the money. I ain't get a dollar my dumb ass out here for no reason.

[Teslin Figaro]

Right, right.

[Just Hilarious]

Well, don't say that somebody that ain't got it.

[Teslin Figaro]

No, but it ain't just for the people. But no, but it ain't just for the people. Like let's go on and really talk about this. Let's have a conversation. It's for the people, but the people need. They got to have. You got to have money to run any damn thing. So at the end of the day, how are if money's not being spent too organized on the ground? If you're not buying ads from Black Effect.

[DJ Envy]

They did advertise.

[Teslin Figaro]

So you. So it is a money play. America' this is a capitalist society. I know the progressive wanna tell y'all something different, but it's about money. And you should be buying votes. Yes, they should be going down. If I. If I had $100 million, every Little League program, every uniform that need to get bought in the hood, I'll be buying it. Like those are the things that you need to do in order so people can see something tangible. So they can say, you know what? They did do something in my community. So again Lord, this is why the local and state is important. Your city commissioner can go do that. They can go do that in or had though Black business Investment Fund here go 150000 start your business. You can't get out that commission that that person, they gonna ride for that commissioner. So it is a money play envy. But a lot of the people have been getting the same money over and over and over. And guess what happened? They found out that they don't have emotion that they used to. So now a lot of the same folks And I'm not. I'm just telling you what it is. Now they're having a partner with people they never thought about partner before because you don't went up there and told them people that you had motion. And the results in the last election shows you really don't have emotions no more. The street don't believe you anymore. You're talking to the same and over. This is no disrespect, but if the Urban League is hosting an event with numbered Urban League people in the audience, those people are already voting. You're not talking to the people who are not voting. You have to bring in new people. That's how we win elections. In Orlando, Commissioner Regina Hill arrested 21 times ran against 21 year incumbent. It was just three of us on the campaign. We went and got 3,4000 people that never thought about being in the process and snuck them in and put them in the game. That's how you win. They don't want to do that in because they don't want to spend the money. They think they know every damn thing. They want their contracts. I'm keeping real. They want their contracts. They want access. Most of the people that are still grieving right now over the losses are still going through those five stages agree, are pissed because they don't have access to the White House. Not by default. They care about the people. I'm not saying they don't care about the people. Not saying they're not doing it for the right reasons. But a lot of this is, I, I need to be able to say I'm at the White House. Yeah. So you go, yeah, what's up?

[DJ Envy]

What else? What's the other one?

[Teslin Figaro]

Okay, so the fourth one is stand on business. We talked about that. The fifth one is show me my opponent. That's where your opponent, you really know who your opponent is. Because even if you might think it's just the candidate, you might think it's just the other campaign team. But even as an activist and an organizer, you have an opponent. You need to know what you're fighting against, what you're standing for, how they're going to try to put you out the game to crash out, you know, all of those different things. All five of these courses are cumulative. You can sign up for each one, you know, individually if you want. It's only 50 bucks. That's two hours with me live course. In addition, of course materials that are already there right now for you to study and quiz. So you just think about 25 bucks an hour to 2 hour class, 1500 dollar value, by the way. So you can take each course individually, but I recommend people take all five because they all work together. I layer it like we did in this conversation so that it just kind of makes sense.

[DJ Envy]

And this is for people who want to actually run in their own local.

[Teslin Figaro]

No, it's for if you think you want to run. Okay, if you want to run. If you already running. Because more than likely if you're running, you're doing 50 different jobs. If you're running on local. It's also for campaign workers. If you want to work on a campaign, if you want to be a campaign manager, volunteer coordinator. It's also for organizers that say, you know what, I want to push an initiative. I want to get an initiative on the ballot to say we want local reparations. And then it's also for activists, people who say, I don't want to do any of those things, but I just want to be online and I want to create some noise. So it's all five. I'm addressing all five all at the same time, because the fun, the fundamentals are the same. So I'm. You'll get your individual, and right now you'll see on the course, you'll get your individual materials. But I'm. I'm weaving it together so that it all makes sense. So if you don't know what the hell you want to do and you like, I'm just going to come to the first one for roles and responsibilities, just to get an idea because I want to do something right, then this is the course for you.

[Charlamagne tha God]

Well, Taz, we appreciate you joining us. How can they get information on the course?

[Teslin Figaro]

Tesla, Figaro.com. t E Z L Y N F I G A R O. Soon as you go to the website, the course pops up.

[DJ Envy]

You got a Southwest flight to catch.

[Teslin Figaro]

I got said. Y'all gonna stop talking about Southwest.

[DJ Envy]

What time the flight leave?

[Teslin Figaro]

Yeah, it leaves at 3:00. You see we got new plugs.

[DJ Envy]

No, I ain't never been on there.

[Teslin Figaro]

To see that yesterday.

[DJ Envy]

Oh, I did see that in your story. Okay, okay. I thought that was AI.

[Teslin Figaro]

Shut up. To Southwest.

[Coca-Cola Advertiser]

Crazy.

[Charlamagne tha God]

Shout out to one of your biggest followers, Lovey. I'm sure Lovey's excited.

[Teslin Figaro]

Oh, my God, yes. He is so supportive. Oh, he'll love that you shouted back. He's so supportive. He really, really is. And subscribe to the Straight Shot no Chaser podcast. And congratulations on your podcast and congratulations on everything you guys are doing. They called me Judy Winslow Cuz I left and I never said goodbye a to the people in the audience that supported me.

[DJ Envy]

It wasn't a goodbye.

[Teslin Figaro]

It was Taylor. Yeah, but they was used to seeing me. It wasn't a goodbye. But I do want to. I do want to say that. Shout out to everybody that's supporting me on front page news. We're still family. We're still here. Wasn't no drama. People waiting on tea. Wasn't no tea. Wasn't no drama. Wasn't no anything. I'm doing great things, but I love you guys. And I just wanted to say give everybody love you too. Taddy back.

[Charlamagne tha God]

There you go. It's Teslin Figaro. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.

[Just Hilarious]

Peace.

[DJ Envy]

Wake that ass up early in the morning. The Breakfast Club.

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[DJ Envy]

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[Teslin Figaro]

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[DJ Envy]

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[Teslin Figaro]

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[DJ Envy]

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[Teslin Figaro]

Find out [e-mail].