If any were wondering, we are now seeing the unfortunate signs that the extrapartisan conservative movement may be doomed to failure, at least under its current management.

Two of the movers and shakers, Michael Leahy and Rob Neppell, co-founders of Top Conservatives on Twitter have parted ways according to this announcement on the www.topconservativesontwitter.org website, posted for the world to see:

Top Conservatives on Twitter

A Message from TCOT Co-Founder Rob Neppell

I’m sorry to have to do this, but effective immediately, I am shutting down Top Conservatives on Twitter.

TCOT as a group and as a ranking system is the work of two people: Mike Leahy, and myself, and we have agreed from the beginning that it was an equal, 50-50 partnership and would be run as such. Unfortunately, over the past week, Mike has reneged on that agreement.

One week ago today, I sent Mike my thoughts on how TCOT should be run and how we should work together in the near future. This is particularly important, as due to his inability to work in a group decision-making environment, Mike was recently asked to leave the leadership team of Tea Party Patriots, a group that I remain a part of, and I felt it very important to reach clear and mutual agreement on how TCOT should operate. Mike responded that my plan sounded “reasonable”, but that he “may have a few tweaks on it”. Since then, I have asked him repeatedly to follow through and respond with his “tweaks” so that we could resolve any differences and go forward. He has refused to do so, citing other priorities and demands on his time. I asked one final time for his input yesterday, stressing the importance of the matter, but was again ignored.

At this point, I do not feel comfortable continuing to operate this site with a partner who deliberately refuses to communicate with me on fundamental issues, and it would be inappropriate for me to run it by myself given that our agreement was an equal partnership. I have never received a dime for my work on TCOT; Mike, on the other hand, has a paid contract with PJTV for his show “TCOT on PJTV”. I’ve never asked for a cut of Mike’s PJTV profits, but I have asked to simply understand what his agreement is with PJTV for the show that bears our group’s name — a request which Mike has also ignored.

As Mike is unwilling to discuss the operation of TCOT with me, I am shutting down those aspects of TCOT which are under my control, namely this website (http://topconservativesontwitter.org). I am also asking Mike to in turn shut down http://tcotreport.com — or to relaunch it without using our group TCOT’s name — and stating publicly that as co-founder of TCOT, that site does not have my approval or endorsement.

Mike will surely respond to this action and complain that I simply wasn’t patient enough, but I believe a full week is a long time to keep a partner waiting on critical matters. It suggests not so much a lack of time as simple bad faith.

I regret that it has come to this, but here we are. I do not rule out re-activating TCOT should the situation change, but for now: we go dark.

I would be glad to discuss this further with anyone who has questions; I can be reached at rob@kithbridge.com. I wish all conservatives on Twitter the very best.

-Rob Neppell

April 30, 2009

There are two ways to view this public dog fight.  It may be the signs that the conservative movement is expanding in terms of its political power, thus creating these kinds of squabbles.  Or, as observers of Ross Perot’s Reform Party can recall, infighting in a public forum is the beginning of the end for this organization’s influence.

My hope is that, despite the probability that Mr. Neppell’s claims are valid, he should find a quieter way to vent his frustration in order to preserve the chances for the values of the organization to survive.  All parties should examine what they are doing to gain public support for policies with conservative values instead of kicking up dust for the left to see.  It’s only a matter of time until the Kos wraps its tentacles around this dispute to mock conservatives as petty and self-interested. 

Playing to mistaken stereotypes is not the way to gain credibility.

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