But it soon became apparent that he was unmanageable and unreliable. (His Radical Spirit was out of control, an all-consuming fire that would eventually cause him to self-destruct.) One time he accepted to do a story that Horowitz wanted coverage on. And then he didn’t bother to turn it in. A second time he took a story about a Muslim students group on a California campus. He turned in a post filled with unfunny jokes. I asked him to revise the piece to take a more serious tone. And he never got back to me. At that point I advised Nichole Hungerford, our editor in charge of our college coverage, to not bother with assigning anything to Knepper.
He also wasn’t as creative and original a writer as I’d initially thought. When Senator Robert Byrd died he submitted a post on it almost a full day late. I rejected the post and pointed out that his sentiments on the matter were pretty common and had already been said. If he’d given it to me as soon as the story broke I would’ve run it but this late in the game he was just echoing what better writers had already said. Knepper’s whiny response was that the post he’d given was the only story that anyone could conceivably write about Byrd. I had to explain to him that there were all kinds of posts one could write about Byrd’s death beyond pointing out that he was a Klansmen. For example, in keeping with our focus at NRB, what was the Left saying about Byrd? What did Daily Kos and The Nation say? Knepper hadn’t even bothered to check. And after months of writing for the publication he was that disengaged form our focus.
Further, his posts rarely generated any traffic. And the reason for that is clear: his writing is just a masturbatory outlet for a narcissistic personality. He’s not concerned about strengthening a publication, defending America, fighting the Left, or preventing a second Holocaust. It’s just all Knepper all the time.
And it’s because of that that if he genuinely did have some talent then I’d think that five years from now he’d probably be writing for a leftist publication. He’d pull an Andrew Sullivan. But to rise up and have a career one has to be able to build and maintain alliances. One has to not always put yourself first. And Alex doesn’t get that. After as much as he’s embarrassed himself already he’s going to have a hard time finding anyone else on the Right other than Frum to give him another chance. What conservative publication or think tank would bother with someone this unhinged? What’s he going to do after he graduates in a year when he’s so poisoned the well on the Right by aligning with Frum and outing himself as a pedophile sympathizer?
Answer: turn Left. It’s only a matter of time. And I welcome it. Let him embarrass them for a little while.
Update: For those still doubting that we don’t allow criticism of Ann Coulter then be sure and read Horowitz’s critical review of Treason.
