What Happens When Conservatives Use Leftist Tactics?
A Letter to the Public and to Those Who Value Truth
On April 14th, I was accused by Bill Simon, publisher of The Political Vine, of tampering with the digital history of Sophia Farooq¹—specifically, that I “wiped her digital records clean.” This accusation is categorically false. It was made without evidence, without context, and without the basic ethical restraint we should expect from anyone who seeks to influence public opinion.
Here's the truth:
At the Cobb GOP Convention, I stated that I had to “secure Sophia Farooq’s identity.” That remark referred to a real and urgent concern: Sophia’s personal password had been publicly disclosed to over 7,700 people during a live X Spaces conversation. The individual who shared that password also claimed—during that same broadcast—to have authored a so-called "dossier" against her.
In response to that serious security breach, I helped Sophia adopt a secure, encrypted password manager (Dashlane) to replace her compromised credentials. That is the full extent of my involvement. I did not, at any point, access, alter, or delete any social media history or digital record. I was never asked to. Any claim otherwise is a fabrication.
I want to be unequivocal: I have never managed, scrubbed, or interfered with any personal account belonging to Sophia Farooq. I’ve had no access to them. The accusation that I did is not just false—it is reckless.
More concerning is the larger pattern this incident reveals.
This wasn’t an isolated misunderstanding. The accusation was echoed by individuals like Debbie Dooley, and repeated through coordinated newsletters and online posts. The timing, the wording, and the targeting suggest something intentional: a coordinated effort to undermine reputations through distortion and insinuation.
This is more than a personal attack. It is a reflection of something broken:
These attacks are not coming from ideological opponents, but from within our own conservative community.
They weaponize misinformation against fellow Republicans with no regard for truth or consequence.
And they distract from the real work of advancing principle-based leadership.
Even more troubling, this is not the first time my name has been dragged into false narratives. Salleigh Grubbs, the former chair of the Cobb GOP, continues to leave in place the implication that I was behind threatening messages she received—an accusation she has yet to clarify or correct. The result is a cloud of suspicion that has no basis in truth, but which others are all too willing to exploit.
As a constitutional conservative, I believe in integrity, due process, and accountability. We cannot hold the moral high ground if we adopt the very tactics we claim to oppose. If truth becomes secondary to strategy, then we’ve already lost more than an argument—we’ve lost our foundation.
To those who read The Political Vine or follow these conversations from the outside: this letter isn’t just about defending myself. It’s about calling for a return to decency, transparency, and the values that make political engagement meaningful.
But it’s also time we asked ourselves:
Why are some leaders silent when slander is used as a political tool—especially against members of their own party?
What does it say about our leadership culture when accusations are published without verification, and repeated without restraint?
And how can we build public trust when the truth is optional but outrage is contagious?
I respectfully urge those involved—Bill Simon, Debbie Dooley, and others—to consider the long-term damage done by rumor, innuendo, and falsehood. The public deserves better. So does our party. So does our state.
Let’s raise the standard—before there’s nothing left to defend.
—Jeremy McKeown
Footnote
¹ See archived examples of the accusation described: https://archive.is/qdLBC
If you’ve been affected by this behavior, or if you want to lend your voice to this call for integrity, we invite you to share your story: