Why Do Democrats Still Fear Sarah Palin?

It is obvious to anyone watching from the Lower 48 that the Democrats must fear Alaska Governor Sarah Palin more than any other Republican in the country. Since her campaign as John McCain's running mate last year, numerous ethics complaints have been filed against her in an effort to destroy her reputation and to bankrupt her family with the legal costs of defending herself.

Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich, who tangled with Palin when both served on the state Oil and Gas Commission before she became governor, said Palin may be more susceptible to attacks on her ethics from opponents because she “raised the ethics issue years before she came into office and made a major point of working to change the state ethics laws and regulation.”

“Some of the complaints over the last several months have been frivolous,” he said, “but others have been brought about by the high level of interest in ethics issues around Palin.”

"Over the past months it became increasingly clear that supporters of Gov. Palin needed to help defend against the onslaught of frivolous attacks against her,” said Trustee Kristan Cole, a Wasilla native and Palin friend, in a statement. “These baseless accusations are designed to inhibit her ability to focus on the issues Alaskans truly care about and force massive personal debt on her and her family.”

To avoid additional accusations of impropriety, the fund set an unusually low, self-imposed cap of $150 per donation. It also volunteered to disclose the names and dollar amounts of each donor, leading Cole to call it “one of the most restrictive and transparent legal funds in history.”

You know it's bad when someone needs to start a legal defense fund in order to deal with the endless number of baseless complaints filed against Governor Palin. But what's worse is that now the legal defense fund is under attack by another complainant.

An Eagle River resident who had recently joined a federal lawsuit against Palin for failing to issue a proclamation commemorating the Juneteenth emancipation holiday in 2007, complained that Palin is misusing her office and receiving improper gifts by setting up the fund, accusing the governor of intending to raise much more than she needs to pay her legal debts.

So a legal defense fund set up with some of the tightest controls and limitations is seen as nothing more than a way to raise cash for personal use? If anyone has doubts about the intent of her opponents to ensure character assassination and bankruptcy, I think this last attempt will remove all doubt. The Dems want to make sure she won't be able to defend herself against their smear campaign and force her out of public life through extortion, intimidation, and frivolous legal actions rather than by the ballot box. Put another way, they're like the Mob of old.

From reading the comments to this article, it appears many of those on the Left are far too willing to believe the allegations, even the most outrageous and frivolous ones.

One commenter, using the name loretta, showed her ignorance by asking this question:

[I]f one is innocent, truly innocent of charges, would it cost this much to prove it?

Honest question.

All I am saying is that a truly innocent person would not have to lay out this kind of cash to prove it. It doesn't make a bit of sense.

This person has obviously never been on the receiving end of a lawsuit or other legal procedure. Defending oneself, whether guilty or innocent, can cost a fortune. If one is constantly accused of things they haven't done and such accusations require a response, as they do in Sarah Palin's case, the legal costs can be staggering. The comment assumes an innocent person wouldn't need to spend a dime to defend themselves. That's a great way for an innocent person to be found liable in a civil case, or guilty in a criminal case.

Many of the comments offered by self-identified liberals were rehashes of long discredited claims about the governor and her family. One kept demanding a DNA test to prove that Bristol's child was not fathered by Jonathan Levi, but by someone in the Palin family (they didn't come right out and accuse Todd Palin of incest, but that's what they were implying). How friggin' low can the Dems go?

One commenter made the mistake of claiming Governor Palin is a moron because she said she can see Russia from her house. At least someone else set them straight, informing the ignorant jerk that it was Tina Fey that said that in an SNL skit and not Sarah Palin.

What is it about Governor Palin that scares the Dems so much they feel the must use every means, legal or illegal, ethical or unethical, to destroy her reputation and impoverish her family? Perhaps they should put their efforts towards cleansing their own party before turning their gaze to the GOP.