Will a Loss Sic 'Pit Bull' Palin on Critics?
Those who spoke out against Palin wonder what's in store for them if she loses.
November 3, 2008— -- If voters send Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin home next week, some of her critics there are worried the self-dubbed lipsticked pit bull or her supporters might come seeking revenge.
"I am no fool. She is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future. That's life," said Anne Kilkenny, a Wasilla, Alaska native.
"She will continue to pursue punitive action against people she doesn't like," Kilkenny added. After Palin joined the GOP ticket in late August, Kilkenny penned a lengthy email on Palin's pros and cons that was forwarded thousands of times, making its author an overnight political sensation -- and one of the most visible early critics of Palin's candidacy.
In her email, Kilkenny gave Palin props for being "smart," "savvy," and "energetic and hardworking." But she also said her neighbor and governor had "unbridled ambition" and "predatory ruthlessness," was prone to cronyism and fiscally irresponsible.
Another concerned critic: Retired Pastor Howard Bess of the Church of the Covenant in Palmer, Alaska, who in September told ABC News and others how in the 1990s Palin had tried to get local bookstores to stop selling his book, "Pastor, I Am Gay." Palin has said she has never tried to ban any book.
"When I have talked quite freely, I've done so realizing that there's a price that I have paid," he said.
Bess, an ordained Baptist minister, said he expected Palin would likely block state funds from going to non-profit groups with which he is involved, including a local arts council. Last year Palin blocked a hefty state grant from going to the program, despite approval by the legislature, Bess said.
At the time, Palin said the council's work -- and that of other groups whose funding she vetoed -- was "nonessential."
The McCain-Palin campaign did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
Dave Dittman, an Alaska Republican pollster who worked on Palin's 2006 campaign, said her critics had "probably not a whole lot" to fear. "I guess the best way to say it, is that she wouldn't be vindictive in any way that would damage Alaska," he said.
