Last week, when Sarah Palin endorsed Christine O'Donnell for Delaware's Senate GOP primary over moderate Republican Mike Castle, Slate's David Weigel noted presciently that the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard wouldn't be pleased. True to form, the two editors of the magazine, Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, have strongly voiced their opposition to O'Donnell, with Kristol saying this to CNN: "I know Sarah Palin. I respect Sarah Palin. And with all due respect- Christine O'Donnell is no Sarah Palin."

O'Donnell, for her part, seems to be doing her best to fend off nagging allegations from an unflattering article published in the Standard that digs up new information about the $6.9 million gender-discrimination lawsuit she filed against a Delaware conservative non-profit organization in 2005.

The "outsider" Republican candidate responded by enlisting Sarah Palin in her defense:

O'Donnell bemoaned what she called "Republican cannibalism" and alleges GOP operatives are spreading "false accusations" about her as they "are fighting for not only my opponent's political career but their own political career." Sarah Palin is echoing that message, saying in a new robocall for O'Donnell, "I can relate to the vicious personal attacks on Christine and can tell you it's sad to see the establishment's desperation in this."

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at ehayden at nationaljournal dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Erik Hayden