Now that Alaska's Lisa Murkowski has "Gone Rogue" is she Sarah Palin's worst nightmare?

From Politico:

And like any good action-movie character mistakenly left for dead, Murkowski’s coming back with a vengeance, picking fights with Palin and the party’s activist wing.

She tore into Palin in an interview with CBS News last week, telling Katie Couric: “I just do not think that she has those leadership qualities, that intellectual curiosity that allows for building good and great policies.”

Her next target was South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, the tea party favorite whose PAC spent generously to support Miller in the general election. “I think some of the Republicans in the Congress feel pretty strongly that he and his actions potentially cost us the majority,” she told POLITICO during a visit to Washington.

What is already clear is that Murkowski’s taking every opportunity to settle scores after a bitter election. Alaska pollster Dave Dittman credited Murkowski with a "newfound sense of independence" that’s allowing her to swing back at people she perceives as having wronged her.

“Having won as a write-in without the support of national Republicans gives her the freedom to do that,” Dittman said. “Just from being here and watching it, Sen. Murkowski didn’t initiate it. Gov. Palin, I would say, would be the aggressor.”

Murkowski’s criticism is harsher now, and more insistent. Having defeated a Palin-backed candidate in their shared home state, Murkowski has little to fear from the former governor. And if Palin decides to run for president, it seems likely that she’ll have to contend with the critique of a particularly potent character witness — another Republican woman from Alaska.

Well having just watched the Alaska Democrats last hope of ever getting Murkowski's Senate seat torpedoed by Lisa's write-in campaign, it would at least be a consolation prize to have her decide to slap Palin down whenever she made ridiculous claims about her record or attempted to "Palin-ize" the lower forty-eight's vision of Alaska.

One thing is for sure, Lisa Murkowski is here to stay.  It would be a virtual impossibility for anybody to challenge and win her Senate seat after she managed to win with this historic write-in campaign. For all intents and purposes she is politically bulletproof.

Will she suddenly decide to buck the system and play the Independent, caucusing with either the GOP or Democrats depending on the issue?  Highly doubtful.

Lisa Murkowski is a team player, and likes the idea of being on the Republican team.  Perhaps if the Teabaggers were to gain a stronger foothold, Murkowski might walk away from the GOP, because it is clear she does not agree with their take no prisoners approach to politics, but unless that happens I believe that Murkowski will vote along with the Republicans every time.

Though I will say, that if Murkowski were to flex her political muscles and start becoming more independent she could become perhaps the most powerful Senator in Washington.

Just something to think about Lisa.