"some of the professed conservatives who oppose her are not really conservatives"
This isn't hard to figure out...
Who does Palin threaten? She threatens the Ruling Class. Who is the Ruling Class? Some are RINO's we know well, others, the powerbrokers and fat cats in the party that have a vested interest in keeping the crazies out. Who are the crazies? Well, they used to be just those evangelical Christians always butting their noses into politics when they should be just keeping out of sight and only coming out to pull levers in voting booths every couple of years for a preset slate of candidates put up largely by the PTB's. Today the crazies have been expanded to include any maverick and any Tea Party member and activist. Who are these Ruling Class powerbrokers? Well, I put The Butthead and all his little Rovian minions at the top of the list! The MFM is an obvious Ruling Class contributor, whose complicity in making mischief for those upsetting the unnatural order of things will always be a target! There are more, but I am blathering on too long already and I think y'all can identify the rest anyway.
Let us now contrast Palin with someone who escapes Ruling Class ire...let's take Romney. Ever see Romney come under withering attack, anything approaching 1% of the vitriol directed Palin's way? No? Me neither. I wonder why that is? Oh, I know, he doesn't threaten the Ruling Class!
So my job as a liberty-driven citizen has been made immensely easier, thanks to Ruling Class mischief. Anyone not being skewered by the Ruling Class is my enemy, period. With the chaff gone, I can now select from the best grains of wheat remaining!