Glad That Palin Is Coming, says Illinois Democrat

If you want a true measure of Sarah Palin’s reach into the American psyche then just have a quiet word with Steve Brown. He is vice president of the board that runs Five Points, Washington in Central Illinois and, according to The Peoria Journal Star, is looking forward to welcoming Governor Palin on April 17th when she gives the inaugural “Lessons from Leaders” speech.

"I think the governor has established a niche for herself," Brown said. "I'm a person who believes there is a lot of room for different points of views."
He recognizes that Palin, who has political star power, will attract attention to what Five Points is trying to accomplish with its new series. The goal is to raise money to eventually expand the facility and provide scholarships for area students.
"I see diversity as a good thing," Brown said. "I think this is a good thing to help offer our community and the region an opportunity to hear directly from someone they might not otherwise hear from."

Sounds good to me – the whole set up at Five Points with its emphasis on the community helping itself clearly touched a chord with the governor because she chose to take up the invitation in preference to many other requests that had been landing on her desk over the past year or so.

One other interesting point – Steve Brown also happens to be the right hand man of Michael Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois house of Representatives, Chairman of the Illinois democratic Party and probably the most powerful Democrat in the state.

It has been said of Michael Madigan that he is very measured in what he says. He is never seen flying off on things. He is so precise. Speaker for almost 30 years he is reputed to run that chamber almost like he runs his house. They come in on time. He knows the rules. He's written the rules. Madigan apparently likes news clippings given to him every day; he likes to keep up on things. And he likes them clipped and organized in a certain way.

Of course there is no party political significance in this. Steve Brown will remain a Democratic mover and shaker and Michael Madigan will continue to hammer GOP hopefuls and recalcitrant Democrats for years to come. But it will help broaden that below the line network that all politicians need if they are to be able to keep a wide range of options open for their political future. It is a sign that more people who don’t necessarily share her political views are nevertheless willing to respect her as a person.

It’s already happened with Camille Paglia, Willie Brown, SNL's Lorne Michaels and the Chicago Tribune's Clarence Page and as she moves around the USA – and hopefully outside America as well – she will establish similar contacts and become increasingly respected as a powerful and astute political figure well beyond the circle of her supporters. Then the asinine ramblings of fantasist Andrew Sullivan and Arianna Huffington’s pet toad Geoffrey Dunn will be recognised as incoherent and self serving as the lies and distortions peddled by Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf...

By the way, Andrew and Geoffrey, if you were thinking of going to the gig, just note this

Palin's 400 banquet/speech tickets were sold out less than 24 hours after her appearance was announced. Tickets were $200 each for the banquet/speech. Speech-only tickets sold for $100 on the main floor and $75 for balcony in the 1,000-seat Caterpillar Performing Arts Center.

Read the rest of the Peoria Journal Star article here.