Washington residents react to Palin's planned visit

Love her or hate her, Sarah Palin is known as a polarizing quasi-political celebrity. The announcement that she is coming to Washington has some people jumping for joy and others downright ashamed.

When tickets for Sarah Palin’s appearance at Five Points went on sale, people all over the area scrambled to buy them before they sold out.

Washington Community High School student Kelly Hearne, however, scrambled to her computer to vent a very different feeling.

She is the creator of the new Facebook group, “Washington residents ashamed Sarah Palin is coming to Five Points.”

The group, created at about 10:30  p.m. Jan. 25, has more than 350 members already.

“I created the group to represent those who feel Sarah Palin is not the type of person our community should be honoring as a leader ... It is about hundreds of people, from liberal to conservative, coming together to fight the implication that all of Washington supports Sarah Palin — an implication stemming from the use of our community center for the event,” Hearne said.

Aside from the occasional personal attack, discussion in the group is mainly limited to why members do not like Palin as a political candidate and leader.

Kelgraydon Masters, a 2009 graduate of WCHS and a freshman at Roosevelt University, wrote,

“We started it (the Facebook group) because we felt that Sarah Palin does not show the qualities of a leader, nor of someone from whom, because of things shown and said most of the time by her, great help can come. We don’t think that our town should honor such a person.

“Also, her views tend to be radically conservative, and her actions in her seat as governor also don’t sit well with many people’s views of what is right.”

Adam Stevens, a student at Illinois State University, wrote, “She fronts as a conservative, she supports the destructive ‘us vs. them’ war on terror mentality, she supports John McCain, and she violated ethics rules as governor.”

Reaction to Palin coming to town seems to be divided by generations, not just political party lines.
Most of the group’s members are students at Washington Community High School or recent WCHS graduates away at college.

According to the many posts on the site, most of them do not only dislike her as a politician, they also do not believe she has the experience necessary to give a speech on leadership.

Frank Douglas, 39, of Washington, has similar reservations about the leadership focus of Palin’s address.

“She didn’t really fulfill her term in Alaska, so I have some questions about her leadership abilities there.

“I certainly think she’s a strong woman, and I admire her strength, but I think she needs to complete some things before she can expect me to believe she’s a leader,” he said.

A conservative who no longer considers himself a Republican, Douglas said although he can see why some people in the area do not like her, he does not mind Five Points choosing her as a speaker.

“I have nothing against her coming to Washington. It’s not like it’s President Ahmadinejad,” he said.

Just down the street from where Douglas was having coffee, Ron Folkerts, 73, and Ray Allison, 81, both of Washington, were singing a different tune about Palin.

“She’s the greatest. She’s a straight arrow, and she has a good rapport with the people,” Allison said, adding he believes Palin to be the great hope and future of the Republican party.

“She’s young and she’s been the governor of Alaska for a little while and has already run for vice president,” Allison said.

Folkerts also said he is impressed with the leadership Palin has shown.

“I think she has a lot to offer because of her views and her political experience. She tells it like she sees it,” he said.

However public opinion may vary, controversy and polarizing figures sell, and Palin is no exception. Tickets to her event sold out within 24 hours.