Maybe it goes with her having attained celebrity status; maybe she’ll only talk to Oprah and Barbara Walters, but I still don’t understand why Sarah Palin and her people are not allowing the news media, including your Catholic Herald, to cover her talk this Friday night at Wisconsin State Fair Park. Nor is she granting interviews.
Given that her appearance is sponsored by Wisconsin Right to Life, one would think she and/or the organization would welcome coverage from a publication that is consistently pro-life across the spectrum of life issues and that regularly hears from members of the pro-life community that your Herald “needs to do more to get the pro-life message out.”
Information regarding Palin’s appearance has been hard to obtain. When asked how much WRTL is paying to bring Palin to West Allis, Susan Armacost, legislative director for WRTL, said, “We’re not permitted to comment on that.”
By the tone of Armacost’s voice, one gets the impression that the Palin people told WRTL not to reveal the figure. Maybe the former Alaska governor is embarrassed by the fee she is charging for what Armacost estimated will be a 30-minute presentation.
Asked about anticipated attendance, Armacost said it will be more than the 1,000 figure I proposed, but she wouldn’t be specific about how many people are plunking down $30 a ticket. Most groups tout their ticket sales — unless they’re not going as well as expected.
Armacost said she did not know the title of Palin’s talk nor was she certain of the content of the former GOP VP candidate’s remarks, other than she is going to “come and address pro-life issues, and support of our programs.” Armacost noted that Palin is not coming as a political candidate nor as part of her book promotion tour.
“She is going to bring inspiration to Right to Life membership,” Armacost said.
We could buy a ticket and cover the talk, but we’re not going to play that game. If Palin’s message is that important, then she and/or Wisconsin Right to Life would welcome the media to cover it.
