Sarah Palin returns to the Northwest Saturday – though for a much more modest venue than the former vice presidential candidate has had in the past. Palin will give the commencement speech to the Class of 2013 in a high school gym in tiny Republic, Wash.
It came about through social media. On a lark, the senior class of Republic High School, home of the Tigers, decided to see if they could land the conservative star. The class president – a huge Sarah Palin fan – led a lobbying effort via Facebook, Twitter, and the old fashioned way – a letter to Palin's parents.
That, plus a class photo with the banner “We want you! Governor Palin!”, did the trick. Sarah Palin will be in Republic to dispense her advice to the members of the 2013 graduating class – all 27 of them.
Palin is foregoing her usual $75,000 or more speaking fee for the event. But there might be political points to score. This week on her own Facebook page, Palin chided what she called an elitist Seattle Weekly article on the event and talked up the virtues of small town America.