Palin and Brazile to bring political discussion to Cullen Performance Hall

On May 3, Cullen Performance Hall will host Bridging the Political Divide, a discussion of America’s increasing political polarization between former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and the previous chair of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile.

The talk will be organized by The Brilliant Lecture Series, which aims to educate, inspire and entertain by bringing politicians, philanthropists, artists, humanitarians, performers, authors and entrepreneurs to Houston, according to its website.

Palin and Brazile will speak to their political experience as members of different parties and talk about navigating the various issues of today’s political landscape.

Palin served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006-2009. After her tenure, she was chosen by then-presidential candidate John McCain to be his running mate. She became the first Alaskan to be on the ticket for a major political party and was the first Republican woman ever to be elevated to vice presidential nominee.

Afterward, she was mostly discussed as a non-serious Tea Party figure. Following the 2008 campaign, Palin became a political commentator on Fox News for five years, premiered a TV show that introduced the world to her daughter Bristol Palin and briefly appeared on her own online news network until 2015.

Brazile is a longtime Democratic operative who during the 2000 presidential campaign became the first woman to direct a major campaign for then-candidate Al Gore. Brazile was interim director of the Democratic Nation Committee briefly in 2011 and served most recently as the chair during the lead up to the 2016 presidential election.

Brazile was mostly an unknown figure outside of dedicated political circles. She rose to prominence in 2016 when news broke that as a CNN employee she shared debate topics related to a town hall with Hillary Clinton, who became the first woman ever nominated as president for a major political party.

In the wake of the WikiLeaks’ hack of the DNC and allegations emerging of impropriety of members including the former chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was forced to resign, Brazile stepped in and took over fundraising and delegate duties.

Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. event can be purchased here and range from $45-125. Contact Brilliant for more info at 713-974-1335.

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