Tea Party activists are kicking off a grand national tour this weekend with an event targeting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in his small home town of Searchlight, Nevada — an event that Tea Party Express describes as a “conservative Woodstock.”
Tomorrow’s “Showdown In Searchlight” event will feature none other than Sarah Palin, campaigning against the Senate Dem leader. A press release from Tea Party Express boasts of supporters arriving to camp out: “It doesn’t get closer to a ‘Conservative Woodstock’ than this.”
So what do they mean by a “conservative Woodstock?” “I guess the uniqueness of having a huge number of people descend on a place where they otherwise wouldn’t be going,” Tea Party Express spokesman Levi Russell told TPMDC. “Searchlight is not a destination by any means. It’s a tiny town. And the locals have told us this is already by far the biggest thing that’s happened in their town’s history. That’s how we see it, a huge number of people coming to a unique place where the draw is, we are going to put on this show and this rally.”
There will also be musical entertainment, from acts that have toured the Tea Party circuit, such as Lloyd Marcus. In addition to Palin, other speakers include Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher, former Saturday Night Live actress Victoria Jackson, Andrew Breitbart and others.
Russell told TPMDC that organizers are expecting “an easy 10,000” attendees, though he was unable to comment on just how many may have arrived already. Keep in mind that Searchlight is a small, remote town with a population of only 738, according to the Clark County statistics. The local NBC station reports that the hotels in the surrounding area have already been filling up with reservations, much of it linked to this event.
How much of a draw has Palin’s involvement been, we asked Russell? “I think she is a huge draw to our supporters, but I think she’s actually also a major media draw,” said Russell. “Actually, the vast majority of media requests or interview requests are for Sarah Palin. And so she’s definitely one of the most exciting — if not the most exciting figure — in politics right now.”
Late Update: Reid’s campaign sends us this statement, from Reid himself: “Searchlight doesn’t get many tourists so I’m glad they are choosing to bring all their out-of-state money to my hometown. The influx of money will do the town some good. I encourage everyone to drop by the Nugget to say hello to Verlie and grab a 10 cent cup of coffee.”
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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