The wind whipped US flags behind the former Alaska governor as she stood on a makeshift stage, holding a microphone and her notes and speaking to a cheering crowd. She told them Reid, fighting for re-election, is “gambling away our future.”
“Someone needs to tell him, this is not a crapshoot,” Palin said.
At least 9,000 people streamed into tiny Searchlight, a former mining town 60 miles south of Las Vegas, bringing American flags, “Don’t Tread on Me” signs and outspoken anger toward Reid, President Barack Obama, the health care overhaul and other Democrats who supported it.
Palin told them the big-government, big-debt spending spree of the Senate majority leader, Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is over.
“You’re fired!” Palin said.
The Searchlight native responded with sarcasm to the large crowd gathered in the hardscrabble town of about 1,000 he grew up in.
“I’m happy so many people came to see my hometown of Searchlight and spend their out-of-state money, especially in these tough economic times,” Reid said Saturday in a statement released through his Senate campaign. “This election will be decided by Nevadans, not people from other states who parachuted in for one day to have a tea party.”
Traffic on a highway leading into the town was backed up more than two miles Sunday as people gathered for the rally, which kicks off a 42-city bus tour that ends in Washington on April 15, tax day.
It’s been called a conservative Woodstock, and takes place just days after the historic health care vote that ushered in near-universal medical coverage and divided Congress and the nation.
Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, appeared after spending Friday and Saturday morning campaigning for Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who led the 2008 ticket.
Now a Fox News analyst and potential 2012 presidential candidate, Palin faced criticism after posting a map on her Facebook page that had circles and cross hairs over 20 Democratic districts. She also sent a tweet saying, “Don’t Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!”
She said Saturday she wasn’t inciting violence, just trying to inspire people to get involved.
“We’re not going to sit down and shut up. Thank you for standing up,” Palin said.
