The Convoy of Rebels of the “Tea Party Express”

The ultra-conservative movement has begun a tour of the United States to mobilize adversaries of the Obama administration.

In the morning, a long trail of cars, motorbikes and caravans bearing flags starts to converge towards a sandpit in Searchlight, a minuscule town of 500 inhabitants; an outdated casino, four real houses, a dozen makeshift ones and about 50 trailers randomly situated in this barren area of Nevada.

The organizers of the Tea Party Express, a convoy heading to Washington, D.C. with 42 scheduled stops and transporting a battalion of ultra-conservative rebels, have chosen the town of Searchlight as a starting point, because that is where Harry Reid resides. Mr. Reid, 71-years-old, is the Democratic majority leader in the Senate. The approximately 8,000 militants who made the trip have come here to ask for this man’s head. He is hated because he is considered to be partly responsible for the passage of the health care reform act. “Harry, good news on the unemployment front, you’re fired,” says a sign on top of a car. Other signs express their aversion to Obama and his “communist” government. There is a man sporting a t-shirt on which the American president is portrayed as a monkey.

A terrible traffic jam has formed on Highway 95 leading to Las Vegas, 50 kilometers to the north. Some have abandoned their cars on the side of the road and started walking. Larry and Carla Verga, a retired couple, both of whom are “Tea Party Patriots” (as indicated on their red t-shirts), are painstakingly walking on the side of the road. They must suffer for two kilometers until they reach the sandpit, but nothing in the world would make them miss Sarah Palin’s speech. She is their idol and is making an appearance at noon. Larry and Carla are not rich, but they came from Sacramento, the capital of California, in a private plane. “We are motivated,” they confirm.

For them, the hour is serious. When you get them started on the Democrats and Obama, they blow off steam. “Obama was not elected democratically. He stole the votes by having thousands of dirty homeless and drunks added to the electoral lists,” declares Will without batting an eyelash. “He also bought votes from corrupt representatives to get his law on health care passed. He gave $300 million to the governor of Louisiana,” claims Carla. “Obama bastardized the Constitution. He wants to impose communism. Why do you think Tea Parties are so popular, huh?”

The Vergas are convinced that members of the Tea Party are the only citizens who are conscious of the real intentions of the government. Tyranny is at their doorstep. “Thankfully we have Fox News, the only impartial media organization. I bet that the others won’t even mention today’s event,” roars Larry.

The banners accusing Harry Reid of various horrors, including being an “elitist,” keep going by. While his most fierce detractors walk through his town to lynch him with words, the senator is having lunch in Las Vegas with Wayne Lapierre, the president of the National Rifle Association. The Democrat is in fact a supporter of the second amendment of the U.S. constitution, which guarantees the right to bear arms. “He is far from being an elitist,” says an employee of the local gas station. “I don’t agree with his politics, but Mr. Reid is a down to earth and decent neighbor.”

Harry Reid, Sr. was a simple miner from Searchlight. His son never really left the town. Off of Route 95, at the end of a dirt road where two SUVs are parked to ensure his protection (various Democratic senators and representatives have recently received threats), his house is surprisingly modest. However, on the podium, Sarah Palin throws these words at the rebels of the Tea Party: Reid is at the casino “gambling away our future.”