Showdown in Searchlight Tea Party

The red bus makes a scouting trip to Vegas.

The long awaited  Tea Party Express rally in Harry Reid’s hometown of Searchlight is finally happening.  Thousands of people have been streaming into town all morning.

PJTV is covering the rally, here. Fox News Livestreaming, here.

LVTSG is also covering the rally, live:

*Crowd Size Projections Rise to Well-Above 10,000+ Supporters

Throughout the night the staff of the Tea Party Express has been on-location at the site of today’s “Showdown in Searchlight” mega tea party rally.  The staff is dispatched in teams from the entrance point back through the giant 160-acre parcel of land the rally is being held on to guide supporters who have been arriving in RV’s and cars all throughout the night.

With hundreds of RV’s and cars already arriving, organizers at the Tea Party Express are revising the projected crowd size for the rally higher – and expect more than 10,000 supporters to attend this historic event.

Supporters are coming in from every county in Nevada and every state in the nation.

You can also follow events on Twitter with the #searchlight hashtag.

Love this tweet :@GaryWhitney: Will Scott Ashjian (Reids #Teaparty plant) dare show up at #Searchlight? Probably not. Too busy dodging his felony charges. #cot

Some great pictures are already being posted:

Looks like someone bought his “Easy to use” Tar and Feather kit. Posted on Twitpic by PJTV

I’ll continue to update throughout the day.

Here’s another pic via Marooned in Marin, who’s also covering the rally:

Sarah Palin is the keynote speaker, along with SNL’s Victoria Jackson,  Melanie Morgan, Mark Williams, Joe the Plumber, Roger Hedgecock and many others.

Also in Searchlight – R.S McCain, who’ll be providing live coverage as well.

Here’s another pic via YellinCNN on Twitter.

UPDATE:

Traffic is reportedly backed up for  miles on US 95 heading into Searchlight, with thousands of people stranded.

What do you know…Ace is heading for searchlight, too. I hope he’s not stuck in that traffic jam.

UPDATE:

Ha: On the same day the Dem Socialists at the DNC are appealing to the RNC to sign a “joint statement on civility”, Harry Reid supporters are pelting the tea party express bus with eggs.

Gateway Pundit: HARRY REID SUPPORTERS ATTACK TEA PARTY BUS!

Btw, the Republican response to the DNC?:Pound Sand, You Losers!

MORE drama involving Andrew Breitbart: Harry Reid Supporters Threaten Violence Against Breitbart at Tea Party Protest

UPDATE:

See The Patriot Room for video of  Sarah Palin’s keynote speech.

MORE on the egg throwing incident:

About 35 Reid supporters had lined Highway 95 in front of the Nugget Casino in Searchlight where they were attempting a counter-demonstration the tens of thousands of tea party supporters who are gathering for the “Showdown in Searchlight.”

35 supporters…Reid has quite a following there in Searchlight, doesn’t he?

Here’s a good picture of the crowd via Our Country Deserves Better on Facebook :

UPDATE:

The Tea Party Express sent me this media alert:

Crowd Estimates Range from 9,000 – 30,000 People for “Showdown in Searchlight”

Crowd estimates from 9,000 – 30,000+ people for today’s Tea Party Express “Showdown in Searchlight” event featuring Governor Palin.

Members of the press corps estimated the crowd size between 9,000 – 14,000 but the security and crowd control firm working the event estimated 30,000+.

Representatives from the security firm indicated they would be happy to confirm their estimates with interested members of the press, and based their estimates on their history of crowd control for other such public events.

UPDATE:

CNN Anchor: “At Least Dozens Of People” At Tea Party Event In Searchlight

Linked by Michelle Malkin, thanks!