VOA标准英语2010年-Tea Party Rally Draws Thousands to Nev

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin addresses Tea Party supporters during a rally in the desert outside Searchlight, Nev. Saturday, March 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

Thousands of so-called Tea Party activists¹ rallied in the hometown of Senate Democratic leader Harry² Reid of Nevada Saturday.  The Tea Party rally launched a nationwide bus tour for the grassroots conservative group that plans to arrive in Washington on tax day, April 15.

 

They came by the thousands, from across state lines and across the country, in campers, recreational vehicles and by motorcycle.

With flags that read "Don't Tread On Me", Tea Party supporters gathered in a windswept dusty lot in the desert in Searchlight, Nevada, the hometown of Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.

The featured speaker was former Alaska governor and Republican vice³ presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who urged the crowd to hold President Obama and the Democrats⁴ accountable for the health care plan recently approved by Congress despite unanimous Republican opposition⁵.

"What we are doing, folks, we are rolling up our sleeves and we are getting down to business and getting back to the common sense conservative principles that made this country the greatest country on earth, and we are not going to sit down and shut up," said Palin.  "Thank you for standing⁶ up!"

Palin is a favorite of the Tea Party movement, and many carried homemade signs urging her to run for president in 2012.

The rally launching the bus tour drew activists from several neighboring states including California, Arizona, and from as far away as Washington State, including retiree Joe Coleman.

"I support the Tea Party and the program they have, and what they are trying to pass on to the people," he said.  "And I think it is good because a lot of things in the White House and Congress that have taken place right now need to be checked and put under some kind of control."

June Borders made the hour-long drive down from Las Vegas to lend her support.

"I especially like it because it involves the silent majority that haven't been involved [in politics] in a long time," she said.

Some of the local residents in Searchlight did not like the fact that outsiders had come in to target Senator Reid, who faces a difficult re-election bid this year, in part, because of his work in guiding the divisive health care reform bill through Congress.

Verlie Doing has known Harry Reid for decades and has run the Searchlight Nugget Casino and Restaurant for more than 30 years.

"But I totally resent the fact that they have come to Senator Reid's hometown and targeted him," she said.  "I just don't think that is the American way.  I don't think so.  They are strangers.  They don't know him at all."

The Tea Party movement is not a political party, but a loose grouping of conservative grass roots activists who oppose the health care bill and taxes and who want to reduce the power of the federal government.  The name was inspired by the Boston Tea Party tax protest against the British in 1773.

The Tea Party activists are generally targeting Democrats and supporters of President Obama in their rallies, though some critics find their rhetoric⁷ harsh and, in some cases, threatening.

The Tea Party express bus tour will make its way to Washington over the next several weeks and plans to arrive in the nation's capital for a rally on April 15, the national deadline day for citizens to file their annual income tax returns.

 

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。