Conservative group rallies to oppose Reid re-election

Americans for Prosperity brought its "November Is Coming" tour to Carson City Tuesday, urging conservative voters to turn out and vote against Harry Reid.

President Tim Phillips told the turnout of 28, mostly seniors, that they need to vote in November if they want to change the way Washington, D.C., works.

"Since January 2009, the politicians in Washington, D.C., have had their say," he said.

Phillips said 54 percent of Americans oppose the health care legislation and favor repealing it.

"For every liberal politician like Harry Reid, we say November is coming," he told the group in the Harley-Davidson parking lot.

Phillips said supporters of his cause "are concerned about the size of government."

He said his group wants Nevadans to sign a petition urging Sen. Reid to "vote against big government legislation or be voted out in November."

He said this was his first event in Nevada and the purpose is simply to get people out to vote.

But Phillips said it's not an anti-incumbent movement.

"A lot of people are very concerned about the growth in government, our rising debt," he said.

Those who showed up Tuesday made many of the same points Phillips raised.

"I'm very concerned about government spending," said John McKenzie. "I have 11 grandkids." He said those children are never going to be able to pay off the debt this government is building.

"We're against government spending. It's indiscriminate. I'm not here to push party. We're here to push responsible, conservative values," McKenzie said.

Ed Terlau said he and the others like him "are not giving up."

"We're going to try to get our country back to the way the founding fathers put it."

Virgil Christensen, a retired engineer, said he turned out because, "I'm against socialism."

He said to see where the U.S. is going, people should look at the collapse of Greece under the weight of its own debt. He said entitlement programs in the U.S. are taking this country down the same path.

"The Democrats are spending too much," he said. "I feel there's going to be a lot of people who want to get together and riot in this country."

Phillips said he plans to bring the group back to Carson City in July for another rally.

According to Wikipedia, Americans for Prosperity is a Washington-based organization with state offices around the country. It was founded and receives significant funding from Koch Family Industries, the nation's largest privately held oil company.