Spurred on by their Web fan base, comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert say they are going to stage a “million moderate march” on the national mall in response to Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally. Stewart is calling the event, scheduled for Oct. 30, a Saturday afternoon, the
“Rally to Restore Sanity.” Colbert is calling his concurrent counter-march
“March to Keep Fear Alive.”
The two events were triggered by "Daily Show" fans who staged a Web write-in campaign. That zeal mushroomed shortly after Beck’s rally in late August,
The Washington Post reported.
"John Stewart, (sic) please hold an event at the Lincoln Memorial. We'll show up and show Glen Beck what half a million people looks like," wrote Mvelez999 on the online message board for Stewart’s “Daily Show” on Reddit.com.
"I've had a vision and I can't shake it: Colbert needs to hold a satirical rally in DC," MrSamMercer posted a day later.
"A million moderate march . . . a clarion call for rationality!" Stewart wrote. He is using the motto of "Take it down a notch for America." Stewart said he will offer signs with the "appropriate" level of political emotion, such as "I disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure you're not Hitler."
Colbert called Stewart’s rally “disturbing. He will "not take it down a notch," saying that "Now is the time for all good men to freak out for freedom!"
And, "Need I point out that 'reason' is one letter away from 'treason?'" Colbert asks.
Editor's Note: See the exclusive Glenn Beck "Restoring Honor" slideshow here.
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