WASHINGTON — Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have revealed few details about Saturday’s “Rally to Restore Sanity” and/or “March to Keep Fear Alive,” a gathering on the National Mall, according to its official description, “for the people who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive and terrible for your throat.”
But they have been explicit about one aspect: “This is not a political rally in any way, shape or form,” Stewart told Larry King last week.
Try telling that to Nanci Ponne of Chicago.
“This event, while originally intended for jest, could possibly become a ‘turning point’ . . . in our nation’s history for having immense impact on how political discourse is engaged in the future,” the 52-year-old writer and actress wrote on the event’s Facebook page this week. “You have created a political movement, intended or not.”
Ponne is not the only one with high expectations. The announcement last month by the Comedy Central hosts that they would hold dueling rallies in Washington (now merged into one) triggered Web-based, grassroots organizing reminiscent of the presidential campaigns of Howard Dean and Barack Obama.
The rally’s Facebook page is a hive of activity, much of it aimed at the political left, with posts about get-out-the-vote efforts and plugs for Democratic candidates mixed in with logistics advice. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 223,000 people had indicated they plan to attend.
Fans who can’t make it have set up at least 20 satellite “Sanity” rallies in cities such as Austin, Texas; Los Angeles; Chicago; Denver; Honolulu; and Boise, Idaho. lists more than 1,100 local watch parties, including a live viewing at the middle school in Wasilla, Alaska, at 8 a.m. local time.
Organizers said the call for a more tempered political dialogue tapped into a large demographic that feels alienated by this year’s overheated partisanship.
“Jon Stewart is a catalyst, but the fuel was already ready to burn,” said Jim Baum, coordinator of the Seattle rally, who expects 5,000 people to show up.
Obama’s appearance Wednesday on “The Daily Show” — the first by a sitting president — underscored the perception that Stewart, with his brand of indignant satire, wields considerable political clout.
But it remains to be seen whether Saturday’s three-hour rally will sate the political hunger that Stewart and Colbert have sparked.
In recent weeks, Stewart has insisted that the event is not meant to counter conservative commentator Glenn Beck’s recent “Restoring Honor” rally or to mock the Tea Party movement. And he stressed that it is not aimed at bolstering the left.
“I have no obligation to the Democrats or progressives or liberals or unions,” he told NPR “Fresh Air” host Terry Gross last month. “We’re not warriors in their cause.”
In an interview, “Daily Show” executive producer Josh Lieb described the rally as “a simple comedic call for calm.” Lieb offered no hints of who would be on stage, quipping: “Right now, we are banking a lot on the Great Pumpkin showing up.”
Taking their small-screen humor to the wide expanse of the National Mall represents a sizable risk for the late-night hosts, who derive much of their humor from their outsider status.
In Denver
A satellite rally will take place at Civic Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Attendees will be able to watch the Washington rally via live satellite feed and hear performances by local musicians, including the keynote speaker, Jonny 5, lead vocalist of the Flobots, and see comedy sketches and presentations by community organizations. Candidates across the political spectrum will attend.
