Rally to Restore Sanity: Jon Stewart Goes Glenn Beck
Stewart has always insisted his show is only about the former, despite evidence that his ambitions are far larger than that; check out his takedown of CNN's "Crossfire" on that now-canceled program if you have any doubts. And while the inclusion of Stephen Colbert and his "March to Keep Fear Alive" on October 30th shades things slightly more toward the comedic, Stewart made clear in announcing the event last night that his message was anything but a joke.
The essence of Stewart's message in the "Rally to Restore Sanity" - that Americans needs to "take it down a notch for America" - can be seen in that memorable Crossfire appearance back in 2006. "Why do we have to fight, the two of you?" Stewart said to the hosts, Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala, around whose partisan arguments the show was built.
Accusing the hosts of "partisan hackery," Stewart said they were "hurting America" and called on them to "stop."
"You have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably," Stewart said, complaining of the show's "knee-jerk, reactionary" tone.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Rally to Restore Sanity | ||||
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Conservatives will be quick to complain that Stewart is not a perfect fit for such a message - and indeed, it's hard to imagine that a lot of those who show up at the rally will be voting Republican. But Stewart would counter that such thinking misses the point - the march, much like Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally, is meant to be about something other than politics.
In fact, Beck's rally and Stewart's aren't all that different from that perspective, even if it's hard to imagine the person who would attend both of them: Both are designed to move away from a discourse grounded in "crossfire" and toward something less divisive. For Beck, that something else was God; for Stewart, it appears to be, essentially, reasonableness.
"We're looking for the people who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive, and terrible for your throat," the site for the Rally to Restore Sanity reads. It goes on to make an appeal to the sorts of Americans who've never taken a position extreme enough to earn a place arguing on CNN.
"Ask the sitter if she can stay a few extra hours, just this once," the site reads. "We'll make it worth your while."
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It's time for the political center to have a voice regardless of party affiliation. Be polite and listen to opposing views. Then tell them why they're wrong. :)
John Stewart and Steven Colbert have never called themselves newsmen. Their tool is satire, in the tradition of Will Rogers and the Smothers Brothers. That's what they do and that's what they say they do.
Politics is so divided nowadays. Republicans vote against Democrat ideas because a Democrat proposed it and vice versa. Its the definition of ridiculous. There is a partisan battle and the only people not being heard are the Americans. Not the "Its the lefts fault" or "It's the rights Fault" Americans, (Those jokers wont shut up. And they desperately need to get some all of them are wound to tight.) This Gives Americans who do see the ridiculousness of it a voice. If you don't see it, read the portion the parentheses I am talking about you.
Now we seem to see power players coming in trying to get people under control again. All of them, Beck, Stewart, Palin, Rove, the Liberal media, the Conservative media, not to forget both political parties chasing their tales to round up the herd that has gone on a stampede.
What a very interesting time this is.
These two aren't the only ones to ever have held rallies. So sad that the media chooses to promote the rallies of TV personalities but NOT those of regular people trying to bring awareness to issues.
If you can't make it to D.C. (and I can't) then plan to attend a rally in your hometown.
A simple letter to the editor suggesting a location could do the trick -- I'm sure there must be permits involved for planning large gatherings, but a letter stating you will be at X location at X time to support reasonableness and asking others to join could work.
Hooray for Jon! Hooray for the 80%