Jon Stewart: Rallies Not a Response to Glenn Beck

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Jon Stewart: Rallies Not a Response to Glenn Beck
Still, says Stewart, 'I'm less upset about politicians than the media.' Meanwhile, President Obama calls the idea of the Rally to Restore Sanity 'amusing'

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/51942/212962



By Daniel Kreps
Sep 30, 2010 9:30 AM EDT

Jon Stewart says that his Rally to Restore Sanity — and Stephen Colbert's sister event, March to Keep Fear Alive — are not meant to counter Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor event of last August. "The march is like everything that we do, just a construct ... to translate the type of material that Stephen and I do" on The Daily Show and Colbert Report, Stewart said at a Q&A last night at New York's 92nd Street Y. Instead, the rallies are meant to satirize the political process, and the news coverage spawned from it. "I'm less upset about politicians than the media," Stewart, who was quoted by The Hollywood Reporter , said, adding that he "very much" wanted to avoid claims that his rally was a response to Beck's.

The Rally to Restore Sanity and March to Keep Fear Alive will take place in Washington, D.C. on October 30th. (Halloween costumes will likely be involved.) "Think of our event as Woodstock, but with the nudity and drugs replaced by respectful disagreement; the Million Man March, only a lot smaller, and a bit less of a sausage fest; or the Gathering of the Juggalos, but instead of throwing our feces at Tila Tequila, we'll be actively not throwing our feces at Tila Tequila," goes a description on the Rally to Restore Sanity site.

Conservative host Bill O'Reilly has declined Stewart's invitation to appear at his rally. President Barack Obama, meanwhile, said he was "amused" by the idea. Speaking to students yesterday about how the media has become "very splintered," with extreme tones from both conservative and liberal commentators, Obama said, "Jon Stewart, the host of The Daily Show, apparently he is going to host a rally called something like Americans in Favor of a Return to Sanity or something like that. And his point was, you know, 70 percent of the people, it doesn't matter what their political affiliation are, 70 percent of the folks are just like you, which is they're going about their business, they're working hard every day, they're looking after their families."

[Desertrose]

1. Thank god for Jon Stewart.....HE is a voice of sanity.

GO JON!!

[HopeHoops]

2. Glenn who? Never heard of him.

Must be some moron who isn't important anyway.

[JuniperLea]

5. He's an entertainer...

Former 'morning zoo' radio personality... remember that when the first RW NutJob asks you if the Democrats are so desperate they're getting help from comedians.

[HopeHoops]

17. Oh, you mean like a FUCKING CLOWN! I get it now.

[stray cat]

3. return to sanity doesnt endorse dems or repubs but sanity

[lunatica]

4. I bet the msm ignore it anyway

But 70% of Americans will know all about it anyway, just because 70% of Americans aren't teabaggeratti idiocrats and get their news from the internets.

[madmax]

6. K & R

[NightWatcher]

7. it is a joke to poke fun at Beckkk and a waste of effort, put together by Comedy Central

I dont understand why people want to participate in an effort to "satirize the political process, and the news coverage spawned from it".

It also mocks any number of "legitimate" marches and rallies whose lack of concentrated goals has already reduced them to Page Ten news. Rallies used to hold worth, now they are catch all's for anyone with a gripe. "Stop the War" signs right next to "stop mountaintop removal" right next "free Mumbia".... The global WTO protests (violent as they may be) are the last pure'ish protest that hasnt been watered down to a bumper-sticker, sign waver march.

[uncommon]

8. Satire is one of the oldest and most effect forms of political action.

Frankly I find your response ignorant.

[NightWatcher]

9. ok, if satire is effect(ive) what is this accomplishing?

[uncommon]

10. I think it will show that there is a substantial segment of the American

populace that is sick and tired of this red-blue bullshit divide we've been nursing for the past decade+.

Unless people shake this us-them mentality we have created, this country is going to crumble.

[valerief]

12. Firing up the progressive youth vote. No matter what Stewart or Colbert say,

that's its real purpose.

[Dawgs]

14. +1. These rallies are for progressives and everyone knows it.

I hope to see hundreds of thousands of young people. Should be a good bookend to the rally on Saturday.

[uncommon]

15. Amen to that - I'm bringing a carload!

And we are driving 8 hours to get there. I know others will too.

[Dawgs]

16. I'm driving 10-11 from Atlanta.

It should be a blast.

[Dappleganger]

11. If it wasn't for the REAL news from Comedy Central--Stewart and Colbert

we would probably never know about a lot of the shit the media covers up on a daily basis.

[uncommon]

13. I've seen CNN run stories in the last few weeks based on Stewart/Colbert bits -

about misrepresentation by the right wing media. What they are doing is catching people's attention.