Jon Stewart’s "Rally to Restore Sanity": Bigger than Woodstock?

[babylonsister]

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/jon-stewart%E2%80%99s-rally-to-restore-sanity-bigger-than-woodstock

Jon Stewart’s "Rally to Restore Sanity": Bigger than Woodstock?
Opinion by Public Citizen
(2 Days Ago) in Politics

By Joe Newman



If Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert and their “competing” Washington D.C. rallies don’t have your attention by now, you a) have just woken up from a 25-year coma b) live in a shack in Montana where you are working on your great anti-technology manifesto, or c) are among the 4 percent of the population who truly believes President Obama might actually have been born in the Alpha Centauri solar system.

When both Big Os — Oprah and Obama — endorse your Rally to Restore Sanity, you know you might be on to something. Since Sept. 16, when Stewart announced his Oct. 30 rally, along with Stephen Colbert’s satirical March to Keep Fear Alive, 180,000 people on Facebook have said they plan to attend the event, while another 100,000 have said they might.

Public Citizen plans to be there, and we’ve been encouraging people to submit ideas for signs that we’ll hand out at the rally on the National Mall. We plan to pick the slogan that we think best sums up the message we want to share with the throngs of people who will be packed in front of the Lincoln Memorial. So far, more than 3,000 slogans have been entered in our “What Sign Should I Bring to Jon Stewart’s ‘Rally to Restore Sanity’ ” contest. Another 1,000 people have joined the accompanying Facebook page, and hundreds more are spreading the word on Twitter with the hashtag #signs4sanity.

snip//

We think his rally is going to be huge, Woodstockesque even (an estimated 500,000 people attended that). Dozens of colleges are situated within a couple hours drive to Washington, D.C. Hundreds more are within an eight-hour road trip, including a northeast corridor easily connected to D.C. by bus and train. Huffington Post boss Arianna Huffington has even promised to provide as many buses as are needed to bring people from Manhattan to D.C. for the rally. That’s not even taking into account the number of high school kids in the region who will be coming either with their hipster parents or by themselves. And did we mention it was a Halloween party weekend? Stewart and Colbert are going to turn D.C. into Mardi Gras on the Mall.

So yes, it’s going to be big. But will it be socially or politically transformative? That’s the million-dollar question. Public Citizen will be at the rally handing out signs and hoping to get in the ears of what should be a receptive audience. We think there’s a lot of common ground when it comes to fighting the corporate takeover of our elections, advocating cleaner, greener sources of energy and holding government accountable to We, the People.

Still, anyone can wave a sign for an afternoon. It’s the message we hope they take home with them.

[DCBob]

1. I'm going.. cant wait to slide naked in the mud!

I think its going to be big also. I have heard several people menation they are going.

[TlalocW]

2. Stay away from the brown acid

eom

TlalocW

[breadandwine]

8. Aw, c'mon. What has reason ever done for us?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17yWvr5oVJM&feature=player_embedded


Insanity is so much more fun. Like, didn't you ever just sit awake at night dreaming about destroying somebody's taxi cab and livelihood? What this country needs is a little Republican barbarianism to RESTORE ORDER. Like this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMdi-lOqDv8&feature=player_embedded


Reason and sanity are just plain STUPID.


Let's bring back the days of the Teutonic warriors. Like this! ---





Hail Caesar! Hail Angle, O'Donnell, Bachmann, Palin, Paul and the GOP!!!!

[annabanana]

3. I'm going..

I'd love to meet up with a few DUers down there.

[SpookyCat]

14. My BFF and I are going! I'd love to meet up with folks!

[pinboy3niner]

4. Bigger than this?

[Pharaoh]

5. Well the music and

drugs certainly won't be as good.............but the Love in the air could be comparable :party:

[pinboy3niner]

6. They'll need top-notch security...somebody call Wavy Gravy, quick!

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

7. We're going, too.

No rain! No rain!

[pinboy3niner]

9. I hope that the weather cooperates and you have a blast

Just watch out for Wavy Gravy and the 'Please Force'--you may be scolded (politely) into modifying your behavior. :)

One reference on Wavy Gravy in charge of security at Woodstock (seriously):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavy_Gravy#Woodstock_Festival

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

10. Thank you!

[HCE SuiGeneris]

11. Do you mean Whitestock? (aka blechfest)

aka Teaparty hate gathering with Glenn...

[Sugarcoated]

12. My husband's sisters, politically aware,

but by no means politically active, both have made it known they're going, one with spouse and 16 yr old daughter. Captain Planner (my husband) got the whole thing organized and it's a go. That's 7 people counting us and our teenage son.

Of course we were going, but their enthusiasm is a bellwether IMO.

[sabrina 1]

13. Did this idea start on DU? I mean for Colbert to organize

a rally to counter the Beck rally? I remember an OP saying 'this is the best idea I've ever had' and the idea was for Colbert to do this. Can't remember who wrote it though. It got a lot of support with people saying in the thread they would go if it were to happen.

Anyhow, either I'm having deja vu of some sort, or I really did see such a thread.

Sounds great, would love to be there, but probably won't make it. I hope it's a blast for everyone who does.

[Matariki]

15. No. A post on reddit.com

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/restoring-truthiness-stephen-colbert-rally

[sabrina 1]

16. Thanks. Maybe someone posted it here and that's what I

remembered. I hope they get one million people. What a great idea.

Edited to say that I found the post HERE

[Hannah Bell]

17. I find this sad.