Jon Stewart just announced his "Rally to Restore Sanity" last Thursday, yet he already has more people pledged to attend the event than Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally. Comparisons between the two events will surely continue, as Stewart's rally is at least partially a response to Beck's. So far all indicators point to Stewart's producing a larger following than Beck's.
After less than one week, the Facebook page for Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity" already has 93,000 RSVP's. Now, many who have pledged to attend will undoubtedly not actually be there for various reasons, but another 48,000 say they might attend. In addition, the numbers above do not include the 37,000 who say they will attend Stephen Colbert's "March to Keep Fear Alive," scheduled at the same time and place as Stewart's rally. Colbert also has 14,000 who say they might attend his event. Stewart and Colbert will hold the event on October 30th from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. That gives them another month to promote the event and increase their numbers. At this rate, both rallies could easily produce a tally of more than a million followers, but it has yet to be seen whether the current pace can continue or whether these people will actually show up.
The best estimates for Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally put his numbers much lower than Stewart and Colbert. CBS News paid an independent firm to estimate Beck's crowd size. The firm, which specializes in making crowd size estimates for many organizations, including the Department of Homeland Security, used multiple aerial photos and independent experts to make their estimate. Their analysis revealed that approximately 87,000 people attended Beck's rally. Beck contended that "hundreds of thousands" were at his rally, but provided no independent or scientific analysis behind that number.
So unless Stewart's rally significantly under-produces from its current numbers, it will undoubtedly be larger than Beck's. Stewart has sold his rally as an effort to give a voice to more reasonable moderates, who he claims make up a larger percentage of the population. Stewart argued that the current political discourse in America is dominated by those who advocate the most extreme viewpoints, and with the loudest voice. While not specifically mentioning Beck, his reference seemed clear. Stephen Colbert will likely be mocking personalities like Beck with his "March to Keep Fear Alive."
While Stewart's rally has gained the largest following, the movement to hold a rally actually began with a group who encouraged Stephen Colbert to hold a "Restoring Truthiness" rally in response to Beck's rally. The idea soon caught fire on internet sites like Reddit and Facebook. After hinting that they might agree to the concept, both Stewart and Colbert officially announced their events last week.
Update: Some have correctly commented that the drive to hold a rally started on Reddit and not Facebook. Sorry for any confusion on the matter.
Comments
I wonder what the contrast in conduct and tone will be between the two rallies. It will be interesting comparison when it is all said and done.
this is really a key point that you raised. i pointed out on facebook that there's a real risk of coming off in a negative light after all is said and done. there should be volunteer trash collectors, plus i would almost like to see the no-signs rule that beck's had. coming off as a bunch of ... i dunno ... insert your own word ... will do a lot more damage than people might want to believe.
But I did confirm on facebook that I'm attending both(and probably everybody else did too) you incompetent writer.
I can't believe you didn't include the information about Donorschoose.org in this articicle
Stephen Colbert's followers on Reddit started a fund raiser for his favorite charity to get his attention and convince him to hold the "restoring truthiness" rally:
His supporters have already donated $266,921 towards teaching supplies since this rally movement began.
Well it is nice to see a donations being made to a good cause some thing this rally shares with Beck's.
In the last hour of the Restoring America rally, there were over 110,000 people watching the live feed on facebook. CBS may have been the boldest denier, allowing other agencies to line up behind them with their heads stuck in the sand proclaiming the 87,000 number. Unfortunately, the voters won't be tallied by aerial photography and wild fanciful liberal denial in 2010 and 2012, so it will be harder for you to deny the numbers at that point. The majority has risen and will be counted in this country, no matter how hard CBS tries to spin it. The children have been in charge long enough. The adults are coming back to power.
While 110,000 people watched a Live Feed, I'm sure a vast majority of them were watching not as supporters, but people trying to obtain ammo against Beck. You can only honestly count the numbers of people actually at the rally as actual supporters. I know I don't support any radical ideas from any side, Beck's included.
Why copy GLENN BECK???????????????????? Come up with something original Jon Stewart. You do have a beautiful mind.
Why copy GLENN BECK???????????????????? Come up with something original Jon Stewart. You do have a beautiful mind.
Just read several of this writer's articles. So much for unbiased journalism. What a joke!! He should go by the name Ryan NITWITT.
I still don't understand why Stewart would want to copy GLENN BECK. His rally was so boring, mundane, "Mom and Pop".????????????????????????????????????
Why are you worried about comparing numbers or the tone? How do you know how many really signed on? Why don't we stop comparing who got the bigger 'rally' and come together with 'solutions' and bring this country into a level of agreement, understanding and more so 'Do the Right Thing' that's what these guys are doing or at least trying to do. I didn't get to go the Beck rally but a couple of friends did and said that there was more to the rally, it's content, conduct and attendance than the media reported ......go figure.
The Bird will be the word..
Its about time, the moderates in both parties have been sidelined by those who shout the loudest and are the most offensive.
The tea baggers and militant liberals are the same, just on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
The silent majority is in the middle, not on the extreme fringes.
Nah, the Comedy Central bums would never buy a plane ticket for this stupid thing.
Hmmm.. wasting time trying to copy Becks rally for a laugh? I guess we can start calling him "Johnny come lately Stewart"
Jon is NOT copying Beck for the simple reason it has "restore sanity" in the title.
Why are you reporting that there is 93,000 RSVP's on the facebook site when clearly on the site http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118856078167623 it shows only 10,000 or so? The site did state that a little over 100 thousand "may" attend but it also stated that over 200 thousand wouldn't attend. Unless there is another facebook site that is out there then please report correctly will you?
Streaming live online right now over at http://jjpeg.com/restore-223.html :-D
The idea started at reddit, actually:
http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/d7ntl/ive_had_a_vision_and_i_c...
Awwww yeeeeee Reddit.
New York Magazine's recent profile on Stewart reveals they were talking about it on the day Arcade Fire guest starred on The Daily Show, which was August 12, thus predating Reddit.
I believe the talk of a rally is page 2, and the mention that Arcade Fire was the guest the night the reporter was there is page 5: http://nymag.com/arts/tv/profiles/68086/
please tell me that if this really did originate when Arcade Fire was on the Daily Show, that they are somehow involved. I checked at they have a break in their tour then. one can only hope...
One of the things that is getting lost in the reporting of these rallies is the fact that members of Reddit have, as of this posting, donated $265,966 to donorschoose.org in order to convince Colbert of holding this rally. If you are going to bribe someone, donating to a charity is the best way to do it.
This is the definition of a grassroots movement.
Ha ha, mine's bigger than yours.
Ha ha, mine's bigger than yours.
Colbert also has a charity challenge going. Please help reach the goal at:
http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/viewChallenge.html?id=39361&max=10
hey, goober. "After less than one week, the Facebook page for Stewart's "Rally to Restore Honor" already has 93,000 RSVP's."
Stewart's rally is to restore sanity, not honor.
Good note, correction made. Now back to my goobing.
Goob on, kind sir. Goob on.
Look for me, I'll be holding the sign that says "Don't let them tea bag the Senate."
Whether or not a graphic is included is still up in the air.
The movement STARTED on reddit. GG reporting accuracy.
The movement started on Reddit, not any other place.
This is not "Stewart's rally". This was the result of Reddit asking *Colbert* to throw a rally. I'm assuming Stewart just got jealous and decided to ride the coattails.
We never asked Stewart to be part of the rally, so please don't attribute it to him.
Actually, originally on reddit they wanted Stewart but then decided Colbert would be more likely to do it.
Yes, some threads wanted Stewart. The thread that was massively upvoted, commented on, and caused all this to happen, however, was posted by someone *wanting* Colbert, not *settling* for Colbert.
Do you not see the irony in arguing over whether or not Stweart of Colbert started it?
You are trying to put a wedge in an event that is meant to get us all talking again. Colbert and Stewart of part of the same team. If you like Colbert bettre- great. However, dividing them is counter productive.
"Beck contended that "hundreds of thousands" were at his rally, but provided no independent analysis or scientific analysis behind that number."
Fact check much? Apparently not.
This article is obviously partisan commentary and nothing more.
You have a link or inside information to an independent analysis to the crowd numbers that differ from the amount noted? Please share with the class.
your comment does not help your cause. You claim the author did not fact check, while they did in fact provide a source for their number. If Beck provided a similar source and the author missed it you should provide said source. I am sure the author will update the article. Screaming partisanship does not help, it is a big part of what the matches are trying to prove.
...and Beck's independent/scientific analysis was done by whom? And what are their numbers? Come back when you have something intelligent to add to the conversation.
What evidence do YOU have that there were hundreds of thousands? I tend to agree that there were around 150K people there, but I can't say that with certainty so I don't. You wanna complain about fact-checking, you need to show your work.
I'm going with 'Don't tea Bag me bro!'
that's a good one...I'm going with "Do It On a Satanic Altar...It Will Get You Elected"
The best part of the rallies will be the signs. I'm thinking of going with "Be Reasonable..." on one side and "Or Else!" on the other. It's a message that bridges the dueling rallies.
No "teabags" getting dropped on me!
ENT
ENT
ENT
ENT
Does anyone know if either of these not so funny men have actually applied and received permits yet?
It would be REALLY funny if there is no permits given and all 1387 people show up!
Yes, they got them before the announcement was made.
Pages
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!