People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert D.C.rally has a deadly serious purpose

Posted on Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 03:10 AM

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It may have started out as a game and a joke but the Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert rally in Washington D.C. may be the most important political event this year.

The political stage has been completely dominated this election season by Glenn Beck and other right wing commentators and the various Tea party rallies.

Can Stewart and Colbert prove there is a a major alternative American voice out there as the mid term elections approach and the Tea Party is running rampant?

The October 30th "Rally to Restore Sanity" ,coming just a short time before those elections could prove to be a rallying cry and a Woodstock for the millions of liberals and moderates whose voices, with the exception of Stewart and Colbert, have not been heard.

Stewart in particular has shown an ability to articulate the sheer puzzlement and occasional despair at the charges being flung from the right against the Obama administration and others.

He skewers the worst excesses nightly as does Colbert in a more complex fashion.

But who do they speak for, and will the people they speak for turn up on the mall and give voice to the reality that while both are comedians, what they are addressing is deadly serious?

Time will tell but it will be a fascinating exercise in power politics, behind all the grins and one liners.

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judiron | Sep 19, 2010, 12:08 PM EDT

Their not comedians their Liberals. Amen

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KMcSinger | Sep 19, 2010, 11:56 AM EDT

I am in love with Jon Stewart. I think this is a brilliant idea and I wish I could go.

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rcrdskpr@aol.com | Sep 19, 2010, 11:07 AM EDT

can we say DUMB&DUMBER? politically, these 2 couldnt find their noses if they had their finger up it. their audiences think their shows present the real news and have no clue as to life.

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MalcomAC | Sep 19, 2010, 08:53 AM EDT

Indeed. This rally with the two might have all the intensity of "Ali/Frazier, Bunny/Fudd," as billed, but it will also effectively show the absurdity to the point of danger of the birthers, etc. I'm no big fan of the president, but the nature of the opposition to him is disturbing.

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maloney | Sep 19, 2010, 08:18 AM EDT

Doesn't matter whether Tea Party turns it up or down, the Dems. are going to get their asses waxed in Nov. OOPS sorry didn't mean to get hollowbutt all worked up.

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hollabackgurl | Sep 19, 2010, 08:02 AM EDT

What an antidote to the Muslim Kenyan Socialist birther bus, or Tea Bag Express, of the same old Republican garbage, dressed in this years con. Stewart and Colbert's crowd are asking the Tea Party shills to take it down a notch. It's about time the American people did.

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GeorgeDillon | Sep 18, 2010, 01:46 PM EDT

That's right, they're militant moderates.

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Monsoonman | Sep 18, 2010, 12:05 PM EDT

This should be an exciting event, a crowd of inflamed & fired up moderates, passionately speaking out and carrying signs for their favorite cause: moderation! Yawn! Does anyone see the irony?

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maloney | Sep 18, 2010, 10:39 AM EDT

I think you will find the moderates behind the tea party this time. Easy to draw a crowd from people who don't work even if a good job is offered. The free obama money wefare crowd should be fun to watch. You could fill the area with the unemployed of DC alone.

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GeorgeDillon | Sep 18, 2010, 08:15 AM EDT

These creeps don't speak for me. I really dislike smarmy Stewart, and I never heard of the other guy.