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Rally to Restore Sanity attendance estimated at 215,000

I can't wait to see the difference in reactions among the cable news networks on monday.
 
Yes, I understand that. But you can't promote moderate discourse by prohibiting such discourse from happening. That makes absolutely no sense.

Moreover, a "rally to promote moderate discourse" is not going to change the discourse whatsoever.

Sure it is, not in everyone, but it will change the discourse in some (and the perception of the discourse as well), and that helps and is a start.

It promotes a sense of " I am not alone in my sanity in a perceived insane environment". It will also help those who feel ostracized by the discourse and heightened level of rhetoric and perceived disdain towards fellow Americans, many of whom (myself included) get frustrated and repulsed seeing or thinking about the polarized exaggeration of vehemence that exists in our discourse that is promoted in the media.

I have already seen examples right here at DP of people who can come across as rather hackish engaging in very sensible rhetoric and having a surprising change of tone in response to the rally.
 
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Those side-by-sides are about as fair and realistic as a comparison between a political hack and a political comedian.

Just saying.

Looking at the people attending both rallies I associate more with the Beck rally than the Comedy Central rally but then again I learned history and civics growing up and understand the role of the govt. which isn't what far too many think it is today. I prefer a group that believes in limited Federal Govt. where the actual responsibility for social issues rests close to the social problems, the state and local communities. Far too many shirk their responsibility at the local level so they pass that responsibility to the Federal Govt. so as to divert from their own failures to accomplish anything.
 
Looking at the people attending both rallies I associate more with the Beck rally than the Comedy Central rally but then again I learned history and civics growing up and understand the role of the govt. which isn't what far too many think it is today. I prefer a group that believes in limited Federal Govt. where the actual responsibility for social issues rests close to the social problems, the state and local communities. Far too many shirk their responsibility at the local level so they pass that responsibility to the Federal Govt. so as to divert from their own failures to accomplish anything.



A big fat red one at that.
 
This was 215,000...

stewart_colbert_rally_aerial_1_620×350 | The Blaze

But this was only 87,000?
aerialshotofcrowdreuters.jpg


:roll:

The Park Service unofficially said that the Restoring Sanity Rally had 200,000 and the Restoring Honor Rally had 300,000.
 

Look at NotFoolingMeForAMinute's post:

I’d say that the CBS estimate (the only estimate as far as I know that actually commissioned professionals to do the estimate rather than just guessing) of 215,000 for the Rally to Restore Sanity and 87,000 for Beck’s Restoring Honor rally is probably reasonably accurate. Keep in mind that the Washington Monument is not located in the center of the National Mall. It’s actually much closer to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial than it is to the end of the Mall where the Stewart/Colbert podium is located (which you can clearly see in the aerial map included with the dueling rally photos). And much of the space where the Beck rally was held is taken up by reflecting pools that span most of the length between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The space in the middle was filled by people, not water, at the Rally to Restore Sanity.

But who cares? What difference does it make? Why is it so important that Beck’s rally be seen as having a bigger crowd than a comedy and music show? Why does everything have to be a peeing contest? Beck’s rally drew more attendees than the liberal One Nation rally (not as many more as is claimed by the right, but more), but the fact is that if you combined both the Restoring Honor and One Nation crowds (wouldn’t that be fun?) it still wouldn’t be as big as Saturday’s rally. And if you combined all three it wouldn’t match the crowd The Beach Boys drew for their 4th of July show in 1980. Perspective, people. Perspective.

This is exactly the sort of thing the underlying theme of the Rally to Restore Sanity was all about — people on both sides (note how Stewart pissed off Keith Olbermann yesterday) being paranoid, hateful, unreasonable and vitriolic rather than trying to think things through in a reasonable and calm manner. Can’t you see that by trying to deny the obvious reality you’re doing the same thing the liberals or progressives or socialists or whatever they’re calling anyone to the left of Genghis Khan these days did when they tried to claim they got a bigger crowd than Beck? Except that the crowd difference between the Beck and One Nation rallies wasn’t quite so obvious and as far as I know they didn’t resort to faked photo comparisons.

And by the way, I know you all think the Rally to Restore Sanity was some big liberal/progressive/socialist/Marxist plot, but there were a lot of Republicans there yesterday. Sure, Stewart and Colbert’s audience skew a bit left of center and the crowd probably reflected that, but these weren’t extremists. In fact, I saw a number of signs calling (in a reasonable manner) for smaller government.

Now, let’s all start proving Jon Stewart right and let the namecalling begin.
 
Jon Stewart Rally Attracts Estimated 215,000

stewart_colbert_rally_aerial_1_620x350.JPG
The crowd at Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" on the Mall in Washington.
(Credit: AirPhotosLive.Com)
An estimated 215,000 people attended a rally organized by Comedy Central talk show hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Saturday in Washington, according to a crowd estimate commissioned by CBS News.

The company AirPhotosLive.com based the attendance at the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" on aerial pictures it took over the rally, which took place on the Mall in Washington. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 10 percent. (See some of the pictures used to create the estimate here.)


Jon Stewart Rally Attracts Estimated 215,000 - Political Hotsheet - CBS News
 
Re: Jon Stewart Rally Attracts Estimated 215,000

Ah yay, the penis measuring contest time. Who's rally was bigger.
 
Moderator's Warning:
Merged threads
 
Re: Jon Stewart Rally Attracts Estimated 215,000

Maybe next time they'll offer rally pumps for sale -- grow your rally 400,000 people, all it takes is 5 minutes a day!

I am personally OK with my rally only being 100,000 people large. It isn't about the size of the waves, but the motion of the ocean.
 
Looking at the people attending both rallies I associate more with the Beck rally than the Comedy Central rally but then again I learned history and civics growing up and understand the role of the govt. which isn't what far too many think it is today. I prefer a group that believes in limited Federal Govt. where the actual responsibility for social issues rests close to the social problems, the state and local communities. Far too many shirk their responsibility at the local level so they pass that responsibility to the Federal Govt. so as to divert from their own failures to accomplish anything.

Glenn Beck doesn't believe in small government. He believes in big government but only in a way he supports it. He's a McCarthyist with Godwin delusions. You can't possibly claim to believe in a limited federal government and be a part of the Christian right or Liberal left. The American Christian Right believes in large government when it comes to social issues. So does the left. The issues are just different. Glenn Beck and his associates believe the government should determine the kind of bedroom business citizens engage in. The left believes the government has an interest in how citizens fare in life. This weird belief people have that the government of 'today' suddenly got bigger is quite unfounded. The U.S. government has been 'Statist' from day one. It's just been 'statist' about different things.
 
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Re: Jon Stewart Rally Attracts Estimated 215,000

Favorite sign posted on the Comedy Central web site:

"If we don't sin, Jesus died for nothing."
 
Well it is for the republicans / Fox News. They started this whole MY rally was bigger than YOURS and so-and-so's was a SMALL rally. Etc......

Uuhhhh, the size of turnout at Washington rallies has been getting exaggerated/argued for many decades. As fun as it is to blame FoxNews for everything since cold ice cream, you're kind of making a stretch on this one......;)



.
 
Uuhhhh, the size of turnout at Washington rallies has been getting exaggerated/argued for many decades. As fun as it is to blame FoxNews for everything since cold ice cream, you're kind of making a stretch on this one......;)
.

Well how about letting the Park Service officially count these rallies again? Oh no wait, that would not change things since the right would dispute those numbers as well and usually with fake pictures and video.
 
Well it is for the republicans / Fox News. They started this whole MY rally was bigger than YOURS and so-and-so's was a SMALL rally. Etc......


I think it started long before that with the anti-bush rally's heck even before that with the million man march, heck even well before, well you get the point.
 
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