At Least 250,000 Attend Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity

[Ian David]

Source: Politics USA

Everyone knew today’s Rally to Restore Sanity would be a hit, and if the independent estimates of crowd size are any indication, Jon Stewart’s rally was the most well attended of the year as it is estimated that at least 250,000 people attended. This number easily doubles and almost triples the attendance for Glenn Beck’s Rally to Restore Honor.

A CTV story estimated the crowd size at 250,000, “In an impassioned 15-minute speech, Stewart told a crowd estimated to number at least 250,000, that their presence has restored his sanity.” Even the AP conservatively offered an estimate that the crowd size rivaled Beck’s, “Screens showed a variety of pundits and politicians from the left and right, engaged in divisive rhetoric. Prominently shown: Glenn Beck, whose conservative Restoring Honor rally in Washington in August was part of the motivation for the Stewart and Colbert event, called the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. It appeared to rival Beck’s rally in attendance.”

During the rally, the hosts of Myth Busters estimated the crowd at 150,000. No matter which estimate one chooses to go with, it’s clear that the crowd size greatly exceeded the 60,000 that Comedy Central expected when they applied for their park permit. There were reports that the crowd exceeded the designated rally area and spilled out into other parts of the National Mall, so it is a pretty safe to say that hundreds of thousands of people were there.

Right wing media has responded to the success of Stewart’s rally, not by denying his attendance numbers, but inflating Beck’s rally attendance figures. Even though independent estimates put the size of Beck’s rally at 87,000-96,000 attendees, conservative media, lead by Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and Beck himself have turned the Rally to Restore Honor into a mythic event which was attended by a half a million people. Of course, those who make these claims have absolutely no proof to back it up, and they never question the fact that these inflated attendance figures come from biased sources.





Read more: http://www.politicususa.com/en/stewart-attendance?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=P2Blogs&utm_content=Twitter

---

[Number23]

1. Rec'd. Jon Stewart gets on my last nerve but this event sounds like good fun

:thumbsup:

[tavalon]

79. Ever since he did the Crossfire confrontation, he's been my hero

[no limit]

82. Why would he get on your last nerve? he is the best tool we have to fight the MSM

[peacebird]

2. the 90,000 beck ralliers were probably equal in bulk to the 250,000 Stewart/Colbert ralliers...

[crim son]

4. ...

:spray: LMFAO!

[sfwriter]

5. Yes, if we were to consider volume... They will always seem larger.

[geckosfeet]

8. 90k beckers would have greater mass than the 250k at the rally today

They are a corn fed, HFC sucking bunch

[Ruby the Liberal]

7. Is that why they had a seismologist?

:rofl:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

39. You know, for some reason I don't find this kind of joke funny anymore.

:thumbsdown:

[peacebird]

43. ok. Though actually was more an observation than a joke.

[Kali]

60. thanks, CPD

I was thinking the same thing - way to alienate people.

No big liberals? :wtf:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

67. 6'1" - 260 lbs here. -nt

[awoke_in_2003]

75. as a self-described "Fat ass"...

I agree. But I do not think that harm was intended.

[no limit]

83. As a self-described "Fat ass" I found that joke very funny. Lighten up

[awoke_in_2003]

99. I think I said just about the same thing. nt

[Le Taz Hot]

81. Yeah, for a second there,

I was finding the OP inspiring. Back to hate. On the menu today: It's OK to hate and make fun of fat people.

[Crunchy Frog]

48. Yes. I guess you could make a case for parity if you went by mass alone.

[obxhead]

77. It was a beautiful young and healthy crowd. nt

[AlinPA]

96. lol

[YOY]

3. I've never seen it that crazy. Fun but CROWDED.

It was pretty goddamn packed.

[Mad_Dem_X]

46. So true - you couldn't even MOVE.

Trying to get out of the crowd to get to the port-a-potties was a NIGHTMARE.

[YOY]

71. I saw so many people sitting on the port-o-potties we just cut out and went to the botanical garden.

No line there.

[BrklynLiberal]

6. Great news! Love that flag!!

Watched it on TV. It was wonderful!!

[DangerousRhythm]

16. That's hilarious!

I'd love a bigger copy of that picture if anyone can direct me to one! I'm watching the rally right now on my DVR... the troops just started singing. :D

[Fumesucker]

23. Here you go...

[Patsy Stone]

31. That's hilarious.

:rofl:

Thanks!

[awoke_in_2003]

76. Laugh while you can...

monkey boy :) Seriously, I liked it too.

[ronnie624]

78. Love that parody.

It's interesting how the political element represented by "teabaggers" does not wish to be tread upon, while at the same time, is most likely to tread upon others. Militarism is one of the hallmarks of their 'philosophy'.

[No Elephants]

84. Most likely to stomp on slight women, too.

[Enthusiast]

80. Fantastic! nt

[WillParkinson]

9. Pictures & Video

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2010/10/recap-rally-for-sanity.html

[chervilant]

50. Sooooooooo

CLEARLY a bigger crowd!!!!

Yippeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! There are way more sane people in the world!!!!!!!!!

[Georgia farmer]

64. Reflecting Pool

Are people standing in the water? Can't see the reflecting pool.

[A HERETIC I AM]

70. In that photo, the Reflecting Pool is directly behind the Washington Monument (edited)

straight in front of the camera's position.



The Stage for the Beck rally was on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, which faces the Washington monument and is in the distance in the photo. The stage for this event was on the National Mall, in front of the Capital Building.

Edited because I had the layout of the mall in my head, and referenced the White House as the Lincoln Memorial in that layout. My apologies.

Looking at a Satellite shot helps clear things up;

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=38.8903982&lon=-77.0332575&z=15&l=0&m=s

[Zoeisright]

10. And they weren't bussed in by Koch suckers.

Someone needs to point that out.

[kath]

89. The Baggers say that "union thugs" were bussed in *at gunpoint* to this rally.

yeah, right.

[BuelahWitch]

93. C'mon you *know* that 7 year old girl was a Union Thug!

:rofl:

[Recursion]

11. The crowd was solid for a block north and south of the mall

What the pictures don't show you is that there were people all the way up past Constitution Ave and south of Independence, solid, stretching for 5 blocks to the west.

[Bragi]

13. And thousands along the sides...

It was a huge crowd. Also, tightly packed. (I was there).

[tblue37]

33. That's what my son said. He said he could hardly breathe because the crowd was

so tightly packed.

[Neurotica]

45. And what about the metro situation?!

That was crazy. We parked in East Falls Church and it took us about 3 hours to get to the mall from there! Getting home was nearly as difficult for a while. Metro was definitely not prepared for the crowds. Fun experience, though. We made lots of friends on the train since we were on there so long!

[Atman]

51. We got on at East Falls Church. The ride in was like a Japanese subway.

All that was missing were the guys pushing people into the doors. At one point, the conductor was getting annoyed and barked "If you all don't move the middle of the car, this train's goin down!" Didn't make us feel too confident. but we made it, and everyone got along and made the best of it.

[Neurotica]

65. Too funny! My husband said the same thing.

I was so glad in retrospect that we hadn't gone to Vienna. Someone on the train showed us a picture. The line to get in and buy farecards was wrapped around the outside of the Vienna station. And we tried at one point to go home via Metro Center. Forget that! There was a line -- actually a huge mass of people, not moving -- waiting for an opportunity just to get in. That told us more than anything that the crowds were way bigger than what had been expected. In fact, we heard on the news that 400,000 people used Metro today.

[RamboLiberal]

66. +1 on the Metro - they were definitely not prepared for the crowd

Took us nearly an hour at Rosslyn to even get on a train. Every one that came into the station did look like the Japanese subway. We never got close enough at the site to even see or hear the rally. Just heard snippets. Just got home & am watching my recording from CSpan to see what I missed.

So glad this crowd makes Beck's look paltry! Also this crowd was all ages & a ton of young people! Unlike Beck's late middle age to geriatric! And we were ethnically & racially diverse as well.

[Bragi]

12. I just got back to hotel from the rally

It was superb. The signs were hilarious, dripping with irony.

"God Hates Signs"

"I masterbate and I vote"

"I'm with reasonable"

"One of us or perhaps niether of us may be right"

The Civil War was an Inside JOb"

"If your erection or your anger last more than four hours, seek medical treatment"

"Raging moderate"

"Eschew obfuscation, please"

And my favorite:

"Signs are an impractcal medium for civil discourse"

Loved every minute of it.

Off to dinner!

- B

[Divernan]

28. My fave was "Palin, O'Donnell, Bachman - for this I burned my bra?!?!

nt

[Irishonly]

40. I love it! n/t

[Faygo Kid]

14. What is a "CTV?" I was there. It was more than 250,000.

I have been going to rallies for 40 years. This was by far the biggest ever; not even close.

[Darth_Kitten]

24. CTV News....it's Canadian.

:)

[BrklynLiberal]

15. So let's see...counting heads the way they do at rallies like Beck's = 10,000,000

but of course they will report this as something like "500 people were there"

[provis99]

17. dandy. 250,000 show up for a rally with no point,

but can we get 10,000 to show up in NY to protest Wall Street? Nope.

[stray cat]

20. Protesting wall street - do you want to do away with the streets, jobs or stocks?

I think I like most Americans prefer fighting for rationale people, media and government

[Faygo Kid]

30. "No point?!?" You should have been there.

These were people with a fierce love of country and a rock-ribbed determination not to have the nation turned over to the likes of the GOP and Fox News.

You are wrong.

[tblue37]

34. The rally had a point. Sorry you missed it. nt

[Mad_Dem_X]

47. Ummm, I think you're confusing this rally

with Beckkk's Angry White People rally.

[KoKo]

18. It had to be more than Beck's Rally...but the Message WAS MUCH BETTER!

We need to focus on the Numbers...but also on WHICH MESSAGE is the most POSITIVE of the TWO! Beck Downgrades America...makes it seem like seething cauldron of Libertarians who think the DEATH OF GOVERNANCE is On Our Doorstep and we must hoard Ammunition to fend off the marauding hordes of Welfare, Social Security Oldies and Socialists SUCKING AT THE TEAT of AMERICA CORPORATIONS and BANKSTERS to BRING DOWN OUR CAPITALIST SYSTEM.

THIS RALLY ...is NONE OF THAT. As a Religious Person I'm sad that Churches wouldn't be Protesting for the PEOPLE who have been disenfrachised...but Religion is Part of the Problem.

Beck and Limbaugh and their Ilk who INFEST THE PEOPLE'S AIRWAVES AND TIME...have the Power of the WEALTHY CORPORATISTS!

THE MEDIA IS PART OF IT.

GOOD ON COMEDY CENTRAL for GETTING RATINGS TO "RESTORE SANITY TO AMERICA!" It's GOOD FOR THEIR "Bottom Line," too!

[YankeeLeft7x]

19. How many?

Looked liked a good crowd to me....

I don't trust the MSM Reporting on the numbers though....

[logosoco]

21. Despite all the disagreement about numbers, one thing is for sure

you would never see the teabaggers doing a Love Train with the OJs!

[Voice for Peace]

22. Rally to Restore Fun

I wasn't there but watched on livestream.. loved it.

[onehandle]

25. At least --->

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9420424

[mnhtnbb]

26. My son was there--along with several of his friends from UNC-Chapel Hill

[lovuian]

27. It really is a message to those who are putting out

the crap on the News such as Fox and other channels
the propoganda aint' workin guys and gals

[pattmarty]

29. The ONLY Beck estimate was one of the "major" networks (CBS?).......

......call of 80,000. I kind of knew that this was going to turn into "mine is bigger than yours" contest, the main thing is WE finally had a uniting factor (Stewart/Colbert) to bring "our" side (the sane side) out to "show up".

[tblue37]

32. My son, who works in D.C., was at today's rally. He said it felt like a complete crush because

the crowd was so tightly packed. He also said that just in terms of the influx of people into D.C., he has never seen anything like it in the 5 years he has lived there and that the number of people in town felt like at least twice the number that came into D.C. for the Beck rally--and probably even mroe than that.

[NewJeffCT]

35. I loved the "Peace Train" to "Crazy Train" to "Love Train"

That was phenomenal that they got those three artists together to do that - Cat Stevens/Yusuf to Ozzy Osbourne to the O-Jays.

[slay]

36. Watchin that part - CSPAN is rerunning the whole thing right now.

woop! :woohoo:

[BuelahWitch]

94. That was my favorite part too!

[KeyserSoze87]

37. It's too bad the rest of the "liberal" media is never going to want to admit this.

:eyes:

[jimlup]

38. Some idiot on another site actually argued that ...

This event was larger because they were all local "nearby" college students and thus able to find their way to the mall. He claimed that the valiant tea baggers couldn't find their way because they came from further away.
:rofl:


I responded that the tea baggers were lost both figuratively and literally! Had to share...

[lumberjack_jeff]

41. The flag is worth a rec, all by itself!

OMG SNAKE! :rofl:

[Mass]

42. This is great, but can we translate that in votes?\nt

[Iwillnevergiveup]

59. Sure hope so, Mass

I couldn't make the rally, but called 65 Coloradans today to support Sen. Bennett and defeat Wild Man Buck. Many had already voted for Bennett. EXCELLENT coffee & food at the phone bank.

Congratulations to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. True patriots.

:patriot:

[Faygo Kid]

44. I was there. Closer to a half million.

We left there and went up 7th Street. Could hardly move. Tens of thousands more there. I was in DC in the 70s for anti-war marches, and again against the Iraq War in 2002. Over a hundred thousand at each acknowledged then. This dwarfed both.

But it won't be acknowledged, and history will be rewritten to have Beck's the biggest, even though this was five or 10 times bigger. That's the way it is. Good luck to all of us.

And especially to this sweetheart, who has a long row to hoe. But she's loved, apparently, and maybe that's the best we can ask.

Love ya, DUers.

[sce56]

49. I sure wish someone can put up side by side comparisons of the crowds! I know the beck Brown shirts

were smaller especially since they did not fill in the reflecting pool!

I saw some of my favorites were there so I had to put my own picture I took of them back at the 2009 Creative Arts Emmy's awards Governors Ball with my two youngest ones.




Of course we were at Mac Arthur Park Satellite Rally in Los Angeles to protest in solidarity with the DC Rally!

http://www.necn.com/10/30/10/Mythbusters-try-giant-wave-at-DC-rally/landing_scitech.html?blockID=342215&feedID=4213

[bikebloke]

52. One of my pics.

I'll be whipping up a photo/video with the pics I shot. It'll be on the air later in the week, since I'm particular about my art.

[RedCloud]

56. Is that yet another errant Redskin throw?

[Ian David]

53. Because it will come up: Glenn Beck "Restoring Honor" Rally Crowd Estimate Explained

Because detractors will still be claiming Glenn Beck's Restoring Horror rally was bigger...


Glenn Beck "Restoring Honor" Rally Crowd Estimate Explained

As part of our coverage of Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally Saturday, CBS News commissioned the company AirPhotosLive.com to offer an independent estimate of how many people showed up for the event. AirPhotosLive.com calculated that there were approximately 87,000 people there, plus or minus 9,000 people. It was the only scientific estimate made of the number of people at the rally.

The estimate generated criticism from conservative bloggers as well as from Beck himself, who suggested the rally attracted at least 500,000 people.

"The media can diminish the crowd side all they want, but the images speak for themselves," Beck said on his Fox News show Monday.

In order to bring more clarity to the crowd estimation process, Hotsheet asked Curt Westergard, the president of AirPhotosLive.com, to discuss his methods. Westergard's company has done aerial imaging for the U.S. border patrol, the Department of Homeland Security, companies building skyscrapers and cell phone companies trying to decide where to build their towers, among others.

More:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20015214-503544.html

And if they STILL have questions, give them THIS link: http://tinyurl.com/22rtdfd or this http://lmgtfy.com/?q=glenn+beck+rally+87%2C000

[Tx4obama]

54. Jon Stewart Rally Attracts Estimated 215,000 (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.

CBS News also commissioned AirPhotosLive.com to do a crowd estimate of Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally in August. That rally was estimated to have attracted 87,000 people.

Full article here: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20021284-503544.html

[RedCloud]

55. Great news, plus many more slipped into places to view it on TV

[DeadManInc]

57. WKYC channel 3 Cleveland news said tens of thousands

[eyeofdelphi]

58. Holy Crap!

This is the first thing of this type we have been to, but i have to say it felt like more than 250,000. I don't think they were prepared at all for the number of people that showed up. It took us over 2 hours to get from the vienna metro station into dc. and going back, like 3 hours after the rally was over, our car was so full no one could even fall over when they slammed the brakes. so we ended up getting there late, and they didn't have speakers or screens set up that we could see. i could see the stage at a distance, but couldn't hear anything. at one point the people in our section started chanting "louder louder louder!" so i can't wait to go watch it online. but at least i was there.
one more thing. everyone we met was sooo super nice. we met this older couple in line for hot dogs, and they had been here to volunteer. when they found out we drove four hours and didn't get to even hear anything, they gave us this official towel that only the volunteers received. some other guy gave our kid suckers and markers that they didn't need anymore. everyone was amazingly kind. so glad i came even if we didn't see much of it. my faith in humanity has been restored.

[RaleighNCDUer]

61. As we were driving away from the city and a rally which we couldn't get close enough

to hear a single joke or song, we heard NPR say 60k.

NPR, I've seen sixty thousand, and that, sir, was no sixty thousand.

My guess was 200k.

[ChadwickHenryWard]

62. We should take note that there were probably a whole bunch of people

who tried to get in on the Metro and didn't even make it into the city. By the third stop, the conductor was begging people to stop getting on the train.

[EndElectoral]

63. Coming into the city was beyond beleif. The Mall was packed and on the sides you could barely move.

Transportation from Shady Grove Red Line had completely packed car after car, and lines beyond sight. I often wonder how many people just finally gave up. Coming into 7th Street on the Mall by the Moveon truck and by the porta-potties it was mobbed, and trying to get to the center of the mall by 11:15 was impossible, especially for the claustrophobic. I climbed up the stairs of the National Gallery to watch, but sound was not good there, so I forced my way down as far as I could.

I've never seen this many people in the mall. It had to be at least 250,000, and frankly with better sound and more screens, I think the crowd would have backed up beyond the Washington Monument.

Was great fun though.

[RamboLiberal]

68. Jon Stewart rally: Huge turnout forces early retreat to nearby bars

If the message behind Jon Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity" is all about being reasonable, the attendees who most embody that spirit are probably the ones who bailed from the National Mall shortly after the event started.

Massive turnout for Saturday's rally quickly overwhelmed the Mall, forcing thousands of people into nearby streets and eventually, just giving up and leaving.

South of G Street, police were forced to close 7th Street NW to vehicular traffic as the beginnings of an early rally exodus took over the road. Further north, bars and restaurants quickly filled up with those seeking a bite to eat and a television on which to watch the rest of the spectacle on Comedy Central.

"I don't think they were expecting the amount of people who showed up down there," says John Brooks of D.C., who by 1:30 p.m. was sitting comfortably inside Chinatown's Bar Louie. Despite being from the area, Brooks and his family admit they got turned around amid the sea of people packing the streets. "We tried to help some tourists find their way, but it was hard."

http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-neighborhoods/2010/10/jon-stewart-rally-huge-turnout-forces-early-retreat-to-nearby-bars-3947.html

But The Hill's Vicki Needham dug into the data and found anecdotal evidence to suggest a crowd size closer to Viacom's number than the from the Mythbusters dudes.

"More than 350,000 had ridden Metro (DC's public transportation system) before 3 p.m.," Needham reported, "a number typical for an entire Saturday."

[tinrobot]

69. 250,000 is almost half the population of Alsaka

Just sayin'

[Viva_La_Revolution]

91. is that in Uruguay?

:P

[Presidentcokedupfratboy]

72. Sanity.....

Only one side has it, and We're it.

[Frank Booth]

73. How did this morph from Stephen Colbert's Rally into John Stewart's Rally?

It seems like Colbert is at least deserving of second billing, rather than no mention.

[underpants]

86. You are right but they have to have one name plus Stewart owns Colbert's show

so then there is that

[Honeycombe8]

87. Stewart was the first to announce his rally. Colbert announced his own rally in response.

It was all planned, of course (Stewart owning both shows, and all).

But it was Stewart's rally from the start, with Colbert tongue-in-cheek tacking on his own tea-party style rally of fear, supposedly. But not really. There never really was a Colbert rally planned. It was, like, a joke.

[Frank Booth]

88. The initial Reddit campaign was for a Colbert rally.

I realize The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are, first and foremost, money-making operations. But there wouldn't have been a rally if not for the internet-driven campaign for a COLBERT rally. It seems that given Colbert was initially pegged as the star of the rally, he should be getting more credit.

[Arugula Latte]

90. At a press conference yesterday, Jon Stewart said he'd put down the deposit for the mall

in the summer. They'd planned to do it months ago. Stewart and Colbert said the Internet campaigns were very nice and validating to see the interest, but that they were going to do it all along.

edited to add link to press conference: http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jon-stewart-and-stephen-colbert-hold-post-rally-to-restore-sanity-press-conference/

[RamboLiberal]

74. Metro Numbers

Crowds pack Metro during comedians' DC rally

Associated Press
10/30/10 9:40 PM EDT WASHINGTON — A Metro spokeswoman says ridership was up this weekend because of the rally held by comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on the National Mall.

Metro says that by 3 p.m. Saturday some 369,900 people had boarded the system. On a typical Saturday between 325,000 and 350,000 people will use the system.

Metro says it will have final ridership numbers on Monday.



Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/ap/crowds-pack-metro-during-comedians-dc-rally-106386888.html#ixzz13uQEeYyB

I was there and like countless other DU'ers the crush on the Metro was totally unbelievable. Train after train solidly packed unable to take on more passenters.

[No Elephants]

85. LOL. Geraldo Rivera said more people attended Beck's. More Faux News.

A caller to C-Span with a Middle Eastern accent said watching the Sanity/Fear Rally after having seen the Beck rally had turned him from a Republicon to a Democrat.

Why? Beck's rally was so full of hate and anger while the Sanity/Fear Rally was so reasonable and peaceful. Mind you--I heard no one at the Sanity/Fear Rally urge being a Democrat (and some of the entertainers were Republicons).

I hope more Middle Easterners follow suit. Why so many cling to the Middle Easterner hating, Islamaphobic Party is beyond me.

[kimi]

92. I knew it was gonna be huge

when my kid and I got on Metro at Glenmont at 8 AM and by 5 stops in, the car was packed. And I think also that the organizers had no idea that so many people would turn out, so the Jumbotrons and sound system were not sufficient. I consider myself fortunate that I got to hear Jon's speech at the end - gave me goosebumps. The crowd was great though, lots of good spirit, very diverse, all ages and ethnicities. I loved it. An experience never to be forgotten. I went to the Inauguration, but this event rivals that insofar as spirit and sheer goodwill is concerned.
One pic from the steps of the National Gallery of Art 2 hours before the start of the rally:

And so many great signs!! Progressives just have such good senses of humor, and besides that, know how to spell. LOL

[Faygo Kid]

95. I was there. And I was there for anti-war rallies in the '70s. This was much bigger.

Don't even go there, Glenn Beck.

[Jakes Progress]

97. That would be about 12 million in Faux counting methods.

[Hook]

98. A nice large party - but no news story