Comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert plan a pair of rallies on the National Mall shortly before Election Day.
Stewart said he was organizing a "Rally to Restore Sanity" in Washington on Oct. 30, billed as a "million moderate march" against ideological extremists in both parties.
Colbert, who plays a hyperbolic conservative personality on his show, announced a "March to Keep Fear Alive" in response to Stewart.
Both events ostensibly have the purpose of mocking some of the more strident rhetoric members of both parties have employed in political debates over the past decade.
Stewart's event, in particular, seems to be more of a direct response to the Fox News host Glenn Beck, who held a "Restoring Honor" rally on the Mall in August. That event drew a horde of conservative supporters (crowd estimates ranged around several hundred thousand participants) and focused largely on religious themes. Top GOP personalities like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin participated.
Stewart's "The Daily Show" had planned a week of tapings in Washington the week before the rally. Tickets to those shows disappeared in minutes, hinting at the intense interest Washingtonians and other Americans might take in the rallies.
Find Stewart's announcement below:
And Colbert's:
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