US television stars plan rallies before elections

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert set to hold separate demonstrations dubbed "Rally to Restore Sanity" and "March to Keep Fear Alive."

Jon Stewart Stephen Colbert 311 AP (photo credit: Associated Press)
Jon Stewart Stephen Colbert 311 AP
(photo credit: Associated Press)
WASHINGTON — Two American television personalities are taking their faux political feud to Washington and plan to hold opposing political rallies just before the November elections.
Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," interrupted his regular fake newscast Thursday night to announce a "Rally to Restore Sanity" on October 30. He said it is for people too busy with their normal lives to go to other political rallies.
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"We're looking for people who think shouting is annoying ... who feel that the loudest voices shouldn't be the only ones that get heard," Stewart writes in promotion for his rally.
Nearby, Stephen Colbert is planning a "March to Keep Fear Alive." The host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" is encouraging participants to bring an overnight bag and five extra sets of underwear.
He wrote the United States is built on three bedrock principles: freedom, liberty and fear.
"They want to replace our fear with reason," he wrote. "But never forget 'reason' is just one letter away from 'treason.'"
Some Americans rely on Stewart and Colbert to keep up with the news.
Stewart and Colbert have filed a single application for a permit to host 25,000 people on the Washington Monument grounds, National Park Service spokesman Bill Line said Friday. It has not been approved yet.
As for whether 25,000 people would actually show up, Line said he would not challenge the application from Stewart and Colbert.