Rally to Restore Sanity: Bigger than Glenn Beck's rally?
| WASHINGTON
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are anticipating bigger crowds at their rallies on the National Mall.
As of Friday morning, more than 145,000 people have said on the Rally to Restore Sanity Facebook page that they will attend the Oct. 30 event.
How many people attended Glenn Beck's "Rally to Restore Honor" on Aug. 28? That number is disputed. Organizers said 500,000. A National Parks Service official estimated between 300,000 and 325,000 had turned out for Beck’s gathering on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
"The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart announced last week that he plans a "Rally to Restore Sanity" in Washington on Oct. 30. Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," says he's holding a "March to Keep Fear Alive."
National Park Service spokesman Bill Line said Wednesday the organizers for the events have amended the number of people they expect on their permit application from 25,000 to 60,000.
Line says discussions are still under way and the permit has not been finalized yet. He says there's no deadline for approval.
Stewart has said the rally is for people too busy with their normal lives to go to other political rallies.
