While it seems like so many of Jon Stewart's adoring fans in the media are elated to see a counter-Tea Party, not many have been willing to call this event what it is - an event to belittle people who are exercising their rights as citizens to protest their government.
But Fox News Channel's Greg Gutfeld, the host of "Red Eye" took a stab at it on his Sept. 22 program. Unfortunately, it broadcasts on at 3 a.m. Eastern time (and still manages to beat CNN's prime time lineup in the ratings). In case you missed it, Gutfeld applauded the event as a gimmick, but questioned the sincerity of it as a true meaningful political rally.
"So last week Jon Stewart announced he was going to hold a rally of his own in Washington D.C., to restore reason, sanity or whatever," Gutfeld said. "[N]ow, it's a cute idea - not as good as a gay bar next to a mosque [something Gutfeld had proposed in response to the "Ground Zero Mosque"] - but it's an appropriate, hipster response to the tea parties and Glenn Beck's thing. It's exactly the thing that the bald nerdy guy in glasses from The New York Times subscription commercial might attend and feel totally good about himself afterward - which raises an interesting question: would Stewart have announced his event if those other events had a decidedly liberal tilt?"
According to Gutfeld, had the Tea Party been a left-of-center movement, no. In fact, this was just a means to poke fun at the Tea Party protestors.
"Short answer: no," he continued. "Long answer: noooooooooooooooooooooooo, which makes the jokiness of the stunt wear off fast. Think about it - what Stewart is doing is not speaking truth to power, but poking fun at the people who are speaking truth to power. I mean, Stewart isn't going after politicians or leaders - he's mocking people who are standing up to politicians and leaders."
Gutfeld offered proof that Stewart, while claiming to offer a "million moderate march," is really just another instrument of the left-wing establishment - since there's fear it could jeopardize some of the Democratic candidate's chances in the upcoming midterm election.
"While the Tea Party is a ‘bottom-up' phenomenon, Stewart is on top, looking down," Gutfeld continued. "His is a reaction from the establishment, not against. Here's proof: Yesterday Democrats actually complained that Stewart's rally being too close to the elections will hurt the Democrat's chances. They worry their supporters will be more inclined to hit the rally before the election rather than campaign. Translation: Stewart will harm the establishment left, because he is the establishment left."
This rally has garnered quite a bit of attention from the media, as Gutfeld pointed out and it will be interesting to see how the Jon Stewart rally will measure up against the various Tea Party events in terms of media coverage.
"So that doesn't make Stewart brave, it makes him a toady," Gutfeld said. "But no surprise - this is what passes for rebellion in the media, which is really just making fun of people in fanny packs who prefer Sarah Palin over Sarah Silverman. I'm with them on the fanny packs, though. They suck. And if you disagree with me, you're a racist homophobic Islamophobic Europhobe."
Rob Long, editor-in-chief of Ricochet.com and of National Review fame, took on the idea that there could be a so-called "million moderate march." He likened it to some of the phony "showbiz" put on by the Nixon administration.
"No, it's not daring," Long said. "This guy reminds me of, you know in the old days with Nixon and they always had these rallies with like Bob Hope and Pat Boone? ‘Hey stand up for the president!' And that is what this looks like. This looks like old-fashioned showbiz, you know guys in bad suits. ‘Hey this is America! We respect the office of the presidency.' And this is sad really, because it used to be kind of a funny show."
