The Rally to Restore Sanity - Is Political Satire Dead?

October 30, 2010 is fast approaching, the scheduled date for the "The Daily Show's" Rally to Restore Sanity, and the counter-rally, The March to Keep Fear Alive, led by Stephen Colbert of "The Colbert Report." Regular watchers of the two Comedy Central programs will know that the event is designed to be a mockery of Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally that happened back in August. The two hosts are essentially putting on a big, free, one-day-only comedy show, meant to entertain their audience first an foremost. Designs on prompting actual political action are fairly minor - raising awareness, encouraging participation, and calling out the demagogues. Though both comedians are more sympathetic toward the Democratic party, that hasn't stopped them from leveling criticisms at the Obama administration, and their performances at the rallies should have little partisan content. Or any content that's meant to be taken very seriously, for that matter.

Unfortunately, Washington may not let that happen. Over the past few weeks, the actions of Stewart and Colbert have come under increasing scrutiny. Stephen Colbert's in-character testimony at a House subcommittee hearing on illegal immigration led to gawking media coverage and charges of wasting the lawmakers' time. The actual message of Colbert's testimony, compassion for migrant workers, was lost as too many people took his satirical performance at face value. And just last week, Jon Stewart became embroiled in the meltdown and firing of CNN reporter Rick Sanchez, over anti-Semitic remarks made by Sanchez during an interview. Stewart didn't instigate the comments or the firing as far as I can tell, but since Sanchez singled him out as a "bigot," Stewart's name has been all over the media coverage.

As for the upcoming rallies, the intentions of Stewart and Colbert may be largely facetious, but they aren't being treated that way. The Rally to Restore Sanity has been endorsed by Oprah, President Obama namechecked it in a speech aimed at younger voters, and various media figures have been examining it as a serious political event. Both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of inflating the importance of the rallies. The Democrats have been far too hopeful that real political momentum might arise from the event, and the Republicans are scared of the same thing. A fake political rally on this scale is an unknown beast, and no one is quite sure what's going to happen. No doubt some of the attendees of the rally will be slow on the uptake as well, potentially further muddling the picture.

Stewart and Colbert have gone to some lengths to ensure their actions are identified as purely satirical, but considering some of the shenanigans in the current political culture, it's no wonder that some people are having trouble telling the jokers apart from the real thing. The extremism that dominates the discourse and the media narrative presents a skewed vision of the country, and only the very naive would think that these attitudes don't play a role in the decisionmaking processes of politicians, voters, and everyone else engaged in the system. Or those who have disengaged completely out of disgust. If the Rally to Restore Sanity has any real agenda, it's to bolster those who are apathetic, cynical, and demoralized with politics, who feel they've been drowned out by the hysterics.

I think "The Daily Show," "The Colbert Report," and by proxy their rallies, ultimately serve a very important function. By toying with the line between satire and reality, while continually insisting that they're only going for laughs, the comedians are setting a standard. Their actions may not be considered ridiculous in the current political climate, but the message is that they should be. When Stephen Colbert is in character as the faux-Republican blowhard version of himself, we're meant to consider him a dimwit. When Jon Stewart announces a Rally to Restore Sanity, the idea should be ridiculous. Except that so little sanity is apparent in some of the upcoming election matches, the rally sounds like a pretty good idea. Some have called Stewart and Colbert disingenuous for representing themselves as powerless comedians, but that's the point. In a better, saner world, they wouldn't have this kind of clout.

Is political satire dead? It's in constant danger of being subsumed by real-world idiocy, fewer and fewer people seem to be able to identify or appreciate it, and our best satirists have to keep telling us that we shouldn't take them seriously. As long as Stewart and Colbert and their spitball-throwing brethren keep holding the line and don't give in to the madness, I think we'll be okay. I wish I could be at the rally on the National Mall on October 30th with ironic protest art in tow ("My other protest sign is a highway billboard"), but it's nice to know we're all being invited to take part in the mockery. I'll take restoring perspective over "Restoring Honor" any day.