Today saw two diametrically opposed rallies in DC...one by FOX News and talk radio personality Glenn Beck dubbed the Restoring Honor rally and another by 'activist' Al Sharpton designed specifically to counter Beck's rally called 'Reclaim the Dream.'
The name of Sharpton's rally comes from the fact that today was the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's famous "I have a dream " speech.
In view of that, it's worth looking at what occurred at the two rallies and the speakers who were there, the nature of the media coverage and most importantly, which rally best mirrored the ideals espoused by Dr. King.
Beck's event was deliberately non-political in nature. He focused on honoring America's military, calling on the nation to revitalize its religious faith and honor the principles on which the country was founded.
It was also a charity event that raised $5.5 million, for the veterans' charity Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
The speakers included Beck, Cardinal's star Alfred Pujols, Sarah Palin and Dr. Alveda King, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece.
The message of all of the speakers was largely religious and patriotic in tone, with little or no political content.
There were references during the rally to Mr. King's famous appeal in 1963 that people be judged by their character rather than their skin color. "We are a nation that has terrible, terrible scars, but we must look past them,'' Mr. Beck said. "We must look at the person inside.''
Taking the stage early as the warm up, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, told the crowd that she was speaking not as a politician but "as something much more -- the mother of a combat veteran."
"May this day be the change point," she said. "Let's stand together. Let's restore America."
Beck called for America to set itself back on course. "We must advance or perish," he said. "And I choose advance."
He predicted that the rally would "start the heart of America again."
Glenn Beck's full speech is here
Crowd estimates? between 300,000 and 500,000.
Now let's look at Reverend Al's counter demonstration.
The crowd consisted of 2,500-3,000 sullen activists and rent-a-bodies from the SEIU, the NAACP and Sharpton's own group, the National Action Network.There were so few people there that Sharpton instructed the line to march single file for the cameras to appear larger.
"Like Dr. King, we believe that the bank of justice is not bankrupt," she said. "We thank you God for raising up President Barack Obama as a small down payment on that dream." - Barbara Skinner-Williams, Head of the Skinner Leadership Institute.
"We will not stand silent as some seek to bamboozle Dr. King's dream... We reclaim the dream of Dr. King for the 21st century." - Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League.
“Shame on them. We still have a dream. We are here to let those folks on the Mall know that they don’t represent the dream. They sure as hell don’t represent me. They represent hate-mongering and angry white people. The happy white people are here today. We will not let them stand in the way of the change we voted for!" - Jaime Contreras, local SEIU president
“They (referring to the Beck rally) want to disgrace this day. We won't let them..
“They may have the mall, but we have the message. They may have the platform, but we have the dream. The dream was not about state's rights..and those that are trying to take his place are trying to nullify." Al Sharpton
So let's compare the two rallies again.
We have a charity event that raised $5.5 million for a veteran's charity, drew 300,000 - 500,000 people and focused on non-political themes of unity, faith and patriotism.
And then we have another rally that drew 2,500 - 3,000 people that focused on racial bean counting, divisiveness, grievance mongering and partisan politics.
With that in mind, let's look at how the dinosaur media and the flacks for the Ruling Class portrayed Al Sharpton's little circus. Just a few examples:
From the Washington Post: 'Sharpton's 'Reclaim the Dream' event brings thousands to honor MLK'
From Newsday: 'Beck rally draws big crowd as Sharpton leads thousands honoring King'
From the Government sponsored Voice of America: Civil rights leaders criticize 'Restore Honor' rally
From the Baltimore Sun: Glenn Beck's Rally: Stealing King's moral authority
From CNN: Sharpton-led rally recalls King's "Dream" speech
From Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun-Times:Boorish Beck Makes Mockery of King's Dream
In the end, it comes down to who really exemplified Dr. King's ideals.
Whatever one might say about Glenn Beck, he has never publicly used racial or anti-Semitic slurs, never deliberately exacerbated racial divisiveness, never led a pogrom against Jews in a place like Crown Heights, never falsely libeled a state prosecutor over a cooked up phony race baiting scheme and has not made a career out of leaching off other people's money.
What does it say about these people when they're willing to look at a race pimp and anti-Semite like Al Sharpton and applaud him for the color of his skin (and his politics) over the content of his character?
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