Attempting to overcome the popularity of Glenn Beck's 8/28 rally, a group of around 300 liberal and progressive organizations have planned a rally on the National Mall this weekend. According to two new reports, Saturday's 10/2 march — "One Nation, Working Together" — has also garnered the support of President Obama's political organizing group as well as multiple churches.
As The Hill reports, the Democratic National Committee's Organizing for America (OFA), which works to support and build off of Obama's policies, sent out an e-mail blast supporting the upcoming rally. The message bills the event as "the biggest progressive demonstration in decades."
A video posted on OFA's website may offer a glimpse of what the event will look like — an election rally touting Democrats' success over the last two years while villanizing Republicans:
But OFA is not alone in supporting the rally. Among those who have decided to sponsor the event are multiple church groups: according to the New York Times, "the march is co-sponsored by the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ, the National Baptist Convention and several Jewish organizations."
"As people of faith, we deeply care about the issues of justice, education and jobs, and we feel those are issues facing society we have to address," said Amy Stapleton, a spokeswoman for the United Methodist Church, to the Times. "A march like this is something that hasn't been accomplished since Dr. King brought people together in 1963 around issues of race, war, class and the right to decent pay and good jobs."
That could pose some problems if the rally becomes political — which even the Times expects. While many won't say that the rally will specifically call out Republicans while praising Democrats, "some sponsors sound unmistakably partisan." Beck's rally was praised for not becoming political, and instead focusing on values and religion.
"Our rally is standing up for the change we voted for two years ago," said George Gresham, president of 1199 SEIU, a New York health care union local. He also told the Times that his union has chartered 500 buses to carry 25,000 union members to the rally. The SEIU officially endorsed Obama in 2008.
Among the other groups endorsing the rally are the NAACP, the American Federation of Teachers, Al Sharpton's National Action Network, the SEIU, Jim Wallis's Sojourners, the AFL-CIO, Communist Party USA, and the Democratic Socialists of America.
The rally also boasts the support of progressive personality Ed Schultz, who claims the event will draw "300 grand":
According to Benjamin T. Jealous of the NAACP, Saturday's event will rival Beck's: "We believe that our satellite photos will stack up nicely to his satellite photos."
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