People are clear in what Dr. King’s dream was about, and we will not react to those who try to distort that dream.
The Rev. Al Sharpton • Speaking at an event in honor of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech today. The event, which was held at a D.C. high school instead of the National Mall (Glenn Beck’s peeps got that spot) worked as a giant reaction to the Beck event, rather than an event of its own merit. Which is to say that they kept bringing up the Beck event in various ways. “When I look at my television, I don’t see the King crowd of blacks and whites together,” said D.C. delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. NAACP leader Ben Jealous brought it up explicitly: “We are not sure what the message of the Beck rally is, since he told them to leave their signs at home.” Honestly, Sharpton’s event shouldn’t be a reaction; it should be a celebration. source
Counter-protesters, take note. While Beck has pushed hard to not make the rally a rage-fueled event, a couple moments have cropped up. One counter-protester, Ben Thielen, carried a sign that said, “It’s because of the 1st Amendment that Glenn Beck can spew his filth on the steps.” After showing off the sign, he was accosted by one woman, who started yelling “No signs!” at him and left him with some (probably overstated) red marks. “She just came up to me and said, ‘No signs!’ and clawed me like a wild animal,” he said. Meanwhile, a bunch of “Don’t tread on me” flags were waved around. source
Who are the Koch brothers? In what has to be one of the best senses of timing ever, The New Yorker just put up a lengthy article about Charles and David Koch, multi-billionaires, the owners of Koch Industries, and two long-time libertarian leaners who back the Americans for Prosperity organization, which has been something of a root backer of the Modern Tea Party movement. And thanks to a just-filed IRS complaint regarding the ad series above, we’ll be hearing more about the Koch Brothers in the next couple of weeks.
longtime libertariansThe brothers have deep roots in the libertarian movement, and David Koch actually ran for vice-president 30 years ago. The brothers found the process wasteful, and decided to work behind the scenes instead. So they ended up underwriting the libertarian movement. Then the Tea Party came along.
Very hands-offUnlike other big financial backers of political leaders like George Soros, they go out of their way to be hands-off from what their money does, and instead let the money do the work. While they’re very active in the philanthropy community, their Americans for Prosperity work does not bear their signature.
Tax-exempt statusAmericans for Prosperity is in a bit of trouble right now because they’ve been running ads that are inherently political in possible violation of their tax-exempt status, which says their work has to be nonpartisan. The organization says that their work is protected by the first amendment. source
Local Bloggers don’t really care about the rally. They see so many of them that they’re pretty much old hat at this point. In fact, sites like DCist or We Love DC didn’t even give tomorrow’s Glenn Beck rally a second notice until this hilarious guide hit the popular consciousness, starting on those blogs and eventually making its way onto Rachel Maddow’s show. They neutered it and turned it into a PR opportunity. (Smart move.) As a DC-based blog, we would like to point out a couple of things: One, we just saw a couple using the Metro tonight who blocked the aisle on the train with a couple of hunting-camo lawn chairs. Two, the nice thing about DC is that it’s a diverse city, so you might want to consider hitting U Street and checking out a show at The Black Cat. Trust us. source
» Most Christians are mixed: As Christian-based religions go, Mormons aren’t alone in their dislike of Obama; just half of Catholics approved of him and 43 percent of Protestants did. Jews were another group that greatly approved of Obama, with 61 percent giving him love. Other non-Christian religions largely approved of him too. Despite this, it’s worth noting that he’s down in every religious category listed, but none more than Mormons, where he’s fallen by 19 percent.
I made it clear when we were approached: I said, ‘If it’s political, I wouldn’t even approach Albert with it.’ I don’t want to be there if it’s political.
St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa • Totally misjudging the nature of Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” event on Saturday. He’ll be bringing his biggest star, Albert Pujols, with him. The baseball luminaries will be in D.C. on Saturday to play the Washington Nationals (who perhaps have the worst luck in the world right now), but will also be honored at the event. The event will also have a speech from Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece, Alveda King, which should be interesting to see. (Hint: She works at a conservative think-tank.) source
We’ve reached a point now where it’s like a milk cow with 310 million tits! Call when you get honest work!
Former Sen. Alan Simpson • In a letter to Ashley B. Carson, the executive director of the National Older Women’s League, or OWL, on Social Security. Simpson, a member of Obama’s fiscal commission, is facing a lot of calls for resignation over the comment, which is probably the dumbest thing one could say politically, considering that it’s kinda sexist. Simpson, by the way, is on the front lines trying to protect Social Security’s long-term solvency, so it’s probably good to note that this shouldn’t be taken out of context. But still. Wow. source
Next up: Current RNC chairman says he’s an idiot. Ken Mehlman, who was the campaign manager behind George W. Bush’s re-election, revealed the fact to family and friends, according to The Atlantic’s Mark Ambinder. Mehlman, who only recently came to that realization, admits that he was in a place to actually do something to encourage gay marriage in his former role, and regrets that he didn’t. But it doesn’t mean that he can’t encourage it in his private life. source