We reported yesterday that Mayor Vince Gray was going to be missing tomorrow's rally for D.C. voting rights at the White House, leading some in the movement to grumble. Well, Gray seems to have changed his mind. more ›

On June 15, Mayor Vince Gray tweeted: "Would like to see President Obama fight actively for DC autonomy. Door to Wilson Building always open to him." The sentiment, which is loudly echoed by voting rights activists across the city, will be a central theme at a rally set for this Saturday in front of the White House. Gray, however, won't be there. more ›

This morning, we asked a couple of questions about Metro's record-breaking Saturday -- namely: what were Metro's criteria for estimating the expected crowds, and how high the ridership could have gotten if the trains had been running more frequently. WTOP's Adam Tuss and TBD's Dave Jamieson both do us a solid and deliver the answer to the first question -- and found that the rally organizers were the ones to blame for us not knowing the answer to the second. Tuss reports that Metro spokesperson Steven Taubenkibel told him that Metro was told to "expect a crowd about the size of the Glenn Beck rally...[a]t the most 100,000 people." With a crowd at least double that estimates, there were obviously going to be problems. But Taubenkibel also told Tuss that Metro offered rally organizers the option of extra service on Saturday -- much like what was provided for the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday -- but the organizers declined. So how much would it have cost organizers for Metro to open the system early and provide a few more trains? Jamieson says that it runs around $29,000. more ›

If there was one thing that deserved special attention at Saturday's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, it was the signs. It seemed like every single attendee brought at least one with them: some of them silly, many of them incredibly funny and all of them containing sentiment that would certainly not be out of place in the comments of any given DCist post. While "I Thought This Was The Line For Georgetown Cupcakes" gets our choice for best effort of the day, there were several strong contenders. Here are a whole bunch of our favorites. more ›

Just like the Restoring Sanity rally back in August, we could have spent tons of words on what the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear said about about mainstream media, tomorrow's elections or America today. (Though Kid Rock's involvement kind of cramps our ability to come up with anything enlightening, to be totally honest.) We could prattle on about the long lines, Metro delays and most people's inability to see or hear anything when they got to the Mall. But there are plenty of people who get paid a lot more money than us to make such sweeping statements about such things (not to mention, there are plenty of people who would do it for free) -- so we'll just show you all the visuals from Saturday's rally and let you make your own conclusions. more ›

So if you haven't gotten your fill of the wacky and weird today, the Burning Man dragon is here! From what I heard at the 14th and U farmers market, some people thought today would be a great idea to get a permit for their huge metal dragon and drive it down 14th street. more ›

Look, we know you're all probably suffering from a serious case of Rally fatigue. So are we, to be totally honest -- after all, this event alone has fed the pundit machine for the last two weeks almost on its own. But if we didn't provide you with this information, then we wouldn't really be doing our job, now would we? We swear this'll be quick, like ripping a Band-Aid off a particularly hairy patch of skin. more ›

If there is one aspect of the Stewart/Colbert rally which hasn't yet been examined under an electron microscope by the Washington and New York media, it's what part D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton will have in tomorrow's ceremonies. Sure, I imagine that she's one of the many "to be announced" in that schedule which leaked the other day -- but given Norton's long history of playful sparring (and her friendship) with Stephen Colbert, I had figured that there would be something bigger in store. Turns out I was kind of right: Norton has challenged Colbert to get his drink on. At The Passenger, no less! more ›

This weekend has the potential to be one of the busiest the District has seen in some time. There's the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, the Marine Corps Marathon, various Halloween celebrations, Howard University's huge homecoming celebration and parade, an outdoor battle of the bands pitting Wale against Tokyo Police Club near the National Mall and, of course, general weekend tourism and traffic. Admittedly, this information alone should be enough for Washingtonians with a vehicle to put those car keys away for the duration, but I'm sure that there were some of you who were thinking about driving to get to wherever you're going. more ›

Metromix reports that they've gotten their hands on a very preliminary schedule for Saturday's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear -- and while we're working on confirming if any of the reported details are true, we thought you might appreciate knowing what is being floated out there. There are still a ton of performers and "special guests" listed as "to be announced," but what details are on the schedule sound promising if they pan out to be true: The Roots warming up the crowd between noon and 12:40, a poetry reading by actor Sam Waterston, a musical performance from Jeff Tweedy and something called the "Sanity and Fear Awards," which we can only imagine will be uproariously funny. more ›

On Wednesday, I highlighted a report by WTOP which stated that organizers for the Stephen Colbert/Jon Stewart "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" were having issues getting enough portable toilets for the October 30 event. Little did I know that there was already an intrepid D.C. reporter on the Stewart/Colbert port-a-john beat! I admittedly missed this report by Ryan Kearney, in which Kearney confirmed with a Comedy Central spokeswoman that the rally would have its "own Porta Potties" and that they were "all good." So I hereby apologize, dear readers, for any confusion I may have caused you concerning where you'd be able to relieve yourself on the Mall come the 30th. Though, if I can be blunt: I got the chance to use the phrase "potty problem," and the commentariat got to make a whole lot of poop jokes -- so, it kind of feels kind of like a win-win to me. more ›

Remember back during the preparations for the Obama inauguration, when we were all really, really concerned about where we'd be able to relieve ourselves on the Mall? (Eventually, Inauguration organizers were able to wrangle up 5,000 portable toilets.) But the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" on October 30 is experiencing a similar problem, albeit on a much smaller scale. more ›

It's not even clear whether or not Stephen Colbert's people had even applied for a permit to hold the "March to Keep Fear Alive" on National Park Service property, but that's a moot point now. Colbert showed up on The Daily Show last night to ask Jon Stewart whether he could mooch off his permit, which came through last week and affords Stewart space between 3rd Street and 7th Street on the Mall. more ›

President Barack Obama continued his tour around the country in support of Democratic candidates with a short trip up to Bowie State University in Maryland today. (TBD's Kevin Robillard is live-tweeting, for those who are interested in such things.) But not everyone's feeling the good vibes of the Obama visit: at least two dozen people got sick during the rally. So many people were fainting and feeling dizzy that a triage unit had to be set up in the Bowie State gymnasium. WTOP reports that warmer temperatures could be the cause for the spike in sickness, and Robillard described it as "pretty hot." But seeing as how the ol' digital thermometer tells me that its only 70 degrees in Bowie right now, that seems very strange. So what really made everyone sick? Was it the amazing number of politicians who elbowed their way onto the stage before Obama got a chance to talk? Was it the "boring" intermission? Was it "the devil" who was shouting at Obama during his speech? Did a big group of people stop off for some bad oysters on the way over to the rally? Whatever it is, I'm sure that there are plenty of people just drooling to start making jokes about Democrats and their "fainting" hopes of holding on to their majorities in Washington. more ›

When I got the chance to sit down with Eleanor Holmes Norton last weekend, I knew that I'd end the interview with a question about Stephen Colbert and the rumors that he'd host a rally on the Mall in response to Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally. Norton's a titan of the D.C. political scene and probably one of the most interesting people I've ever sat down and talked with -- the stories she has at her disposal: incredible -- but there's no denying that there's a significant slice of America that knows her as that lady that Colbert made fun of in his "Better Know A District" series. And Norton loves Colbert, even stating that Colbert had "done more for voting rights than anything we have ever done." more ›

Based on the various reports that we've seen, and aside from a few shouting matches, Saturday's "Restoring Honor" rally appeared to go off without major incident. Though those moving into a dorm room at George Washington University while tens of thousands of Tea Partiers were plodding their way to the National Mall, could be excused if they didn't feel like things were going so smoothly. The GW Hatchet has this report about Saturday's move-in process, during which many students and parents dodged the angry mobs while shifting those steamer trunks and cheap microwaves into the dorms. more ›

We could have gone on for thousands and thousands of words about Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally, the NAACP-sponsored "Reclaiming the Dream" counter-rally, and what it says about the country and us. But these images -- captured by DCist staff photographers James Calder, Kevin Carroll and Kyle Gustafson, and our DCist Flickr pool -- had enough to say on their own. more ›

Supporters of marriage equality packed the gym at Northwest's Kennedy Recreation Center Monday night for a "Rally for D.C. Marriage Equality." The mood was celebratory on the eve of the D.C. Council's final vote on a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the District, which is expected to pass easily later today. more ›

On Saturday, before the D.C. United-Toronto FC game, about 500 United fans marched from Lincoln Park to RFK Stadium in support of keeping the team in the D.C. area. The march was organized by fans and supporters' groups and had the support of the team. more ›

After two years on the campaign trail, Barack Obama ends his quest for the Presidency tonight in D.C.'s backyard. The rally, to be held in Manassas at the Prince William County Fairgrounds at 9 p.m., is Obama's final scheduled public appearance before Election Day. The event is free and open to the public, though the campaign encourages attendees to RSVP in advance. Expect metal detectors, but will they be checking names at the door? more ›

So this is interesting: Bloomberg did a story on how no one can agree on the size of the crowd for the McCain/Palin rally in Fairfax last week. We were following the story after some controversy broke out over the initial location for the event, and went with the New York Times's number of 15,000, which the paper said it got from "The Fairfax City fire marshal." But the McCain/Palin camp is claiming that 23,000 people were there, while Marc Fisher from the WaPo is saying he counted 8,000, and now Bloomberg reports this:

Fairfax City Fire Marshal Andrew Wilson said his office did not supply that number to the campaign and could not confirm it. Wilson, in an interview, said the fire department does not monitor attendance at outdoor events.

The New York Times is reporting that the official estimate of the crowd that gathered at a park in Fairfax this morning for the McCain rally was 15,000, well over twice the number of people who could have attended had the event been held at its original, controversial venue at Fairfax High School. The McCain campaign told supporters yesterday that the event had been moved because the high school venue could only hold 6,500 people. Some Fairfax residents and officials expressed disapproval that the Fairfax County school system should never have agreed to host a political rally during school hours, since it violated the school district's own policy against such events. more ›

The McCain campaign has announced that a rally originally planned to be at Fairfax High School on Wednesday morning has been moved to Van Dyck Park in Fairfax County. The campaign told supporters through an email and robo-telephone calls that the event, which will begin at 8 a.m., had been moved because the high school field was not big enough — no mention of the concern voiced by some that the county school system had violated one of its own rules by agreeing to host the rally during school hours. The Post says the high school field house can hold as many as 6,500 people -- so we'll have to see tomorrow whether more than 6,500 people show up to Van Dyck Park. more ›

UPDATE: Point now moot! The rally has been moved amid all the outcry, although no word yet on the new location. more ›

The Post makes the right call on today's rally planned for Sen. Barack Obama at Nissan Pavilion is Bristow, Va. It's going to be a traffic nightmare of epic proportions. You thought the Radiohead debacle was bad? Imagine a free 6 p.m. event open to all comers that will kickoff a historic national campaign for president by a candidate with huge support from young, enthusiastic, politically-minded, college-educated Democrats in a metro area that has one of the highest concentrations of same anywhere in the country. more ›