“It’s like still surreal to me,” says Laughlin, 28. “A lot of people say I started it.”
It wasn’t supposed to be political rally, but, he says, “It’s kind its kind of turned into one.” The original idea, he recalls, was to provide an outlet for people to protest Glenn Beck in some way. “Most people think Glenn Beck is pretty ridiculous, but there’s no outlet to show how people feel,” he says.
Asked if he’s worried that the rally will siphon potential get out the voter organizers away from critical districts in the final week before the midterm elections, Laughlin says no.
“I don’t think it would have a major impact on the election,” he said. “I think if anything, it would energize people” even though “its not technically part of the Democratic game plan.”
Laughlin isn’t much of an organizer himself, he says, despite having been involved with the grassroots ColbertRally.com team of volunteers who have helped raise nearly $450,000 for educational charity DonorsChoose, on whose board Colbert sits, since starting their online drive to get Colbert to rally in Washington.
We're *so* close to raising a half million dollars for DonorsChoose. C'mon, reddit! Let's do it in time.