While Beck and Palin speak, Obama backers knock on doors

Organizing for America, the successor to President Obama's 2008 campaign committee, plans a response to the rally conservative superstars Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck will host Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial.

While Palin and Beck are speaking, Democrats will be out campaigning for House candidates. OFA leaders call for volunteers to knock on 400,000 doors in swing districts across the country.

In an e-mail to Obama supporters in the Washington area, OFA Deputy Director Jeremy Bird cited the Beck-Palin rally to drum up support for the effort -- which he says is needed to prevent Republicans from taking over Congress and repealing key items of the president's agenda, such as health care. Here's an excerpt from his e-mail:

They're convening in Washington, D.C., with Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin this weekend. Palin has said that the plan for keeping taxes low for the middle class so they can stimulate the economy, while repealing fiscally irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthiest 2%, is "idiotic." And Beck said last week of some of those who are unemployed, "you'd be ashamed to call them Americans."

These are the folks that the Republican party draws its energy and ideas from. But we have a much better source -- you.

The D.C. volunteers will head across the Potomac River to Virginia, where a number of Democratic incumbents face tough re-election fights this fall. You can check out all the competitive races at USA TODAY's interactive election map.

(Posted by Kathy Kiely)