WASHINGTON – Tapping into the same anger that fuels the tea party movement, a coalition of progressive and civil rights groups marched Saturday on the Lincoln Memorial and pledged to support Democrats struggling to keep power on Capitol Hill.

“We are together. This march is about the power to the people,” said MSNBC host Ed Schultz. “It is about the people standing up to the corporations. Are you ready to fight back?”

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Activists gather at the Lincoln Memorial to participate in the "One Nation Working Together" rally to promote job creation, diversity and tolerance on Saturday. The Associated Press

In a fiery speech that opened the “One Nation Working Together” rally on the National Mall, Schultz blamed Republicans for shipping jobs overseas and curtailing freedoms. He borrowed some of conservative commentator Glenn Beck’s rhetoric and promised to “take back our country.”

“This is no time to back down. This is the time to fight for America,” Schultz told the raucous crowd of thousands.

With a month of campaigning to go and voter unhappiness high, the Democratic-leaning organizers hope the four-hour program of speeches and entertainment energizes activists who are crucial if Democrats are to retain their majorities in the House and Senate.

“We’re here to show the rest of the country that there are people who support the progressive agenda,” said Ken Bork of Camas, Wash.

But he acknowledged Republicans are enjoying an advantage heading toward November.

“There may be an enthusiasm gap, but we’re not going to know until we have an election. A lot of the noise from the extreme right-wing stuff, it’s been well orchestrated by big money. But it’s not as bad as they’re making it out,” Bork said.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, addressing the crowd that swelled through the day, warned activists against being apathetic.

“We’ve got to go home and we’ve got to hit the pavement,” he said, urging the crowd to volunteer for candidates.

Rose Dixon, a Pawleys Island, S.C., health care worker, said she hopes the rally sends a message to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

“Stop the obstructionism. Work together,” she said. “Stop playing politics as usual and to put the American people first.”

Organizers said they intended the event to send a message about job creation, quality education and justice. But the largest organizations behind the rally, such as the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, tend to back Democratic candidates.

And the speakers hardly shied from criticizing Republicans.

Van Jones — forced from his job as a White House environmental adviser after Beck made public his comments disparaging Republicans — said progressives must stand with Democrats to put America back to work.

“They don’t need hateful rhetoric. They need real solutions,” Jones said.

While the Beck rally stretched down the iconic National Mall, Saturday’s event seemed smaller.

Many said they saw the event as a counterprotest to the Beck rally. They spoke about perceived racism they see among the tea party-style activists, although no one who spoke at the Beck rally neared anything approaching criticism of Obama or his race.

One Nation organizers said they began planning their event before learning about Beck’s rally.

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