Leading up to the general election in November, grassroots conservatives are beating the young, tech-savvy liberal activists at their own game. In 2008, liberals may have been able to generate support for now-President Barack Obama using their inherent knowledge of YouTube, Facebook, text messaging, e-mailing, Google Maps and Twitter; but by 2010, the typically older, more rural conservative base has definitely caught up. Not only have these grassroots conservatives mastered the use of mass e-mailing and social networking, but they’ve perfected the art of enthusiastic, well-attended rallies and protests, as well.

    Tomorrow, conservative Fox News host Glenn Beck, is expected to attract 300,000 members of this demographic to his “Restoring Honor” rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Beck is advertising the rally on his Web site as a “non-political” tribute to our “heroes, heritage and future” where people can pledge “to restore honor” to America; but many see it as an extension or culmination of the momentum of the conservative Tea Party movement, which started as localized rallies against big government, especially the Obama bailouts, and grew, via the multiple modern channels of instant communication, into a national political powerhouse. At least four buses, organized by the Beaufort County Patriots, will depart from Washington Saturday morning.

    Beaufort County Patriots’ 74-year-old president, William “Buzz” Cayton, organized this mode of transport to the rally partly through mass e-mailings. Cayton also has a Web site for the group, www.beaufortpatriot.com, as well as another news Web site, www.beaufortobserver.com. Cayton, and many other members of the Beaufort County Patriots, can also be found on Facebook.

    Cayton and the Beaufort County Patriots are also organizing several of their own events, the biggest of which will be a 3,000- to 5,000-strong Tea Party rally set to take place on the Washington waterfront this Oct. 2. The Eastern North Carolina Tea Party can be found on Twitter, at www.twitter.com/encteaparty and Facebook (search Eastern North Carolina Tea Party).

    Other upcoming events promoted by the Beaufort County Patriots, and open to the public, are Marvin Sparks speaking on immigration at the Kozel home on Aug. 30 from 6:30 to 8 p.m.; Beaufort Patriot Tea Party rally organization meeting at Mount Olive College Building on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m.; Mike Pool speaking on Fair Tax at Parker’s BBQ on Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m.; and candidate for N.C. Senate Hood Richardson at China 10 on Sept. 13 at 11:30 a.m. In the e-mail advertising these events, the Beaufort County Patriots used Google Maps to provide directions to these locations. For more information about these events e-mail encteaparty@gmail.com or call Cayton on his cell phone at 252-943-4538.