Fourteen right-leaning bloggers - from some of the most popular blogs read by conservatives - participated in the first roundtable discussion today on Capitol Hill, kicking off an initiative to take the conservative blogosphere to the next level.
Today's gathering provided the first forum devoted entirely to conservative bloggers.
The inaugural event of what will be a regular off-the-record meeting was held to strategize about ideas, share information and open up a dialogue on current issues and concerns within the conservative movement.
Organizers of the meeting are Rob Bluey, editor of Human Events Online, and Tim Chapman, director of the Center on Media and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation - both of whom agreed today's event was a success. The meeting was moderated by Stephen O'Connor, publisher of Human Events.
"Conservatives have the ideas our nation needs to address its growing needs," said Chapman. "But without effective communication, many of those ideas will never be enacted. Today's meeting was an opportunity for effective communicators who are passionate about the future of our country to work together to achieve our nation's priorities."
Organizers said the game plan is to meet weekly. Special guests - ranging from members of Congress to book authors to conservative activists - have already expressed interest in attending future meetings.
"Conservative bloggers interested in policy and politics already carry significant weight on Capitol Hill," Bluey said. "But we never really had any mechanism in place to effectively communicate our ideas or hear new ones from conservative leaders. This meeting will allow us to do both."
Conservative Rep. Mike Pence (R.-Ind.), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, was the first member of Congress to commit to speaking to the group. He plans to visit within the next few weeks.
