National conservative conferences in 2010

While the Republican Party has a quadrennial convention, which not only conducts the official business of the party but provides a networking opportunity for activists, elected officials, bloggers, consultants and others connected with the conservative movement, many conservative non-profit groups hold events every year that allow the networking to continue between Republican National Conventions. CPAC is the oldest such conference, but many more have sprung up in recent years, each with its own focus and target audience, but with considerable overlap.

Last weekend, for the first time ever, I attended a national event targeting conservative activists -- BlogCon 2010, sponsored by FreedomWorks. It was wonderful to meet political bloggers from all over the country, the conference panels were full of interesting and valuable information, and the social events were great fun. I don't recall hearing a word of grumbling about the weekend from anyone.

Some of the bloggers at BlogCon have attended many of these other conservative conferences. Many of them were at Red State Gathering in Austin this weekend. Others stayed in Washington for Values Voter Summit or went to Chicago for Right Nation. Many were at Right Online in July and plan to be at CPAC next February.

As a way of keeping all these different events straight, I've put together a list of national conservative events that have occurred or are scheduled for 2010. Let me know if there are any that I've missed.

Each item in the list includes dates, conference name (with link if available), location, and sponsoring organization. Where appropriate, I may add a summary of the conference's target audience and emphasis.

• Feb. 18-20, 2010, CPAC, Washington, DC, American Conservative Union
• July 23-24, 2010, Right Online, Las Vegas, Nevada, Americans for Prosperity
• Aug. 27-28, 2010, Defending the American Dream Summit, Washington, DC, Americans for Prosperity
• Sept. 9-12, 2010, Blogcon, Washington, DC, FreedomWorks
• Sept. 12, 2010, 9/12 March on Washington, Washington, DC, FreedomWorks
• Sept. 17-18, 2010, Red State Gathering, Austin, TX, RedState.com
• Sept. 16-18, 2010, Values Voter Summit, Washington, DC, Family Research Council
• Sept. 18, 2010, Right Nation, Chicago, Ill., United Republican Fund
• Sept. 30 - Oct. 1, 2010, Smart Girl Summit, Washington, DC, Smart Girl Politics
• Oct. 15-16, 2010, Western CPAC, Newport Beach, CA,