Blogger to attend national summit

October 6, 2008 | Conservative blogger Gideon Oakes, a Utah State University senior studying print journalism, will attend the second annual Defending the American Dream Summit Friday and Saturday in Washington, D.C.

Oakes, a native of Keystone, S.D., operates a blog called SDWingnuts.com. The site is a forum for conservative conversation and seeks the return of the Republican Party to its core roots, according to its homepage.

The blog is affiliated with a group of conservatives who meet weekly in Rapid City, S.D., which calls itself the SD Wingnuts. The name is adopted from a negative mailing distributed during the last election cycle referring to certain political candidates as "wingnuts."

"We wear the name as a badge of honor," Oakes said. "In this time of political confusion, we want people to know that there are still those who aren't afraid to stand up for traditional values and true conservatism."

The summit will feature prominent speakers such as author Dinesh D'Souza, columnist George Will, ABC newsman John Stossel, Weekly Standard editor Fred Barnes, Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist, and several current and former U.S. legislators. Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who addressed the summit last year along with several other candidates, has also been invited to this year's event.

The weekend is sponsored by Americans for Prosperity Foundation, an organization which supports fiscal conservatism through tax cuts, reductions in government spending and removing barriers to entrepreneurship and opportunity according to its website, DefendingTheDream.org.

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