Michele Bachmann, Tarryl Clark and Al Franken converge on Sin City

Photo: David Salafia

Minnesota pols hope that what they say in Vegas will travel far and wide

Bachmann's slated as an attention grabber for the RightOnline.com conference, a gathering of conservatives whose organizers hope to distract attendees long enough from showgirls and slot machines to learn something about social media.

She's actually a good pick for the conference, which started today. As we reported earlier this year, she figured out Twitter, Facebook and YouTube a lot quicker and with more success than many of her colleagues.

Of course, she's also likey to say something crazy during her remarks tomorrow, like maybe launching into a paranoid rant about socialism, or promising a witch hunt if her party wins back control of the House. And since she's going to be at a social media conference, maybe the news will fly around the internets even faster than it usually does.

Franken and Clark will be speaking at the annual Netroots conference, a confab whose success at mobilizing voters is credited with helping propel Barack Obama into the White House. RightOnline describes itself as seeking to emulate Netroots, while of course accusing the organnization of being a lousy cabal of left wing radicals.

Netroots got under way Thursday. Franken is slated to give the keynote address on Saturday, the final night of the conference. Clark is also a featured speaker that night.