The Takeaway From Politicon Conference Attendees: Bring On 2020

From supporters of President Donald Trump to members of the Yang Gang: That’s the political spectrum that could be found this weekend in Nashville at the Politicon conference.

Political nerds have been geeking about this conference, which seems to mark the start of a heightened phase in the 2020 election cycle.

Ellis Rubin, 15, came all the way from New York with his mother Eileen Mullin.

“I mean, it’s just great to see so many other political buffs in one place,” Rubin said.

Although he can’t vote yet, he was wearing a #YangGang t-shirt, in support of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. His mother said Rubin wanted to come to Politicon, so she obliged. 

“This is a really important time to be interested in participating in this kind of thing,” Mullin said. 

This is the first year Politicon has been held outside of California, and the conference sells itself as a bipartisan event. (Full disclosure: The conference has been a business supporter of WPLN.)

But, the reality is that it is not necessary the place to learn new ideas. Instead, the event provides a sense of what some of these politicos already care about.

“Trump not winning is one of them,” said David Oreolana. “(Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez) getting reelected.” 

For Carlos Melendez, a policeman from New Jersey, the status of the United States in the global economy is one of the most important issues as he prepares to cast a vote in a year. 

For others, like Sandy Dimick, finding common ground is important. However, she told WPLN that’s not something to be found at Politicon.

“I’m surprised by some of the shirts that talk about hating the other side, and this is a time where we really need to get rid of that word,” Dimick said. “We don’t need to be further apart than where we already are.”