Planning the Gathering is exceptionally stressful. I constantly worry about the money. We work very hard to keep prices low and rely on sponsors. We explicitly do not do this to make a profit. This is about connecting my readers and listeners with the thought leaders of the right.
It was an amazing event and you did an incredible job. I do hope you all will do one each year. Your voice on the right is so important, and I'm thankful for all that you do. I got to attend in place of Max Thelen and Drew Ashby of Law Tigers in GA due to their case load. They send their thanks as well!
I’ve already upgraded to paid. Please check and respond accordingly!! I really enjoyed what I’ve been able to listen to. Especially Kelly Loeffler. Didn’t get to hear our Governor but I think I can find it! Thank all of you for the hard work and helping us to know what they think!, Kris Ross
Thank you Erick and your team for doing this! My first time and I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you Thursday night. Too many people in line. The format was fantastic and a great way to see the candidates present themselves in a non-threatening situation. I didn't realize just how deep a bench we have. Like many comments on here Mike Pence was a little disappointing. Everybody else on stage though I found inspiring and it was great to hang out with other informed folks. The hotel food was pretty bland but I didn't come for the victuals anyway. 😀 Love you Erick and everything you do!
Okay, I'm officially upset I didn't attend. I love everyone's takeaways below, I read every one of them. My takeaway (in absentia) is how obviously constructive The Gathering was in the absence of the GOP's leading candidate. He won't attend the first couple (?) of debates either, so maybe we will continue to get a REAL look at the rest of the pack before DJT turns this primary into a feces-throwing fest.
It was an awesome conference and thank you so much for putting it together! Pretty much ditto all the comments here so won't repeat. One thing I want you to know: my husband fired off a message to NPR berating them for their coverage and focus on Trump - he asked them point blank what conference they were reporting on because it wasn't the one he attended! Job well done, Erick and team!
Thank you so much for doing this Erick. I wasn’t able to attend and I was tied up much of the weekend but I look forward to reviewing the video. It’s a valuable service you provided because I suspect there will be few opportunities to really vet candidates this election cycle.
I echo everyone else's comments here. My first time attending from Tennessee. The format was fantastic. In depth discussion with time for policy and personal.
- I've been a fan of Tim Scott, but was really pleased with the depth of knowledge he demonstrated on multiple policy issues. You can't get that in 30 second sound bites.
- Desantis was just a fireball of energy absolutely great
- Agree with comments on Pence. He's never been super energetic, but his messages just seemed stale and outdated, funny insult to Biden notwithstanding
- Nikki Haley was also great and it was interesting to hear her personal story.
- Chris Christie was surprisingly good and he did great in the long format. Natural skill at interacting with both host and audience. A thought I had so the way home: Why do Southerners love Trump and hate Christie? Both loud, brash Northerners in suits.
- Vivek. My first time hearing him. Impressive oratory skill. Great answer to the question: Are you too young? But he lost me completely with his foreign policy which in summary was to abandon Ukraine and ultimately Taiwan as well. I thought his plan to isolate Russia from China by promising Ukraine won't join NATO was borderline delusional.
Other speakers were similarly great. Well done Eric. Hope to see you again next year.
Thank you and your team for another outstanding event. We were fortunate to attend in 2019 and have been looking forward to this ever since. We were impressed the depth of GOP candidates. The GOP could field a basketball, baseball or even football team with quality candidates. The Left is having trouble fielding a singles tennis team. The non-candidate lineup was rich and informative. It was great to be in the company of so many others who truly care about the future of our country.
I mentioned this in response to a previous post, but it is a testament to Erick, his reach, and his audience, that he was able to pull so many candidates away from the Iowa State Fair, THE main event in Iowa politics.
God Bless you, Charlie, and Philip for your Herculean efforts to make this the exceptional event it was. What a marvelous time we had! My husband and I learned something from each guest, and came away more hopeful than ever. Great things ARE happening. And incredibly, the younger generation is taking the lead! (Yes, we are that old!) When you do this again, also consider asking us if we'd like to donate. I think you'll be surprised...
First time attendee. Great event. The only issue I have is that I was about 90% sure who I wanted to vote for, and now I am totaly on the fence after hearing from all of the candidates. I know what I am about to say will bring out the haters, but the one who dissapointed me was Mike Pense. His answers seemed forced. I like Mike and respect him alot. Wanted to hear more from the heart not the campain answers. Erick thanks for a great event.
After listening to Pence I am wondering how successful Pres Trump would have been without his steady work behind the scenes? Who could deal with him now? After listening to everyone now absolutely convinced that Trump 2024 a very bad idea both for him & this country. Time to move forward to DeSantis/Haley/Scott/Ramaswamy
Agreed, I was most disappointed with Pence as well. I like him too but his interview came off as very forced and he resorted to "stump speech" answers. I was very impressed with Vivek Ramaswamy. it was the first time I truly sat and listened to him. He is very inspirational and on fire for America. I also liked the fact he, like Scott and DeSantis, would use the military at the southern boarder. I still think I'd like to see a DeSantis/Scott or DeSantis/Haley ticket. But it is hard now after hearing from everyone. We need to stay hopeful and unified behind whoever emerges from this excellent bench of candidates.
Such a powerful example of how deep the GOP bench is if only the septuagenarian would get out of the way. I wrote about my observations on my Substack, Defaulting to Grace (also finishing at 1 a.m.)
Exactly my thoughts too Mark! I don’t see him as a truly viable candidate and I don’t see him going all the way. Makes me appreciate the information we get from Eric! (I agree about our local paper)
Thank you Erick and all those that helped it was a spectacular success!
It was an amazing event and you did an incredible job. I do hope you all will do one each year. Your voice on the right is so important, and I'm thankful for all that you do. I got to attend in place of Max Thelen and Drew Ashby of Law Tigers in GA due to their case load. They send their thanks as well!
I’ve already upgraded to paid. Please check and respond accordingly!! I really enjoyed what I’ve been able to listen to. Especially Kelly Loeffler. Didn’t get to hear our Governor but I think I can find it! Thank all of you for the hard work and helping us to know what they think!, Kris Ross
Thank you Erick and your team for doing this! My first time and I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you Thursday night. Too many people in line. The format was fantastic and a great way to see the candidates present themselves in a non-threatening situation. I didn't realize just how deep a bench we have. Like many comments on here Mike Pence was a little disappointing. Everybody else on stage though I found inspiring and it was great to hang out with other informed folks. The hotel food was pretty bland but I didn't come for the victuals anyway. 😀 Love you Erick and everything you do!
Okay, I'm officially upset I didn't attend. I love everyone's takeaways below, I read every one of them. My takeaway (in absentia) is how obviously constructive The Gathering was in the absence of the GOP's leading candidate. He won't attend the first couple (?) of debates either, so maybe we will continue to get a REAL look at the rest of the pack before DJT turns this primary into a feces-throwing fest.
It was an awesome conference and thank you so much for putting it together! Pretty much ditto all the comments here so won't repeat. One thing I want you to know: my husband fired off a message to NPR berating them for their coverage and focus on Trump - he asked them point blank what conference they were reporting on because it wasn't the one he attended! Job well done, Erick and team!
Thank you so much for doing this Erick. I wasn’t able to attend and I was tied up much of the weekend but I look forward to reviewing the video. It’s a valuable service you provided because I suspect there will be few opportunities to really vet candidates this election cycle.
I echo everyone else's comments here. My first time attending from Tennessee. The format was fantastic. In depth discussion with time for policy and personal.
- I've been a fan of Tim Scott, but was really pleased with the depth of knowledge he demonstrated on multiple policy issues. You can't get that in 30 second sound bites.
- Desantis was just a fireball of energy absolutely great
- Agree with comments on Pence. He's never been super energetic, but his messages just seemed stale and outdated, funny insult to Biden notwithstanding
- Nikki Haley was also great and it was interesting to hear her personal story.
- Chris Christie was surprisingly good and he did great in the long format. Natural skill at interacting with both host and audience. A thought I had so the way home: Why do Southerners love Trump and hate Christie? Both loud, brash Northerners in suits.
- Vivek. My first time hearing him. Impressive oratory skill. Great answer to the question: Are you too young? But he lost me completely with his foreign policy which in summary was to abandon Ukraine and ultimately Taiwan as well. I thought his plan to isolate Russia from China by promising Ukraine won't join NATO was borderline delusional.
Other speakers were similarly great. Well done Eric. Hope to see you again next year.
Agree with you on all these points!
Thank you and your team for another outstanding event. We were fortunate to attend in 2019 and have been looking forward to this ever since. We were impressed the depth of GOP candidates. The GOP could field a basketball, baseball or even football team with quality candidates. The Left is having trouble fielding a singles tennis team. The non-candidate lineup was rich and informative. It was great to be in the company of so many others who truly care about the future of our country.
I mentioned this in response to a previous post, but it is a testament to Erick, his reach, and his audience, that he was able to pull so many candidates away from the Iowa State Fair, THE main event in Iowa politics.
Well deserved kudos, Erick.
God Bless you, Charlie, and Philip for your Herculean efforts to make this the exceptional event it was. What a marvelous time we had! My husband and I learned something from each guest, and came away more hopeful than ever. Great things ARE happening. And incredibly, the younger generation is taking the lead! (Yes, we are that old!) When you do this again, also consider asking us if we'd like to donate. I think you'll be surprised...
First time attendee. Great event. The only issue I have is that I was about 90% sure who I wanted to vote for, and now I am totaly on the fence after hearing from all of the candidates. I know what I am about to say will bring out the haters, but the one who dissapointed me was Mike Pense. His answers seemed forced. I like Mike and respect him alot. Wanted to hear more from the heart not the campain answers. Erick thanks for a great event.
After listening to Pence I am wondering how successful Pres Trump would have been without his steady work behind the scenes? Who could deal with him now? After listening to everyone now absolutely convinced that Trump 2024 a very bad idea both for him & this country. Time to move forward to DeSantis/Haley/Scott/Ramaswamy
Agreed, I was most disappointed with Pence as well. I like him too but his interview came off as very forced and he resorted to "stump speech" answers. I was very impressed with Vivek Ramaswamy. it was the first time I truly sat and listened to him. He is very inspirational and on fire for America. I also liked the fact he, like Scott and DeSantis, would use the military at the southern boarder. I still think I'd like to see a DeSantis/Scott or DeSantis/Haley ticket. But it is hard now after hearing from everyone. We need to stay hopeful and unified behind whoever emerges from this excellent bench of candidates.
Such a powerful example of how deep the GOP bench is if only the septuagenarian would get out of the way. I wrote about my observations on my Substack, Defaulting to Grace (also finishing at 1 a.m.)
Here is the link if anyone is interested: https://open.substack.com/pub/stephanieloomis/p/the-gathering-2023-atlanta?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Totally agree Mark!
Exactly my thoughts too Mark! I don’t see him as a truly viable candidate and I don’t see him going all the way. Makes me appreciate the information we get from Eric! (I agree about our local paper)
"We’ll keep working until all 57 states are in the room."
When reached for comment, former President Obama said, "What's wrong with that?"