ABC 2016 concluded last week with a general session that brought members of the U.S. Congress, regulatory officials, political gurus, economic professionals and industry experts together to address the recreational boating industry on policy and news. A lively discussion regarding the upcoming presidential election between keynote speakers Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala was a highlight, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA).

Begala is a Democratic strategist, and he is a political contributor for CNN. He appears frequently on “The Situation Room” and other CNN programming. Begala was a chief strategist for the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign. Carlson is editor-in-chief of The Daily Caller, a political news website. A conservative pundit, he formerly co-hosted CNN’s “Crossfire” and MSNBC’s “Tucker.

“Bernie Sanders’ message is a message that looks very much like Donald Trump’s message,” said Begala. “It’s ‘Hey Washington, there is a middle class in America, and you can’t have a functioning democracy and [healthy] economy without it. And by the way, our middle class is collapsing.’ ”

“You are watching a rebellion of voters against their own parties on both sides,” Tucker said. “That’s what is actually happening, and we miss this in the press because we focus too much on the people who are running.”