Ellison Joins Democrats Plotting Trump Resistance and Impeachment Plans During Inauguration Weekend Summit in Florida
Washington, DC – 68 Democrat congressmen and women “boycotted” the inauguration ceremonies of President Donald Trump last Friday.
Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison is one congressman who announced on Twitter that he would be demonstrating his support for Rep. John Lewis by skipping the inauguration ceremony.
I will not celebrate a man who preaches a politics of division and hate. I won’t be attending Donald Trump’s inauguration.
— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) January 16, 2017
Despite the loud voice of displeasure, it appears Ellison never planned to participate in Trump’s inauguration in the first place. Instead, he attended a conference held in Florida by democratic operative and former Media Matters president, David Brock.
Brock hosted over 100 democratic donors and dozens of democratic leaders at “Democracy Matters 17”, a three-day event held at the Turnberry Isle Resort near Miami beginning Thursday, Jan. 19. On Saturday Ellison was featured on a panel discussing the future of the Democrat Party and progressivism with other DNC chair candidates including former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, South Carolina Democratic Party chair Jaime Harrison, and New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley.
Democracy Matters 17 is Brock’s answer for the Democrat party to the Koch-funded Republican party initiatives. According to a confidential memo from Brock’s “American Bridge” organization, Brock and his allies intend to take down the Trump presidency through impeachment by utilizing his wide-reaching organizations and PACs (which include Media Matters, American Bridge, ShareBlue, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington):
Shortly after the election, Politico obtained an email Brock sent to a number of democratic donors and operatives with his plans for the Democracy Matters 17. According to a Politico report published on Nov. 17, 2016:
Brock on Thursday night emailed more than 200 of the biggest donors on the left — including finance titans George Soros, Tom Steyer and Donald Sussman — inviting them to a retreat in Palm Beach over inauguration weekend to assess what Democrats did wrong in 2016, figure out how to correct it and raise cash for those initiatives.
“This will be THE gathering for Democratic donors from across the country to hear from a broad and diverse group of leaders about the next steps for progressives under a Trump Administration,”
The retreat, planned as the first in a series of regular gatherings, will feature appearances by an array of Democratic elected officials, operatives and liberal thinkers and group officials, Brock explained in an interview.
The Democracy Matters 17 itinerary outlined sessions that included:
And:
Other sessions outlined the plans for “resistance” against Trump; a familiar refrain used by democrat leaders and protesters over the inauguration weekend:
Brock’s plan is being questioned by some democrats. The progressive “New Republic” writes:
Brock is clearly trying to rebrand a set of distressed assets—to make sure that the money spigot stays on now that he has failed in his primary goal of getting Clinton elected. Perhaps this wouldn’t matter so much if Brock could prove himself to be an effective string-puller and put Democrats back in power. Unfortunately for Democrats, Brock fundamentally misunderstands what the Koch network is and why it works. The program for the Democracy Matters 17 summit, obtained by the New Republic, shows that his budding Koch imitation is being built on a shoddy foundation.
According to Politico, Brock disagrees with his critics. In the email to donors announcing the conference Brock said, “What better way to spend inaugural weekend than talking about how to kick Donald Trump’s ass?”
Alpha News contacted Congressman Keith Ellison’s offices for confirmation of his attendance but had received no reply at the time of publication.
Andrea Mayer-Bruestle
Andrea Mayer-Bruestle is a former writer for Alpha News.
