The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.
The 3rd Congressional District (CD) has been represented or contested by qualified individuals: Al Baldus (D), Steve Gunderson (R), Ron Kind (D), Dale Schultz (R) and Brad Pfaff (D). That changed dramatically in 2022 when Republican Derrick Van Orden narrowly won the seat. Van Orden is completely unqualified to serve in Congress: he is a threat to the Constitution, does not take oaths seriously, has a nasty temperament, lacks knowledge of farming issues, voices extremist views, wants to roll back fundamental rights and is out-of-touch on kitchen table issues.
Van Orden had a career in the U.S. Navy SEALs before being elected to the House. However, he wears a stain of dishonor for having attended Trump’s January 6 rally to unlawfully overturn the 2020 presidential election. He was there during the assault on the U.S. Capitol, but downplayed his involvement and has never fully explained or apologized for his actions. Despite evidence that many rioters had firearms and wanted to “hang” Vice President Pence, Van Orden said the “crowd was peaceful …”, only later becoming a “mob.”
However, General Mark Milley, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said: “The violent riot in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021 was a direct assault on the U.S. Congress, the Capitol Building, and our Constitutional process.” Many national business and farm organizations concurred with Milley and his fellow military chiefs. The National Association of Manufacturers said: “Trump refused to accept defeat in a free and fair election.” And, the National Milk Producers Federation decried the “attack on our democracy, intended to undermine the results of a free and fair election … .”
Van Orden ignores his oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic …” and the SEAL Ethos: “My loyalty to Country and Team is beyond reproach.” Unlike former Wisconsin GOP U.S. Representatives Mike Gallagher, Tom Petri and Reid Ribble, he has refused to condemn Trump’s attempt to unlawfully overturn the 2020 election. He is unfit for office on this ground alone. But there’s more.
Van Orden can’t control himself emotionally and is guilty of outbursts at young people in Wisconsin and at the Capitol. Van Orden drew bipartisan rebukes after he “cursed out (teenage) Senate pages” (Washington Post). Was he drunk? Why has he never apologized for his misbehavior? It gets worse. Van Orden shouted “lies” at President Biden during the State of the Union address. Now Van Orden falsely maligns his superb rural Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke. What is wrong with Van Orden?
Moreover, he’s an extremist, wanting to roll back reproductive rights for women, comparing abortion to “genocide.” Van Orden hears only dark voices, not those of dairy farmers crushed by market forces beyond their control or regular folks fearful of losing good jobs, healthcare access and coverage or pensions and Social Security. He prioritizes conspiracies over kitchen table issues. The 3rd CD needs change and results, not invective. It’s time for first-term U.S. Rep. Van Orden to go.
– Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.
