Rep. Van Orden’s record shows he’s fighting for the ultra-rich, not Western Wisconsin
EAU CLAIRE, Wisc. – In today’s The Cap Times column, John Nichols highlights the strong contrast between Rebecca Cooke’s plans to provide economic opportunity for Western Wisconsin and Congressman Derrick Van Orden’s record of siding with the ultra-rich and giant corporations at the expense of Wisconsin farmers.
“I grew up on our family’s dairy farm in Eau Claire so I understand what it takes to help Western Wisconsin farmers succeed and provide for their families,” Rebecca Cooke said. “Instead of protecting farmers in Western Wisconsin, Derrick Van Orden voted to take money out of their pockets and give the rich and powerful more tax breaks that increase the deficit by $4 trillion. His support for reckless tariffs is raising costs on all Wisconsinites and making life harder at a time when people can barely keep their heads above water. He’s not fighting for us.”
Highlights:
- “Van Orden has repeatedly abandoned the interests of Wisconsin farmers and small towns to support bungled tariff policies and to satisfy demands from the Trump administration to prioritize tax cuts for the rich — at the expense of anti-hunger programs that benefit both the needy [and] the Wisconsin farmers who produce the food,” Nichols writes.
- “Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden recently told the Wisconsin Examiner, in addition to Republican tariff policies that make it tougher to export Wisconsin farm produce, Republican cuts to anti-hunger programs — which had allowed low-income Americans to buy food — are devastating for Wisconsin farmers.”
- “That’s hundreds of millions of dollars that farmers are going to lose because the government’s not going to be purchasing (food) to take care of the most needy people in this country,” explained Von Ruden.
- “Cooke, who hopes to be the Democratic nominee against Van Orden once more in 2026, knows how to talk about farm policy because she’s studied the issues, and because she grew up in rural western Wisconsin, where her family has farmed for 150 years.”
- “Not every Democrat can rival Cooke’s background and experience when it comes to farm policy and rural affairs. But as they prepare for 2026 races in which Republicans will be uniquely vulnerable on so many of these issues, Democrats can borrow a page from the program Cooke has put forward ‘to protect our livelihood and the heritage of agriculture.’”
Read more about Rebecca Cooke’s agenda for farmers here.
