LA CROSSE, Wis. — With inflation at the highest level in three years, largely driven by skyrocketing gas prices, Congressmen Derrick Van Orden and Republicans across the country are trying to shift blame and avoid accountability for their votes that continue to drive costs up.
A new NOTUS report documents the remarkable reversal playing out in congressional districts across the country, where Republicans who relentlessly hammered Democrats over gas prices are now scrambling to explain the current surge, or simply going silent.
Van Orden exemplifies the pattern, according to NOTUS:
Rep. Derrick Van Orden, whose 2024 message centered on “gas, groceries, and grandkids,” warned energy producers on Fox Business in March that “there’s a difference between profiting and profiteering.” On X the next day, he told a constituent complaining about prices: “I don’t recall you complaining when gas was $5.00 under Biden. Hypocrisy much?”
“Derrick Van Orden spent years telling Wisconsin families that high gas prices were proof that Washington wasn’t working for them,” said Meghan Roh, Program Director at Opportunity Wisconsin. “Now that Republicans are in charge and prices are surging, he’s dismissing constituents as hypocrites and blaming the oil companies. Wisconsin families are smart enough to see that it’s the policies Van Orden and Republicans in Congress have voted for – including the war in Iran – that are sending costs through the roof.”
Gas prices in Wisconsin reach an average $4.51 per gallon and are still climbing. Yesterday diesel reached $5.86 per gallon in Wisconsin, an all-time high, straining local businesses and farmers across the state. And Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who spent years telling Wisconsin families that high gas prices were a Democratic failure, has failed to take any action to provide relief for his constituents.
“I fill up my tank every week. I go to the grocery store. I see what this is doing to my budget and to the people in my community,” said Stephanie, a constituent of Van Orden’s from Stoddard. “Instead of picking fights with his constituents and telling us to stop complaining, Congressman Van Orden needs to accept responsibility and start working to make things better.”
Read More:NOTUS: Republicans Don’t Want to Talk About Gas Prices Anymore.
