LA CROSSE, WI. – The only candidate in this race running false ads is Rebecca Cooke. Today’s cease-and-desist stunt is nothing more than an attempt to distract from the two demonstrably false ads Cooke’s campaign is currently running against Derrick Van Orden.
Cooke is accusing Derrick of lying while her own campaign is blatantly running false ads in Wisconsin saying that Van Orden voted against Congressional stock trading and gave data centers billions of dollars in tax breaks.
Cooke’s False Claim: Van Orden gave a $70B and $80M tax break to data center developers
Fact Check: Congress has never voted to give a $70 billion tax break for data center developers.
Congress voted to provide broad tax relief to American businesses across the country, including provisions such as full expensing for certain business investments. Data center companies are using some of those same provisions, just as other businesses making qualifying investments can. That is very different from Congress voting to give data center operators a $70 billion tax break.
Rep. Van Orden has also been clear about his position on data centers. This month, he voted for the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act, which passed the House 417-3 and would require large electricity users, including data centers, to account for the incremental costs associated with the infrastructure needed to serve them.
A September 24 fact check by Wisconsin Watch examined the nearly identical claim that Rep. Tom Tiffany voted to give data center operators a $68 billion tax break and concluded: “No.” Wisconsin Watch specifically found that Congress “did not vote up-or-down on giving data center operators a $68 billion tax break.”
Cooke’s own campaign has now inflated that claim to $86 billion in its ads.
Cooke’s False Claim: Van Orden voted to let members of Congress trade stocks
Fact Check: Van Orden is an original cosponsor of the Stop Insider Trading Act voted to pass the bill on July 22.
The legislation generally prohibits members of Congress, their spouses and dependent children from purchasing individual stocks and requires advance public notice before covered investments are sold.
Even reporting on Cooke’s ad has documented the discrepancy. WisPolitics reported that Van Orden supported the Stop Insider Trading Act and that the legislation bars members of Congress and immediate family members from buying new individual stocks.
The only person who needs to explain false advertising in this race is Rebecca Cooke. Rebecca Cooke has spent six years running for office, lying to voters about who she is and her record. See Cooke’s lies below –
Lie: “I’m a waitress struggling to get by.”
Truth: Cooke has worked as a professional political consultant and has earned a six-figure salary. Her fundraising work has included Defund the Police candidates and Kirk Bangstad, a local lunatic who publicly fantasized about the assasination of President Trump and Republicans.
Lie: “I support a moratorium on data centers.”
Truth: Cooke has a documented history working with organizations that have supported data-center development. She served on the board of the Wisconsin Technology Council and worked as a senior fellow at Third Way. Third Way has explicitly opposed data-center moratoria. The Wisconsin Technology Council has also been involved in promoting data-center development in Wisconsin, including projects in Mount Pleasant and Beaver Dam.
Lie: “I won’t take your guns away.”
Truth: Cooke has called for banning AR-15s.
Lie: “I’ve never said I want healthcare for illegal aliens.”
Truth: At a 2024 Congressional District Candidate Forum, Cooke said illegal immigrants are a “key part of the workforce” and argued they are “not seeing benefits.”
Lie: “I will fully fund the police.”
Truth: Cooke has previously called to defund the police and called federal law enforcement “disgusting” and “wrong.”
Lie: “Van Orden declined the La Crosse Chamber debate.”
Truth: On a recorded call, Cooke’s top consultant was asked directly, “So you guys are declining this debate too?” Her consultant responded, “We will not be continuing with these negotiations.” Van Orden’s team explicitly stated on the call that it agreed to the debate.
Rep. Van Orden’s Full Statement Below:
“Rebecca Cooke is embarrassing herself because she got busted lying again and is now trying to cover it up.
The only thing Cooke is really concerned about is that people are finally getting to see her for what she is: an untrustworthy political hack who is willing to say or do anything for power.
Cooke has now run three separate ads making false claims about my record, including easily disprovable, blatantly false attacks on my position on congressional stock trading and data centers.
She is not to be trusted and has proven over the last six years that she will say whatever it takes to get elected to Congress.
We will gladly accept her complaints if she uses the proper form: DA FORM IMT WF1, APRIL 2009.”
