3/11/24
The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.
President Biden gave a well-received forceful, plainspoken State of the Union address, much to the dismay of his GOP critics. Wisconsin GOP Representative Derrick Van Orden, 3rd Congressional District (CD), forgot his manners and rudely interrupted Biden’s remarks shouting “lies!” Van Orden showed he lacks the judgment and temperament to be an effective member of Congress. Not the first time.
Last summer, Van Orden “cursed out Senate pages” late one evening while they were resting on the floor of the Capitol Rotunda (Washington Post). Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell rebuked Van Orden for his outburst against the pages (high school students). One wonders if former Navy Seal Van Orden ever took to heart the Ethos of the U.S. Navy Seals: “The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstances, sets me apart from other men.”
No wonder the do-nothing Van Orden is facing a spirited challenge by rural Democrat Rebecca Cooke. Even the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) seems spooked by Cooke. Fearing that Cooke is the frontrunner in the Democratic primary, the NRCC attacked Cooke for pretending to be a “farm girl” and being “extreme.” Cooke, in a masterful response, said: “My family has had a farm in this District (3rd CD) for over a hundred years. I showed champion Holsteins for over a decade at the Colfax, Chippewa and Eau Claire fairs. The first office I ever held? President of my 4-H club, the Truax Eagles … .”
Topping off her terrific rebuttal Cooke included a telling photograph of her smiling with one of her beloved cows. In 2023, UW-La Crosse Political Science Professor Anthony Chergosky said Cooke was proud of her rural identity: “That’s a piece that a lot of Wisconsin Democrats have been struggling with, just trying to establish that authentic connection with rural residents and farmers and other individuals in small towns. … I think she really, in her rhetoric and in her campaigning, tries to establish that level of trust and that level of authenticity” (Wisconsin Public Radio).
Moreover, far from being “extreme”, Cooke is running a Wisconsin grass-roots campaign to earn the votes of rural-urban-suburban, young and old, including Trump voters. “Western Wisconsin is home to the vast majority of the state’s Obama (to) Trump communities” (Craig Gilbert MJS). Cooke practices the politics of addition not subtraction. Recognizing this, the House Blue Dog Coalition enthusiastically endorsed Cooke.
This rural congressional caucus describes themselves as “fiscally-responsible Democrats, who are leading the way to find commonsense solutions. … pragmatic Democrats, appealing to the mainstream values of the American public. … ensuring a strong national defense for our country and transcending party lines to get things done … .”
Frontrunner Cooke is on a roll: raising well-over $800,000, attending and setting up events throughout the 3rd CD and receiving key endorsements from Defend the Vote (a voter rights group), the Communications Workers of America and many small business owners.
Rebecca Cooke is the real deal, well positioned to take on Van Orden.
-Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.
Read the piece in WISPOLITICS here
