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The 1/6 insurrection is going to haunt Wisconsin Republicans for a long, long time. You know about Ron Johnson. But do you know about Derrick Van Orden, who was one of the GOP’s top House candidates in 2020 trying to unseat Ron Kind?
Derrick Van Orden was at the Jan 6th rally before the insurrection, proudly posting selfies with fellow attendees. Totally silent re the Camp Auschwitz sweatshirt, Confederate flags, other ugliness. Says he left when it got violent; deleted his own tweet. https://www.wispolitics.com/2021/wisdems-failed-congressional-candidate-derrick-van-orden-attempts-to-whitewash-participation-in-violent-insurrection/
When things got violent, he then tweeted a series of apologies and rejections of what happened at the Capitol. But he’s never acknowledged his own role in fueling the anti-democracy conspiracy theories that led to the rally… or to his own attendance. https://twitter.com/derrickvanorden/status/1346933381565722626
Then, a few weeks later, he more or less equated Robert Reich with Nazism for speaking out on the filibuster.
If you attend an insurrectionist rally and don’t say anything about the guy in the Camp Auschwitz t-shirt, you might want to take a long look in the mirror before tweeting anything about the Holocaust.
After getting called out on this, Derrick Van Orden once again deleted his problematic tweet and posted an apology thread. But in his apology, he manages to once again analogize Dems and “the most oppressive and criminal regimes in world history.” https://lacrossetribune.com/7rivers/former-gop-candidate-van-orden-apologizes-to-jewish-people-over-tweet/article_c8714e76-72b4-5592-ada3-2acfbdf0f93c.html
This is a pattern of political extremism married to political cowardice. Accuse your opponents of unforgivable behavior. Incite political violence. And then disavow it and pretend you have no responsibility. It’s emblematic of the deep rot at the heart of today’s GOP.
Derrick Van Orden’s campaign for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District last cycle was one of the national GOP’s top races. The district even went for Trump—but rejected Van Orden and elected Ron Kind. Let’s make sure Van Orden never comes close to public office again.
We’re running this ad to share the truth about Derrick Van Orden—and to send a message to every Republican insurrectionist: Attacking our Constitution will only hurt you politically.
Help us reach as many Wisconsin viewers as possible by becoming a monthly donor today: http://wisdems.org/stopDVO
