Representative Derrick Van Orden is having one heckuva kick off to his reelection bid. Just after officially kicking off his reelection campaign, DVO gets slapped with an ethics complaint regarding last year's incident of drunk raging at some teenaged Senate pages.
The complaint was filed by Matthew Lehner, the president of UW-Eau Claire democrats and a candidate for the Eau Claire County Board. The complaint calls DVO out for, well, not behaving like a congressman and more like a very old frat boy:
The complaint was filed by Matthew Lehner, the president of the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire Democrats and a candidate for Eau Claire County Board. It specifically accuses Van Orden of violating House Rule XXIII, which dictates the code of conduct for congresspeople.
“There is no doubt that the allegations about Van Orden’s behavior toward young Senate pages reflect discreditably on the House,” the complaint says. “The public expects Members to conduct themselves with civility and decency — especially when they are acting in their official capacity and inside the halls of Congress.”
I hope that Lehner included that DVO neither denied the incident nor apologized for it.
I also hope that the voters in WI-03 remember that this was in no way an isolated incident and that DVO has a long history of anger management issues and other inappropriate behaviors.
There's a reason why he's known as Wisconsin's Drunk Uncle.
