The void speaks. A chair for Van Orden sits empty on stage. A microphone, adjusted for his 6-foot-2 height, stand silent. Images: Concerned Citizens of Vernon County
Where was Wisconsin congressman? Why?
VIROQUA, Wis. – Citizens packed Temple Theatre for a townhall meeting organized by the grassroots Concerned Citizens of Vernon County for an exchange with WI-3 Congressman DerrickVan Orden. He didn’t show. Instead he followed guidance from Republican leadership in Congress to avoid constituent contacts that could turn ugly. In short: “Lay low until public doubts and anger about Trump policies soften.” For weeks the few Republican congress members who have attended townhalls have been greeted by boos when they were pressed to defend their Trump voting records. News coverage of the encounters has been unflattering to say the least. The adjective “disastrous” has been used. Attending the Viroqua session was Mark Pocan, a Democrat in Congress member from Madison. Pocan’s exchange with citizens was civil and respectful on both sides.
Verbatim
Tanja Birke, townhall organizer: “We were feeling concerned, confused, upset by a lot of the things happening in Washington lately. And as we tried to reach out to our congress person. We were getting no where. We were not getting any response from him and often we’d call and the staff wouldn’t even know where he stood on particular issues. We tried to find out when he was holding a town hall of his own so that we could attend. And we got nowhere with that. So we decided to hold a town hall of our own.”