As the House Speaker debacle drags on, Republicans need all hands on deck because, ironically, they are learning that every vote matters. And the country needs the House Republicans to get their shit together sooner than later with the crisis in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine and another possible government shut down fast approaching.
Naturally, when his self-proclaimed love of our nation and his supposed leadership skills, this would be the ideal time for former SEAL Representative Derrick Van Orden (DVO) to step up. Or at least be present, even if it's just as a warm body in the room.
Instead, DVO decided it was the perfect time to go on a junket to Israel:
With the House paralyzed and Republicans unable to find a path to electing a leader, Wisconsin freshman Rep. Derrick Van Orden left Capitol Hill for Israel Thursday evening in what he described as a fact-finding mission amid Israel's ongoing war with Hamas.
“After retiring from the military in 2014, I made a solemn promise to the Jewish people that if anything like what took place on October 7, 2023 were to ever happen, that I would help them and their nation to the best of my ability," Van Orden, who served as a Navy SEAL for 26 years, wrote in a lengthy statement obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I am keeping that promise.”
The intent of the trip, Van Orden said, is primarily "to witness what has and is taking place so that I can speak from an informed position" about the violence on the ground in Israel. He arrived in Israel Friday morning and planned to visit medical facilities and meet with citizens and military and government officials to get "a holistic understanding of the current and future" needs.
Um, great. But what about the solemn oath DVO took to the country and to the people of Wisconsin? It seems like that ought to take precedence over a personal promise he made to a foreign country..
His fellow Wisconsin Republicans aren't too happy with him either:
Maybe DVO figured that if he found some Palestinian kids to yell at, that would solve the crisis. He seems to be a natural for yelling at young people.
Or maybe, since it's a "fact finding mission," maybe his goal is to compare cognac to good old Wisconsin brandy. Word is he knows all about booze.
