Van Orden blasts Cooke for image falsification, political disinformation

(The Center Square) – Democratic candidate for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District Rebecca Cooke has been called out for allegedly doctoring photos and releasing false statements about her political opponent, incumbent Rep. Derrick Van Orden.

The incident involved a health care forum played host to by the Western Wisconsin Medical Society, which invited Van Orden and Cooke to present their health care positions before a group of physicians.

“On Oct. 7, Van Orden Refused to Participate in a Health care Forum. The Western Wisconsin Medical Society organized a forum to discuss the importance of health care access, especially given recent hospital closures in the Chippewa Valley. Van Orden was invited and declined to participate,” Cooke’s campaign said Tuesday, releasing allegedly edited photos to back up the claim.

The WWMS quickly responded to the accusations, calling Cooke’s actions inaccurate and disappointing.

“Scheduling challenges prevented one candidate from attending. Unfortunately, a photo from the forum was altered to make it appear that one candidate was a ‘no-show.’ That is not accurate, and posting false images from an information-gathering event should never happen,” WWMS president Dr. Thomas Joles said. “We are extremely disappointed that our efforts to help area physicians learn more about candidates’ stances on health care issues have been turned into political mudslinging.”

Van Orden has claimed the incident is demonstrative of Cooke’s character.

“It’s downright shameful but not surprising that Rebecca Cooke continues to lie about her background and Congressman Van Orden’s policy positions and record. She has now moved on to doctoring photos to deceive the voters of Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District for her personal gain,” the Van Orden campaign said in a statement. “This is exactly what everyone hates about Washington DC. These types of shady political tricks are not appreciated by the people in the Third, and shows a distinct lack of character by Rebecca Cooke.”

Cooke, who has cast herself as a moderate candidate, is running on increasing abortion access, enforcing gun control laws, protecting health care and lowering costs. As of Oct. 8, race-trackers including Cook Political Report say the race “leans Republican.”