Earlier this week, “hundreds of protestors lined the sidewalks outside of U.S. Rep. Ben Cline’s office in downtown Roanoke, calling on him to hold a town hall with citizens.” Also, “signs urged Cline to protect federal workers, federal parks and forests, transgender rights and to support Ukraine.” It’s not as if Cline doesn’t have the time to hold a town hall, if he wanted to do so. Check out a few of the things he’s been busy with this week, and judge for yourself what a better use of his time might have been:
- Went on “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Business, where he touted his inexcusable vote for the draconian House budget, which would among other things slash Medicaid and other programs which his OWN CONSTITUENTS rely on heavily! Cline also kept bragging that he’s “advancing the president’s agenda and working for the American people,” while defending the indefensible “DOGE” effort, etc. Just disgraceful.
- Held a “DOGE Press Conference,” at which he flat-out LIED about how DOGE supposedly wants to “save taxpayers money,” “make government work for the people and not
the other way around, make sure that your tax dollars are spent wisely,” blah blah blah. Cline also kept repeating, parrot-like, the right-wing mantra about there supposedly being rampant “waste, fraud and abuse” in the federal government; how he’s introduced the “No Welfare for the Wealthy Act,” even as the Trump White House and Congressional Republicans are engaged in a MASSIVE taxpayer-funded giveaway to the wealthy and to big corporations; etc.
- Spoke on the US House floor on, of all things, the supposed “Left’s War on Home Appliances.” This one really falls into the “WTF” category, because obviously there’s no “War on Home Appliances” by the “Left” or anyone else – unless Cline considers energy and water efficiency standards, which benefit everyone, to be a “war on home appliances.” Can anyone really be that stupid and igorant? And how the hell does someone like that get elected and reelected???
Of course, Cline could very easily hold town hall meetings and answer questions on all of the above – and more – if he wanted to do so. But, not surprisingly, he does NOT want to do that, even in his deep-red district. Instead, see below for what happened today, when Ben Cline’s STAFF – not the Congressman himself, of course – held casework staff mobile office hours at the Waynesboro Public Library:
- Per former VA06 Democratic nominee Jennifer Lewis: “Well, that was wild! Cline office hours with 2 of his staffers, several hundred concerned citizens and Homeland Security!! No local police, just Homeland Security. The 2 staffers took people, 5 citizens at a time, in a small room upstairs, instead of in the conference room where it was advertised to be held, and where his staff hours have been for years. Unbelievable. Homeland Security and no Congressman.”
- And, per former VA06 Democratic nominee Ken Mitchell: “Cline’s representative left without answering any questions. Booed as they left.” And “The Cline town hall has turned into a Ken Mitchell town hall.” Great, huh?
So yeah, that’s Ben Cline for you. For more background on Cline, see:
- Video: Insurrectionist/Extremist Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA06) Spews Out Lies at Far-Right CPAC Conference, Rants About “the Squad,” the “Green New Deal,” “folks who think that a boy is a girl,” etc. (Cline also foams at the mouth that the “left” supposedly thinks right wingers are “less than” “because we love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”)
- Video: In Cringe-Inducingly Bad Speech at Extremist CPAC Conference, Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA06) Claims Virginia Was One of “Original States Fighting the Original Cancel Culture” Against Thomas Jefferson, etc. (Cline adds: “Texas stood up and delivered its votes for our great president Donald J. Trump…[in Virginia] we say yes to Glenn Youngkin” )
- New ‘Republicans for Ukraine’ Report Card Gives Reps. Bob Good (R-VA05), Ben Cline (R-VA06) “F” Grades
- Video: VA06 Dem Candidate Jennifer Lewis Explains Why Right-Wing Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA06) Is Not Actually “Pro-Life” Since He Opposes Health Care Access, a Living Wage, Affordable Housing, etc, etc.
- SW Virginia Dem Committees Call Upon Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA06), Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA09) to “Immediately Resign” After Failing to Uphold Their Oaths of Office
- Audio: On Trumpster Radio This Morning, Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA06) Demonstrates Yet Again Why He’s Utterly Unfit to Serve in Congress (Among other things, accuses Reps. Luria and Spanberger of “abrogation of duty” for supporting impeachment)
Etc, etc.