On Thursday 17 Republican members of the House of Representative joined all Democrats to pass a three-year extension health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

Is anyone surprised that Congressman Cline was not among them?

The bill now goes to the Senate.

Let’s be clear: Cline’s NO vote was a kick in the teeth to more than 33,000 of his Sixth District constituents who depend on ACA subsidies to keep their health insurance premiums from doubling or tripling.

Not all his Republicans colleagues are as out of touch as Cline is with the people they represent.

“Thirty-thousand people in northeastern Pennsylvania obtain their health insurance through the exchange, and that’s always been my North Star,” said Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R), who represents a swing district in the state. “I think Congress has an obligation to address this. You can’t be a flamingo and stick your head in the sand. I think we need to have tough conversations.”

… And for the fifth year in a row, Congressman Cline has nothing to say about the Trump-incited attack on law enforcement and the effort to overthrow democracy on this day in 2021.

Instead we get this:

Once again:

Cline’s Facebook page: nothing.

Cline’s X account: nothing.

Cline’s website: nothing.

Here’s a reminder of Cline’s actions (and inactions) leading up to 1/6/2021, on the day itself and in the days, weeks and months afterwards.

As we start the new year, let’s not forget that Congressman Cline is entirely complicit in this unfolding disaster, which will affect more than 33,000 of his Sixth District constituents.

As Simon Rosenberg of Hopium Chronicles reports:

Tens of millions of Americans wake up today with far more expensive health insurance and a dramatically weakened health care system. Republicans let these subsidies expire – and aggressively cut Medicaid and SNAP benefits – in order to pay for tax cuts to the wealthiest among us. In 2025 Republicans literally took from the poor and working people and gave to the rich. It is among the most shameful things an American political party has ever done.

I’m sure Congressman Cline will be happy to answer questions and deal with any concerns about this at an upcoming town hall meeting. If there is one.

What did Congressman Cline have to say about Donald Trump’s angry, defensive, unhinged, lie-filled rant of a speech Wednesday?

What do you think?

“Last night, President Trump delivered a strong and positive address to the nation, reflecting on a remarkable first 11 months in office. From revitalizing our economy and securing our borders to restoring American leadership at home and abroad, the President has delivered real results for hardworking families,” said [Republican Study Committee] Vice-Chair Ben Cline. “The President made it clear that this is just the beginning. There is more work ahead, and the best days for our country are still to come as we continue building a stronger, safer, and more prosperous America.”

Just the beginning, Congressman? That sounds like a threat.

As Rex Huppke wrote at USA Today:

But what should worry all of us after his brief-but-disturbing address is this: Is Trump OK? Because he appeared very much not OK. Watch the speech for yourself and ask if he seems like a man of sound mind.

Wouldn’t any honest and rational person be asking the same thing? I’d like to believe Cline is asking himself that question, even if he’s too much of a coward to say so publicly.

Faced with some tough questioning on CNN (unlike his usual softball interviews with Newsmax, Steve Bannon and Maria Bartiromo) about former special counsel Jack Smith’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee and other matters, Congressman Cline was reduced to Democrat-bashing, evasions and whataboutery– while carefully avoiding even the mildest criticism of Donald Trump.

(Of course this is the guy who– unlike some of his braver Republican colleagues– hasn’t said a word publicly about Trump’s morally sick comments on the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner.)

And as tens of millions of Americans who rely on the Affordable Care Act for their health insurance face doubling or tripling of their premiums, Cline touted his support for a Republican plan that would do NOTHING– zero, zip, nada– to prevent this.

Asked about the sensational report in Vanity Fair based on interviews with Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles, Cline said he hadn’t read it. The interviewer pointedly told him, “I bet it’s worth your time.”

Touché.

Here’s an excerpt from an interview that Congressman Cline recently did with WFIR News in Roanoke:

Interviewer: How do you feel about the double strike on the alleged drug running boat near Venezuela? It was going back to kill two survivors, allegedly. Some are calling it a war crime. Did it cross a line? And does Congress, Congressman, need to have a say in what’s going on in Venezuela, especially with President Trump threatening to put boots on the ground?

Cline: We absolutely do have a say in what happens. We are the body that has the power to declare war. So we’re going to decide what happens down in Venezuela in terms of whether it’s necessary to declare war. But drugs are a huge problem in this country, and there’s so many families in our district have been affected by drug abuse, and we need to tackle it at the source. And the source is South America, Central America, where the drugs are grown and made and brought up. And so by targeting drug runners, which is what our president has done effectively, is a way to stop the drugs from hurting families here in the district. So I commend the president for going to the source and trying to target these drug runners, these narco terrorists, which they are, the cartels are targeting innocent American civilians. And these are agents of these drug cartels. And so I trust our intelligence. I’m on the Intelligence Committee. I’m getting another briefing on this very subject this week. And we’ll continue to make sure that laws are followed, the Constitution adhere to, but that we stop these drugs from killing our families here at home.

Interviewer: Do you think before I throw you back to Joe, do you have a problem with the double strike or was that in the within the purview of the assignment?

Cline: As I said, I’m confident that we are following the Constitution and the letter of the law as we target these drug runners. And so I’m going to continue to get this intelligence and continue to make sure that we do that as we target the source of this cause of death for so many families here in the Roanoke Valley.

Leaving aside Cline’s reflexive deference to Trump (what makes him “confident” that the administration is “following the Constitution and the letter of the law” when there is so much evidence to the contrary?), his professed concern about Sixth District families affected by drug abuse rings hollow if he refuses to acknowledge Trump’s monumental hypocrisy when it comes to drug criminals.

The Washington Post reports:

On President Donald Trump’s first full day in office this year, he pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was convicted of creating the largest online black market for illegal drugs and other illicit goods of its time.

In the months since, he has granted clemency to others, including Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover and Baltimore drug kingpin Garnett Gilbert Smith. And last week, he pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced to 45 years in prison for running his country as a vast “narco-state” that helped to move at least 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.

Overall, Trump — who campaigned against America’s worsening drug crisis and promised to crack down on the illegal flow of deadly drugs coming across the border — has pardoned or granted clemency to at least 10 people for drug-related crimes since the beginning of his second term, according to a Washington Post analysis. He also granted pardons or commutations to almost 90 others for drug-related crimes during the four years of his first term, the analysis showed.

At the same time, Trump has threatened military action against Venezuela over accusations that the country’s government is supporting the drug trade and has pushed the Pentagon to conduct targeted strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean. The contrasting actions have come under fire from Democrats and other critics, who say Trump’s broad use of clemency contradicts promises to get tough on drugs.

What say you, Congressman?

For the second time since late October, Congressman Cline has granted an interview to a rightwing media outlet based in Florida.

(Number of times during the same period that he has held a meeting open to his constituents in the Sixth Congressional District of Virginia: 0.)

Here’s what he had to say in this clip, interspersed with my responses. It may be a personal record for Cline when it comes to spouting so much nonsense in so short a time:

We’ve tackled affordability from day one. It was an issue for President Trump.

Trump recently called affordability a “fake narrative” and a “con job.”

It’s an issue for all of us in our campaign. So that’s why H.R. 1

Previously known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” It’s interesting that Cline doesn’t call it that anymore.

included so many provisions that help put more money back in the pockets of American working families, whether it’s no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, whether it’s the child tax credit increase, making sure that Americans can afford the things that, yes, prices have gone up because of the Democrats’ regulatory measures and legislation they passed, which really created this inflation over the last four years.

The bill provides huge tax cuts for the very rich, tiny tax cuts for the working class and actually reduces incomes for the poorest Americans. Notice how Cline changed the subject in the middle of the sentence. Maybe he realized how ridiculous he was sounding.

It’s a challenge to address in a short period of time, but I commend the President and the Speaker and the Majority Leader Thune for stepping up and taking action to address these concerns.

Trump promised to end inflation on “day one” of his administration. While inflation soared for a time during Biden’s administration due to COVID and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it dropped down to 3 percent by the time Biden left office. The latest inflation rate is unchanged, although there have been big increases in the cost of some basic groceries. After nearly a year, shouldn’t all the budget cutting and deregulation that Trump implemented have made a difference?

No wonder Cline prefers to speak with those who won’t challenge him.

After getting grudging permission from Donald Trump, Congressman Cline joined every member of Congress but one in voting for the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

After months of delay, a petition that Cline and almost all other House Republicans refused to sign got enough signatures to force a vote to direct the Justice Department to release all files on its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Cline insisted he backed a House committee’s investigation into Epstein’s crimes. But the investigation produced very little new information.

Would Cline have been brave enough to defy Trump if the president had urged Republicans to vote NO? Not based on his continued cringing support for the man.

And of course Trump could order the DoJ to release the files any time he wants. Will Cline urge him to do so? What do you think?

UPDATE: Cline is actually proud of his vote.

Whenever Congressman Cline talks about health insurance, he advocates offering cheaper polices as a way of driving down costs and make insurance more affordable.

“I want – and what most of us here on Capitol Hill want – is to find solutions that long-term lower the cost of insurance, by providing competition in the marketplace and alternatives to these high-dollar policies,” Cline said.

What he never mentions is how utterly inadequate those “alternatives” are.

As The Washington Post reports:

Robert Hays, an industrial electronics salesman in Arkansas, thought he’d purchased conventional medical insurance. So did Essie Nath, 67, a retired cafeteria worker in Wyoming. So did Martin Liz, 47, a Key West chef.

Each enrolled in the kind of private health insurance that Trump administration officials have promoted as an alternative to plans sold under Obamacare.

The difference between the two options became all too clear after Hays, Nath and Liz required surgery: Their cheaper policies left them facing bills of tens of thousands of dollars. Hays is facing bills of $116,000 for neck surgery required after tweaking his neck while lifting weights; Nath had heart failure and got bills of $82,000; Liz is stuck with bills of more than $100,000 for a knee replacement.

Unlike most insurance, these plans are not required to cover preexisting conditions or even basic needs such as maternity care and mental health. Their coverage is so full of holes that five states have banned their sale, according to KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group. Even some major insurers have questioned whether relying on the short-term plans is a good idea, warning that many consumers could mistake them for comprehensive coverage. The Biden administration referred to them as “junk” plans.

Cline bitterly opposed the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) which sets minimum standards for the plans it offers. He thinks the solution to rising health care costs is to offer cheap policies that can leave people with staggering out-of-pocket costs.

We need to deal with out-of-control medical costs. But not this way.

It appears that, rather than abandoning the sinking SS Trump, Congressman Cline is prepared to go down with it.