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.

Guest post by Kurt Navratil

It was the tail end of a gray but delightful Blue Ridge autumn Sunday, an eventful day with a neighborhood celebration, friends, neighbors sharing a meal on the street and kids in costumes everywhere. I was finally relaxing when a lightning bolt came through my computer. 

The announcement of a meeting for conversation at a Salem coffee shop. 

On Monday at 9am. 

Roanoke constituents have waited for an opportunity to speak with Congressman Ben Cline for months now. Every Monday, gathered in downtown Roanoke, hundreds have been looking for, searching for, watching for an appearance, a hint of presence of the congressman– to no avail. 

The invitation promised local representatives of the Republican Party, the party that controls all three branches of the federal government, a government in the middle of an extended shutdown, gathering in a coffee shop not five miles from the VA Hospital in Salem, no more than ten  miles from more than two other hospitals, more than four rehabilitation centers, more than five retirement centers, all with hundreds of patients and dozens of medical professionals and all concerned about shutdown impact on care being provided, professionals being paid, supplies being purchased, ambulances needing gas. 

Surely there will be a crowd at this gathering! Thank heavens Mill Mountain Coffee has a large seating area that can accommodate over a hundred people. 

I got to thinking: is this real?

This doesn’t make sense. A meeting for a conversation on a Monday? At 9am? Who can come to that? Most people are at work.

Cline and Griffith– purposefully difficult to find on a good day– willing to hold “a conversation”? Together? In public? With constituents?  

And who is this invitee from West Virginia? The attorney general of West Virginia in Salem. What? Why?

I sent it to a friend and she was gob smacked. 

“Wow. There will be cameras, a crowd, security! We should go early!” 

“But what if it’s fake,” I replied.

“Well, we can get a coffee…” she said.

Having found one friend, I decided to see who else I could recruit. My most potent political friend– he’ll join me, I thought.  But he has to work. I sent texts and emails to eight more friends. Previous commitments, a doctor appointment, out of town. It’s now close to 9pm on Sunday.

On Monday morning I head to Salem. Empty parking spaces all along Main Street. Curious…. Must be fake; no camera trucks, no Fox News. Nothing.

I park in the rear and go in the back door. I see a room to the left and glance in—a tiny space with a big table. Surely nothing happening in THAT closet. I walk to the main, expansive front room that has maybe seven people scattered about, drinking coffee, eating breakfast. I order a coffee and sit down. 

8:15. Nothing. 

My friend shows up. “Where is the crowd?”. 

8:30. Nothing. 

My friend recognizes two people sitting over by the wall. They saw the announcement and wanted to see if it was real. 

Another woman is sitting by herself. I introduce myself and ask if she’s here for the “conversation”? “Yes” she replies. “Come join us,” I offer. 

And then in walks Delegate McNamara.

One from our group wanders back to the tiny room and rushes back to us . “They are gathering in the back!” (McNamara must not have gotten the email to use the back door.)

We rush to the small room in the back of Mill Mountain Coffee.

I’m no architect, but this room is small. Maybe 15 ft by 12 ft with a large conference table in it. It holds maybe 12 people. And here’s McNamara, and a couple others milling about. No Cline. No Griffith. I wouldn’t recognize the attorney general of West Virginia.  No Suetterlein.  The main attractions are not here, but McNamara is.

We ask him if he supports the Republican-controlled government shutdown. Silence. What about clemency for George Santos?  Silence. From there, questions from the table start to roll in.  At one point McNamara turns his back on the questioners. Silence. 

Then Morgan Griffith enters. Then, the attorney general of West Virginia arrives. Three Republican elected officials. Questions are directed to the front of the cramped space and Griffith requests more room. 

No one moves. 

He’s peppered with more questions about shutdown, health care, pay for the VA.

A Roanoke County veteran of the armed services, a person who gave years of their life to serve this country, who gets care from the VA, asks a question about health care for veterans. “We are not here to talk about that,” Griffith replies. “We’re here to talk Miyares”.

The questions continue.

And in strolls Ben Cline.  

They actually did this. They scheduled a 9am Monday meeting in a tiny back room of a Salem coffee house so that they could limit attendance, control the discussion, and sneak out with minimal exposure.

Being with so many interested and engaged constituents of these Republican do-nothings was inspiring. The questions were accurate, well posed, respectful and pressing. It was clear that the rah-rah for Jason Miyares was sidelined. Instead, we heard the people ask about the failures for which these elected Republicans are responsible.

Did they answer questions? No! Did they acknowledge the moral bankruptcy of the Republican autocrats? No! To every question, the partisan Republican response was “it is being litigated,” “it’s the Democrats,” “as a supporter of non-partisan…,” “when it gets to the Supreme Court…”  All deflection and duplicity.

We must, in this district, find every single appearance Ben Cline schedules and confront him with the issues that matter to the people of the Sixth Congressional District– funding for health care, for veterans’ care, for education, for clean water and air, for freedom from government overreach and illegal seizure, improvements to infrastructure and transportation. The Salem Surprise represents the opening salvo in the aggressive and relentless pursuit of making these elected representatives face the people and answer for their deeds and the misdeeds of the immoral and abhorrent Trump administration.

As a cutoff of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) nears, Congressman Cline is trying to portray himself as a staunch defender of the program that helps feed more than 40 million Americans– including more than 30,000 families in the Sixth Congressional District.

(Why is Cline is giving an interview to a rightwing media outlet in Florida while holding only one very limited town hall meeting for his Sixth District constituents since November of last year?)

Cline continues to blame Congressional Democrats for the standoff that has shut down much of the federal government since October 1. He lied that Democrats were refusing to vote to keep the government open in order to demand “free health care for illegal aliens” while ignoring the Democrats’ insistence to maintain a tax credit that helps 22 million American citizens lower their health insurance premiums. Without the tax credit, many of those Americans could see their monthly premiums double or triple and millions would be forced to drop their health insurance entirely.

In an interview with the rightwing NTD News, Cline said: “The fact [is] that Democrats haven’t agreed to just continue funding while we work out extraneous policy issues.”

Millions of people losing health insurance is “extraneous,” Congressman?

And remember that Cline proudly voted for Trump’s notorious Big Ugly Bill that will reduce SNAP benefits for food-insecure Americans by $186 billion over the next decade.

Cline called this “a great victory for American families.”

And one final thought on SNAP for Congressman Cline and every other elected official to consider:

Cardinal News reports:

The Virginia General Assembly kicked off a special session on Monday aimed at redrawing the commonwealth’s Congressional map through a constitutional amendment, but the bill’s text has not yet been made available by Democrats who are championing the effort. 

The special session comes on the heels of similar efforts in Texas, California and North Carolina and a handful of other states across the country. The effort began in Texas after President Donald Trump pushed the state’s Republicans to redraw their Congressional maps to create more GOP House seats in an effort to help the party maintain control of the House of Representatives after the midterm elections. 

…..

House of Delegates Republicans held a press conference with the five Republican members of Virginia’s Congressional delegation ahead of the start of the session. Virginia’s Congressional Republicans could see their numbers dwindle should the effort to redraw the state’s districts through a constitutional amendment be successful. 

…..

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Botetourt County, said the effort to redistrict Virginia’s maps was due to “strong arming” from the U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also a Democrat from New York. 

“Instead politics has led the day,” Cline said. “It is their motivation, it is what is leading them to travel all across the country to demand these redistrictings.”

Congressman Cline, of course, never voiced even the mildest disapproval of Trump’s strong arming of the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature and their supine willingness to do his bidding.

If he had, perhaps we could take his objection to the Democrats’ redistricting plan more seriously.

Sorry, Congressman: Your party doesn’t get to play by one set of rules and expect Democrats to play by another.