The first thing that comes to mind is: How much did Congressman Cline pay a consultant to come up with that weak campaign slogan? However much it was, it wasn’t worth it.

Let me suggest to Cline a more truthful campaign slogan. And I won’t charge him a cent.

In recent days Congressman Cline has displayed a strange obsession with Fairfax County, Virginia.

I say “strange” because Fairfax County is not part of the Sixth Congressional District, which Cline purports to represent. On his Facebook page, he has had a lot more to say about Fairfax County (all negative) than about any location in the Sixth.

At a Congressional hearing last week, Cline demanded the resignation of Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and engaged in his longstanding practice of demonizing “illegal immigrants.”

Cline focused on the tragic case of Stephanie Minter, who was murdered in February by an undocumented immigrant from Sierra Leone. (See here, here and here.) While there are legitimate concerns about the circumstances that led to the murder, Cline used the case as an excuse for hysterical fearmongering.

Cline’s statement is a lie. As James Walkinshaw, who represents Fairfax in Congress, posted in response:

(For more on Cline and COPS, see here.)

If that wasn’t bad enough, Cline posted on his campaign Facebook page:

In fact, the Migration Policy Institute estimates the number unauthorized people in Fairfax at less than half that. But never mind.

Cline is referring to the April 21 redistricting referendum, which voters approved before the Virginia Supreme Court struck it down. As he well knows, it is illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal and state elections and Democrats are not trying to change that.

But this is the kind of scaremongering that Cline indulges in as he tries to hang on to his Congressional seat for another term.

After the Virginia Supreme Court overturned the results of the April redistricting referendum, Congressman Cline thought it was appropriate to post a new profile picture on his Congressional Facebook page.

What is he trying to tell us? That his demonic powers forced a narrowly-divided Supreme Court to override the will of the majority of Virginia voters?

If he thinks the court’s ruling means he is home free for reelection in 2026, he’s got another thing coming.

“86” does not mean what Trump and his sycophants like Congressman Cline want us to believe it means. Trump’s Department of Justice tried to give it a different meaning when it made its laughable indictment against former FBI director James Comey for posting a picture of some seashells.

On that note, references to “86 46” abounded during Joe Biden’s term. Right-wing provocateur Jack Posobiec in 2022 posted that exact message on Twitter, though he was never indicted because that would of course have been ridiculous. To this day, merchandise like T-shirts are sold on Amazon and elsewhere featuring the “86 46” message, and of course, no one has taken that as any kind of threat to the former president’s life.

We know you’re desperate. But give it a rest, Ben.