Welcome to what is the 932nd original profile here at “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day”, where we’ll be discussing the sitting U.S. House Representative from Virginia’s 6th District, Ben Cline, who is currently serving in his freshman term in Congress, after having been in the Virginia House of Delegates for five terms over almost a decade. Only days after being sworn in as a Congressman, it became clear that Cline was a bit extreme when he went on a conservative talk radio show to promote the false anti-immigrant narrative that “Democrats want open borders” and insisting they only care about immigration to “replenish their voting base” before pitching the positively ludicrous idea that Donald Trump should have held the 2019 State of the Union Address from the U.S./Mexico border before conceding maybe that was logistically impossible and they should do it at a stadium in Arizona or Texas.
How much of a partisan lemming is this stooge? Well, he’s willing to charge into a classified hearing behind accidental Butt-Head cosplayer Matt Gaetz. And when you follow that dumbass… you maybe should have your head checked. Especially because… BEN CLINE WAS ON THE COMMITTEE AND COULD HAVE BEEN IN THE ROOM WHENEVER HE WANTED. But no, he’d rather pretend he’s shut out, and that impeaching Trump for withholding Congressional-approved aid to Ukraine in exchange for political favors in the form of announcing an investigation into Joe Biden was a “sham”.
His entire legislative career, he’s been an extremist. From his Personhood stance on a woman’s right to choose, his refusal to consider any gun control measure, and his support for Trump’s stupid idea for a useless wall along the U.S./Mexico border, he’s in love with every failed conservative policy there is. Heck, as a state legislator in Virginia, he supported Voter ID, expanding the potential methods of execution by capitol punishment (because the state couldn’t get lethal injection drugs), and co-sponsored legislation to make it the state’s position that life begins at conception.
So in his first term in office, this is what Ben Cline has done (not much, and what he has, it ain’t good):
- January 22nd, 2019: Cline votes against HR 676, which would prevent Donald Trump from doing the unthinkable and walking away from our allies in NATO to appease the Russians.
- January 23rd, 2019: Rep. Cline voted against HR 648, because he was gleefully enjoying the longest government shutdown in history.
- February 28th, 2019: Cline votes against HR 1112, a bill which would have required universal background checks on all firearm purchases, and close the gun show loophole.
- March 7th, 2019: Cline votes against HR 183, a resolution to condemn anti-Semitism as a hateful extension of intolerance.
- April 4th, 2019: Ben Cline is one of 158 Republicans who choose to vote against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).
- May 17th, 2019: Cline votes against The Equality Act, which would have prevented discrimination towards Americans based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
- June 4th, 2019: Rep. Cline votes against the Dreamers Act, because she’s too xenophobic and partisan to care about immigration reform.
- July 16th, 2019: Ben Cline votes against a resolution to condemn Donald Trump for his racist statements that four people of color in Congress should “go back where they came from”.
- October 23rd, 2019: Cline is one of 41 Republicans who, while staring down the possibility of Donald Trump being impeached, stage a ridiculous publicity stunt in response by crashing a classified impeachment inquiry hearing for a “protest”.
- December 18th, 2019: Cline ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the impeachment of Donald Trump.
- May 15th, 2020: Cline votes against the HEROES Act, to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Virginia’s 6th Congressional District has a +13 Republican lean in the Cook Partisan Voting Index, making it a the second-most conservative out of the state’s 11 Congressional Districts. That makes it a tough fight for the Democratic nominee for this seat, Nicholas Betts, a law clerk with no prior political experience that hasn’t flipped blue in three decades. Which is a shame, because Betts says all the right things and has detailed policy ideas, whereas Cline spends more time badmouthing Joe Biden and mindlessly mimicking Trump 2016 talking points like how he’s in Washington to “drain the swamp” when he’s been an elected legislator since the Obama administration started. Ben Cline is a worthless empty suit who will do little but vote against every good idea the other party has while battling strawmen he creates and claims are Democratic positions until people stop making him relevant by seeing through the obvious and ceasing to elect him.
One Year Ago, October 30th, 2019: Randy Baumgardner (CO)
Two Years Ago, October 30th, 2018: Wendy Rogers (AZ)… 2018 Update
Three Years Ago, October 30th, 2017: Wendy Rogers (AZ)… Original Profile
Four Years Ago, October 30th, 2016: Jim Spurlino (OH)
Five Years Ago, October 30th, 2015: Joe Carr (TN)
Six Years Ago, October 30th, 2014: Jan Brewer (AZ)