Ben Cline

Blogger and AFP contributor Gene Zitver gets the credit for bringing back up for our attention a couple of photos from Ben Cline’s recent past – selfies that the Sixth District MAGA congressman took with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

The Dec. 5, 2024, photos were of the victory lap/home-run trot variety, in which Cline, in the caption, noted with glee that he had met the former trillionaire and the future Ohio gubernatorial runner-up at a meeting to discuss the establish the DOGE effort that the Trumpers used to slash government and steal all of our Social Security numbers.

The latest news with Musk is that he decided on his own to throttle Ukrainian military access to Starlink, which has benefited from the $38 billion in federal taxpayer subsidies that we’ve given to Musk over the years, but somehow, we didn’t attach much in the way of strings to the gobs of money we gave him, if we’re allowing him to unilaterally pull the plug on our allies on a whim.

Actually, not a whim – Musk is upset because the Ukrainians have been targeting Russian bot farms that form the backbone of his various and sundry political misinformation campaigns.

It’s time to nationalize Starlink and deport Musk, but that’s another story for another day.

Ramaswamy, for his part, is making headlines not just for being on the verge of an embarrassing defeat in Ohio, but not taking it well – to the point that, out of sheer desperation, the Ramaswamy campaign enlisted the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, to star in a TV ad calling Acton a serial liar.

Problem with the ad: Donna Arthur, the estranged mother, disputes Acton’s claims that she was raped by her stepfather, Cledith, who was indicted for the child rape, then skipped out on a court appearance, with Donna at his side.

There were warrants out for Cledith Arthur’s arrest until he died, with Donna at his side, in 2004.

What Donna Arthur is saying today that her daughter, Amy, lied about: being raped for three years, beginning at the age of 10.

This, from the party that has gone out of its way for the past year to shield Donald Trump from the release of the Epstein Files, which involve a cult of the rich and powerful friends of Trump who engaged in systematic child rape for decades.

Ben Cline, the father of twin teen daughters, has had nothing – absolutely nothing – to say about the Epstein Files, and nothing to say about this latest sickening episode involving his selfie pal, Ramaswamey.

Shockingly, Cline has also exercised his right to remain silent on his other selfie pal, Elon Musk flipping the switch on the Ukraine-Russia war in favor of the bad guys.

Cline only speaks when the Trumpers give him permission – and a script.

His reward – a pat on the head, and the occasional selfie.

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected]. Support AFP by signing up for our newsletter and/or powering our work with a one-time or monthly contribution.

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