By Haley Stoltz
U.S. Rep. Ben Cline said Wednesday that the economy is the biggest issue facing voters in the 6th district and the key to bringing down the cost of consumer goods is lowering fuel prices.
Cline, a Republican who grew up in Lexington and is running for a fifth term in Congress, faces a challenge from longtime journalist Beth Macy, a Democrat. He visited Washington and Lee University for an off-the-record talk organized by two student groups.
After the talk, Cline said in an interview that addressing economic concerns starts with lowering fuel prices, something he said was the first step in making goods more affordable for Virginians. That process starts by making progress in the war in Iran and finding more sources of oil closer to home, he said.
“We want to make sure that we resolve high prices and bring down high gas prices by opening up the Strait of Hormuz,” he said in an interview with the Rockbridge Report.
High fuel prices are at the root of the economic challenges, Cline said.
“Manufacturing uses fuel. Transportation relies on cheap fuel,” he said. “So, whether it’s state projects or the private sector, everybody needs lower gas prices.”
Cline spoke to a group of 17 students in Payne Hall on Wednesday evening, an off-the-record conversation held under the Chatham House Rule. Those guidelines prohibit any statements made from being attributed to a named individual – including the congressman.
Before the talk started, the Rockbridge Report requested that Cline consider allowing his statements to be published by name; he declined, saying he would not “renegotiate terms of the interview.”
Ian Kalish, a clinical supervising attorney at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the Chatham House Rule can encourage candid discussion, especially when participants might otherwise fear retaliation for expressing controversial views.
However, Kalish said applying the rule to public officials is less justified because citizens have a strong interest in knowing their positions.
“I think there’s a constant balance between facilitating productive and meaningful conversation, while also … allowing members of the press to report newsworthy information,” said Kalish, a lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law.
The event was organized by the College Republicans and the W&L Spectator, a student magazine. Stepan Onyshchuk, president of the College Republicans, said the groups did not donate to Cline’s campaign.
Cline said he is not supportive of data centers in the 6th district unless there are guardrails put in place to ensure transparency. He said it is important to put guardrails in place, so that community members do not assume the energy costs from data centers.
Macy said she believes data centers should be regulated federally, citing concerns about their effects on water tables and electricity infrastructure.
“We should have a moratorium on data centers that are fueling AI until we get guardrails around data centers and AI,” she said in an interview with the Rockbridge Report earlier this month.
In Wednesday’s interview, Cline said the biggest difference between Macy and him is that he is committed to putting more power in the hands of his constituents rather than in the hands of the government in Washington, D.C.
“If voters want to go back to the way we were under Biden and Pelosi, with higher taxes, energy policies that made no sense, Green New Deal policies that put more burdens on businesses and raised energy costs, then they should vote for my opponent,” he said. “But if they want to continue down the road of lower taxes, less government, and increased personal freedom, then they should continue to send me back.”
Cline said that he is optimistic that the upcoming election results will be met with respect, especially in close races. He also stressed the need for transparency and accountability throughout the election process, saying that each state is unique with its own election laws.
“I think each election night result will have to be taken in the context of the laws of the state in which it’s being conducted,” he said.