1995 shutdown: the Lincoln Memorial kiosk is closed, but people can still visit the good Mr. Lincoln.
2013 shutdown: Lincoln is barricaded.
Both images above courtesy of The Daily Caller, which states, “It is not clear how much taxpayer money the Obama administration is paying to ensure that government sites and services remain shuttered to taxpayers. Popular Washington spots such as the World War II memorial are now guarded by more security personnel than they are during normal operations, while federal employees have been dispatched to put up barricades on capital bike paths and other public grounds that are not usually patrolled at all.”
The public is rebelling against these barriers, which are starting to be called “barrycades” or “barackades”.
- Legal Insurrection has a piece on America’s veterans removing the barrycades from the Vietnam Memorial.
- WND has video of a tourist (rightly) crossing the Lincoln barrycade, and being escorted away by a guard.
In the 1995 shutdown, Congress passed numerous stopgap measures to keep government services running. In 2013, the House is passing such measures again; but Senator Reid, President Obama and other Democrats won’t allow them. Your Democrats: Holding America hostage.
Which leads us to the latest example of left-wing projection. Since the Left is actually holding America hostage (by ostentatiously denying certain programs or public facilities until they get their way), they try to say it’s the other guys doing it (GOP, Tea Party, etc.). We’ve seen it in comments at Gay Patriot. The ante got upped a few days ago by Obama himself, who said the GOP is “trying to put a gun” to his head.
Of course he would say that because, again, the Left always projects. But the facts show Obama and the Democrats holding the gun, to the rest of our heads.
Not even littlelettermike is defending what a dick Obama is being.
V the K: maybe his warm, fuzzy federal government has shut down his Obamaphone?
What drives me nuts is that these monuments are normally “open air” type places, so to close them down requires more effort than keeping them open.
Maybe you have to live in the area or have visited to see it, but the WWII memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, etc are all on a big open field called the Mall, which is essentially a large rectangular field. They’re just out there on this gigantic field. They’re not in some enclosed area, or out in the wilderness and can only be accessed by one or two roads. You just walk up to them from any direction.
And in normal times there are basically no cops or park police around. Maybe a few off to the side, but nothing you’d really notice.
So to put barricades around them is… bizarre. To barricade them off requires the effort; keeping them open is relatively free.
They aren’t just open aide they are never actually closed-before the Obama temper tantrum if you wanted to go visit the memorial at 2am you could do it.
Shutting down information booths is one thing but manning barricades to make sure the people stay out costs more.