With the ranger being a woman, Congressman Neugebauer was headed for trouble from the get-go. And that’s all that the media has focused on; labeling the Congressman as a bully and criticizing his actions.
The Veterans are not the only victims of this Shutdown and the closing of the memorial. Step into the ranger’s shoes and try to get their perspective of the entire ordeal. When it comes down to it, they are just doing their job. I’m sure, at least I hope, that they do not agree with the Administration’s decision to barricade off the memorial and keep the veterans out.
These are old, retired veterans for Christ’s sake. Many of whom arrive in wheel chairs and walkers after traveling from across the nation to pay their respects to fallen brothers of the war.
The rangers are only following orders from the top. The actions of the rangers and the closure are a direct reflection of Obama, not their own decision making. But what other option do they have? Given the choice between being furloughed or going to work should not be put on them, especially when it involves Veteran affairs.
These rangers should not be forced to stand in between the Veterans and their hard earned memorial. Everyone can agree on that. These are the men that fought for not only our country’s freedom, but the world’s freedom from tyranny and oppression. It’s a general understanding, expected really, that you treat Veterans with the utmost respect for their duty to our country. But apparently the Obama Administration thinks otherwise.
As for Randy’s decision to chew out the Rangers, I can see how in the heat of the moment he lost his temper. But he shouldn’t have to apologize for his actions. Instead, Obama should be the one issuing the apology to the rangers, not Randy, for putting them in that difficult situation.
This sort of reaction from the public is expected, it does not surprise me that an elected official has finally confronted the issue in person like this. And I doubt this is the first instance of this happening.
If Obama didn’t anticipate this kind of reaction from the public, he’s a fool. He should have foreseen the backlash from the closing of the memorial and took full responsibility for his actions instead of leaving the rangers to take the hit for him like that.
The WWII Memorial is an open-air facility that usually does not require any type of staffing, so the idea of barricading off the site does not make sense to me at all. There are no guides, staffers, or any personal that focuses on the day to day operations of the memorial. Maybe a grounds keeper, but no real staffing is needed to run the memorial. If it was inside a museum or was inside a building that requires utilities and regular personnel on duty every day, then I would begin to understand the need to close off the site in order to save money. But that is clearly not the case.
It costs more money to print out signs, put up barricades, and have rangers enforcing the closure. Of all the issues about the budget and how Congress wants to spend the money, this has to be by far the most foolish way to spend it.
Previously furloughed park rangers were brought in to enforce the closure. Let that sink in a little bit. This means that before the closure of the memorial, these rangers were considered non-essential workers who were then furloughed. And now that Obama needs security to keep Veterans out of the memorial, these rangers are now considered essential workers.
With the media shifting more and more of the blame onto the GOP for the shut-down, it’s starting to look as though this is all for political benefit for Obama and the Democratic Party. This is just another excuse to paint the GOP as the bad guys in this shutdown, making it seem as though the Republicans shutdown the Government single handedly. But of course, it takes two to tango. The Democrats in the Senate have refused to pass any bill passed by the Republican controlled House, putting Congress into gridlock yet again.
It doesn’t really matter who is at fault to triggering the shutdown, the fact still remains that it was the Obama Administration’s decision to enforce close this and other memorials.