Park Ranger: “We’ve Been Told To Make Life As Difficult For People As We Can”

As we’ve seen today, the White House is desperate to “win” the shutdown and, to them, it “doesn’t really matter how long it lasts.”

Now we’re starting to see why…

In order to maximize the effect of the shutdown, President Obama and his administration is making a show of closing down streets or monuments widely used by the public—especially here in Washington.

Via Washington Times:

“The Park Service appears to be closing streets on mere whim and caprice. The rangers even closed the parking lot at Mount Vernon, where the plantation home of George Washington is a favorite tourist destination. That was after they barred the new World War II Memorial on the Mall to veterans of World War II. But the government does not own Mount Vernon; it is privately owned by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. The ladies bought it years ago to preserve it as a national memorial. The feds closed access to the parking lots this week, even though the lots are jointly owned with the Mount Vernon ladies. The rangers are from the government, and they’re only here to help.”

To make it even worse…

“It’s a cheap way to deal with the situation,” an angry Park Service ranger in Washington says of the harassment. “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”

President Obama has been playing political games with this shutdown from the beginning. It’s time to come to the table with Republicans and open up the government.