Flashback to when Obama weaponized 2013 government shutdown
High profile national monuments and parks were *Barrycaded” so that TV cameras could show veterans and others being turned away
It’s unclear at this point whether there will be a short-term budget deal, or a government “shutdown.” Despite the drama, a shutdown is not really a shut down. Essential services continue.
It’s more of a scale-back, and the government has a lot of discretion as to what gets scaled back. In a press conference today OMB Director Mick Mulvaney made the point that many agencies have reserve funds that can be used, but weren’t used in the 2013 shutdown.
In 2013, Mulvaney stated, Obama “weaponized” the shutdown to make it appear to be worse than it was for political purposes. Via RealClearPolitics:
At an emergency press conference Friday morning, White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said that OMB is preparing for “what we’re calling ‘The Schumer Shutdown.” However, Mulvaney says the shutdown will not be as “impactful” as the one in 2013 because the Obama administration “chose to make it worse” for political reasons.
“I’ve been through some of these before,” he said. “The Democrats are opposing a bill that they don’t oppose! … They don’t oppose anything in the bill, but they are opposing the bill.”
“I just want to let everybody know,” he said about the potential government shutdown: “We do not want this, we do not want a shutdown, but if Mr. Schumer insists on it, he is in a position to force this on the American people.”
He assures citizens that the process will be “different” than it was under Obama because President Obama “weaponized” the shutdowns for political purposes.
“The only conclusion I can draw is they did it for political purposes. So it will look different this time around,” he said about the impending shutdown of 2018.
The White House Budget Director continued: “From an OMB perspective because we are involved in managing a lapse or a shutdown, we want to make folks understand that it will look very different than it did under the previous administration. One of the things I’ve learned since I’ve been in this office is, there is no other way to describe it, but the Obama administration weaponized the shutdown of 2013. What they did not tell you is they did not encourage agencies to use carry-forward funds, funds that they were sitting on. Nor did they encourage agencies to use transfer authority. They could have made a shutdown in 2013 much less impactful, but they chose to make it worse. The only conclusion I can draw is they did it for political purposes. So it will look different this time around.”
Jim Acosta of CNN embarrassed himself by suggesting Republicans could avoid a shutdown because they control the House, Senate and Presidency. He knew, of course, that 60 votes are needed in the Senate.
I knew exactly to what Mulvaney was referring when he said the Obama administration weaponized the shutdown, though I bet a lot of people don’t remember.
Obama shut high profile monuments and national parks specifically so that the TV cameras could show veterans and others being turned away. We covered it extensively at the time. We even had a 2013 Shutdown tag.
I tweeted out links to our posts:
Flashback to when Obama weaponized shutdown: Obama barricades Lincoln Memorial unlike during 1995 “shutdown” https://t.co/DzkruQVQkc
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) January 19, 2018
Flashback to when Obama weaponized shutdown: Battle of the #Barrycades – Vets storm Vietnam Memorial, U.S Park Police called in https://t.co/khbva8b1Qj
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) January 19, 2018
Flashback to when Obama weaponized a shutdown: Liberation of WWII Memorial https://t.co/mqBzGwK8WB
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) January 19, 2018
Flashback to when Obama weaponized shutdown: Peasants storm Castillo de San Marcos, beaten back by trespass warnings https://t.co/7jeSSnFb4Q
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) January 19, 2018
Flashback to when Obama weaponized shutdown: Park Service allows pro-immigration reform rally on ‘closed’ National Mall https://t.co/85dxfGSQjb
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) January 19, 2018
Flashback to when Obama weaponized shutdown: Battle Cry heard at Minute Man Park: “Can’t Keep Me Out” https://t.co/b9lPOl95v4
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) January 19, 2018
Flashback to when Obama weaponized shutdown: Now gov’t trying to block people from looking at Mt. Rushmore (seriously) https://t.co/DOdQDPZ59s
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) January 19, 2018
Flashback to when Obama weaponized shutdown: WWII Vet – Removing Iwo Jima Memorial Barricades “Blew My Mind … It Was Great” https://t.co/ZA3EEqFkuc
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) January 19, 2018
That last link is one of my favorites. We send a student reporter to greet Honor Flight returnees returning from D.C. to talk about their experience with the shutdown, including the barricading of the Iwo Jima memorial. Check out the link for multiple interviews and photos of the Welcome Home.
This gentleman, a WWII vet, was gleeful as he explained how the old-timers got out of the bus to remove the barricades. God Bless him.
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Comments
Obama was a spiteful hateful S.O.B.
If I recall the stunt floated like a lead balloon and Obama came up looking petty and the GOP STILL folded like a cheap suit owned by a spineless jellyfish.
He was, and still is.
He is also a traitor, as congressional evidence will soon confirm. Same with klinton.
Get the legal ropes stretched and ready.
You mean he made secret deals and took money from the Russians. That would surely make him a traitor.
Trump does it in spades (pun intended).
Yea, and just imagine if Obumbles follower who thought she was going to be in charge had been allowed to stay, we would be looking at the OBM weaponizing another shutdown. Which the Dems were probably counting on.
I’m having fun thinking of all of the things Trump could do with this opportunity – start with “All lNon Essential Personell will be Furloughed until Further Notice.”
Then furlough the ENTIRE Dep’t of Education and the EPA. Just for starters.
Re: Tom Servo.
The problem is, they give them back pay when it’s over.
Oh, stop! You’re giving me heart palpitations! Just the thought brings SO. MUCH. JOY.
This won’t happen this time if a shutdown does occur, but if they were to try to shut parks, a lawsuit during the last shutdown indicates that future attempts at such actions would be prohibited.
Do you have a link to the lawsuit? I never heard of that happening……
http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/2013/10/litigation-virgin-no-more-and-good-news-on-parks-for-the-next-shutdown.html
National Forest Recreation Association et. al. vs. Tom Tidwell
Republicans go out of their way to avoid inconveniencing the People. Bad optics.
This is now beyond politics. There is no shame or blame. This is win or lose. Asking for consistency is a waste of time. This is WAR. Dems know this and have for a long time. They want DACA Amnesty or nothing. They want chain migration and little or no border wall.
This is war. Dems understand this. This is the time to draw the line and fight it. Attack the Democrat all day and all night no let up. Attack with all the tools at their disposal. It’s now or never.
I like what was said at the press conferences – that current cash will be used and the shutdown will not be weaponized to hurt Americans. Great choice of words, along with labeling everything as the Schumer Shutdown.
But, I hope that each department looks at what is really needed in order to fire some people & close programs. The changed rules at the VA concerning firing people seems to have worked and it should be extended to all departments.
The Rs should consider that the chain migration and visa lottery are more important than the wall at this point in time. There is probably money in the budget to continue with the testing of the wall options as well as repairing the current wall segments.
Let the government continue to work on getting the property rights and all that planning. Get the money to increase the border guards and ICE people. Heck, they could even sneak in money for the wall in the infrastructure bill.
Ah, brings back fond memories of a comic/bumper sticker I saw back then … “Yes we cone”. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2013/10/09/bumper-sticker-of-the-day-650/
I say shut it down and cone Shumer’s limo.
Close down non-essential agencies permanently with pink slips going first to Obama appointees and hires. Put the deep state in the streets seeking work. I hear a lot of companies are hiring.
The question I have is how do the Democrats NOW justify a shutdown as OK when they, just a few years ago, clamored over the possibility of a “Republican” shutdown as being reprehensible, hateful, evil, killing the children, starving the poor, forcing Granny to eat dog food, against all that is humanity, blah, blah, blah, etc. etc. etc.
Didn’t Chuck. U. Schumer put out a tweet that the so-called “Republican shutdown” was evil?
Yeah, I thought so.
Trump, like him or not, knows how to play Chicken. And I doubt he will flinch. If he does, then he will be sunk in 2020.
I think the key is for him to tweet out that it’s the Democrats who are causing this to happen, to not make a deal, shutting down the government (most of it, at least). Labeling it #SchumerShutdown doesn’t do much for the public who don’t realize that Schumer is a NY Democrat of the first order.
I think Trump will bebrutal if there is a SchumerShutdown but so far.
Donald J. Trump
Verified account @realDonaldTrump
8 hours ago
“Shutting down the government is a very serious thing. People die, accidents happen. I don’t know how I would vote right now on a CR, OK?”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif)
My wife and I were traveling through Arkansas during the last shutdown and awoke in Hot Springs to the National Park there in downtown Hot Springs being barricaded off. We headed north to Eureka Springs and past many scenic turnoffs that were dutifully blocked off. This was all very petty and vindictive. The demoncrats insisting on DACA makes me all the more against it. I would love to see an EO on E-Verify.
Yup. And this is when I completely lost any respect for the National Park Service, may they be disbanded and scattered, the offspring killed, and the fields salted. They WILLINGLY turned themselves into Ogabe’s Brownshirts.
One of my friends who runs concessions and accommodations at national parks filed a lawsuit in conjunction with several others against the .gov for this action, and received judicial response that were such action to occur again (the last time was 2013 and ended before full process), plaintiffs suing government for this action would prevail.
They can’t do what Obama did the last time.