Texas Rep. Randy Neugebauer Finds Park Ranger Responsible For Shutdown, Gives Her What For

After voting to shut down the government as part of the Republican attempt to defund or delay the Affordable Care Act, Texas congresscritter Randy Neugebauer sought out a Park Service Ranger to yell at Wednesday, telling her she should be ashamed for partly shutting down the World War II memorial whose funding he voted to block (WWII vets are being allowed to enter, but all other tourists are turned away).

You'd think that Neugebauer would be praised for his generosity in giving her a piece of his mind that he obviously cannot spare, but his patriotic stand for arglebargle has been widely mocked for some reason. His chief mistake seems to have been blaming an individual Park Ranger, since other Republicans have been far more successful in blaming the executive branch for shutting down parks and memorials that Congress hasn't funded.

Neugebauer's attempt to pin the blame for his party's shutdown was accompanied by a small American flag in his suit pocket, which you'd think would free him from any criticism. Besides, he was speaking for the American People:  

"How do you look at them and ... deny them access?" [he asked]

"It's difficult," the Ranger replied. "Well, it should be difficult," scorned the congressman. "It is difficult," the Ranger repeated. "I'm sorry, sir."

"The Park Service should be ashamed of themselves," said Neugebauer. "I'm not ashamed," the Ranger retorted.

"You should be," sneered Neugebauer.

Also, kudos to the unidentified bicycle dude who jumped in and defended the ranger:

“This woman is doing her job, just like me,” a bicyclist said. “I’m a 30-year federal veteran, (and) I’m out of work.”

Neugebauer suggested that bicycle dude should blame Harry Reid for the shutdown, but bicycle dude replied that maybe Congress needs to pass a budget. Neugebauer then left, presumably to go yell at some unemployed people for causing poverty.

[ Gawker / RawStory ]