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Civil Disobedience vs. a White House Tantrum

My Dad, like so many others of his generation, was a WWII veteran. William J. Netzer of La Crosse Wisconsin spent his early twenties fighting the Germans as an NCO with the Mighty 8th Air Force. My uncles charged into battle at Normandy and one with a Marine air wing at Guadal Canal. In the early 2000’s those men and their brethren finally saw their memorial dedicated on the National Mall. Now our President, the person who is supposed to be the Commander in Chief of our nation, out of a disgusting, immature display of pettiness has decided to close the World War Two Memorial which means even keeping the veterans of that war from seeing their Memorial. He has also closed or attempted to close several other publicly owned, and privately owned parks and memorials with various degrees of success.

In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker has kept the state parks open. They are state parks owned by the state of Wisconsin. They do receive federal funding but Walker told Obama No thanks, I am not taking part in your national temper tantrum. Other governors have done the same. But my focus is the closing of several war memorials on our national mall, and keeping old veterans from seeing the public’s honoring of their heroic achievements as young men.

These men are in their late 80’s and 90’s and when they arrive with their honor flight they are seeing the World War Two memorial and the Iwo Jima Memorial for the only time in their lives. They are being denied by the President of the United States the chance to see them.

Now, I don’t know about anyone else out there but this makes me livid. I cannot imagine waiting decades to be honored by the country they fought for, being old and infirm and being told they aren’t welcome to their memorial. It is not only ridiculous because the memorials are open air and belong to us. It is cruel. Barack Obama and his administration are committing a national act of elder abuse on a grand scale.

Now, why Obama decided to pick on the elderly and military is to cause the most pain. He has closed the commissaries at US Military bases, threatened visiting Catholic priests with arrest should they appear at bases to officiate mass. One priest who showed up at a base in the US to officiate a wedding was denied entry. Obama now made a bridezilla and that isn’t good. The only person who can stop this nonsense is Barack Obama but he is doing it to hurt the rest of the country. It’s the actions of an angry, immature baby who isn’t getting what he wants. And really that’s all it is.

What I find really sad is how could this petty, narrow-minded, bigoted and angry man be president? How did this happen? We all know but still, when he behaves like a kid thrashing around on the floor of the candy aisle because Dad won’t let him have his skittles, it is still shocking. Now his spiteful, adolescent behavior is on display for the entire nation to see. Yes, America, the brat screaming and sitting in the middle of the toy store floor with snot running out of his nose is your president. Aren’t we lucky.

So, Tea Partiers where are you right now? You have the perfect opportunity to show up en masse in DC. This is a cause made for the Tea Party. Obama is reeling right now. We have a chance to really make our point about how far reaching and how intrusive his administration is. This isn’t Obamacare, and it is not the debt ceiling. It is much bigger. It is about our past and our heroes. It is about who we are. Obama is trying to deny us that with this cheap shot. These are our warriors, these are our memorials. That is our mall. Not his, not Biden’s. It doesn’t belong to congress or anyone else. It belongs to us.

My main point is: what else is there to do? This is about reminding a man who believes he’s above all of us who he is. HE serves US. He was elected by the American people to be President. In reality he was hired. He has yet to do his job in a satisfactory way. Beer summits, taking credit for the take-down of Osama bin Laden and peace prizes never earned are not things that make a man great. It’s like winning a trophy for showing up. Obama hasn’t even really showed up the last year.

Is this how we want our country led? When John Boehner, the often embattled Speaker of the House, says forcefully this budget battle isn’t some “Damn game” he is right. It is not. Not one president during the last seventeen shutdowns failed to negotiate a deal. Obama is the only one who refuses to negotiate and he is pouting and demanding his way or he will cause pain and suffering to as many people as he can. Not even Bill Clinton would have thought of doing that and no one is more vindictive and nasty than Slick Willie. But Clinton was and is a political genius. If it doesn’t play in Peoria, Clinton would not do it.

Well Obama, denying an old staff sergeant who is on oxygen and stuck in a wheel chair his opportunity to visit his memorial is about as vindictive and evil as anything I have ever seen in politics. And it’s all about Obamacare. And we all know that deep down in a place Obama hates going to, he knows Obamacare is a failure from the get go. And that is really what denying that Staff Sergeant his memory’s is all about. Sick huh?

So, Tea Partiers, if you really want to show government your power you need to be on the Mall in numbers. If you stand with Ted Cruz, Rand Paul or Scott Walker you need to be there. You need to stand with those veterans now. Why? Because the veterans are being bullied. We are being bullied. Because when faced with a bully that is what those veterans who are our fathers and grandfathers taught us to do when we were kids. Let’s put their lessons to good use.

Topics: Government shutdown, World War Two Memorial, Civil Disobedience

Image: Courtesy of “A Beautiful Place of the World”

Stephanie Janiczek

Stephanie Janiczek is a former Capitol Hill Staff Assistant, Schedule C Appointee and Leadership Institute alum. Military Wife, Hunter, Horse enthusiast, dog owner, writer and feminist kryptonite.