The Government Shutdown Countdown Lowdown MEGATHREAD

[alfred russel]

At least, it is the answer you prefer.

It was a helluva lot better than the lame crap you pulled out of your ass.  Maintenance?? Liability??  Bureaucratic snafu??

Do you really think Obama has decided which monuments will stay open and which will close?

It seems the Republicans have a strategy: cut off funding until they get their way, and then find a few questionable decisions to close things down and pin them on Obama.

[Admiral Yi]

Do you really think Obama has decided which monuments will stay open and which will close?

Of course not.

[Ed Anger]

That's Bo's job.

[alfred russel]

Do you really think Obama has decided which monuments will stay open and which will close?

Of course not.

Then why put this on him?

I admit to not reading most of this thread, so sorry if I'm going over well worn ground.

It seems as though these are decisions that would be made by civil servants, who would probably be conservative in their decisions. There may be some conservatism based on risk aversion. There could also be some spite involved (the public isn't going to pay me for a while, they can do without their monument). There could even be some turf defending (if I am a ranger overseeing a monument, I may see it staying open without me as a threat).

None of those seem political.

[Syt]

... but at least Newt Gingrich has his priorities straight. He offered to pay our of his personal funds to keep the Smithsonian Zoo's panda cam running in spite of the shutdown: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/newt-zoo-shutdown

[garbon]

Do you really think Obama has decided which monuments will stay open and which will close?

Of course not.

Then why put this on him?

I admit to not reading most of this thread, so sorry if I'm going over well worn ground.

It seems as though these are decisions that would be made by civil servants, who would probably be conservative in their decisions. There may be some conservatism based on risk aversion. There could also be some spite involved (the public isn't going to pay me for a while, they can do without their monument). There could even be some turf defending (if I am a ranger overseeing a monument, I may see it staying open without me as a threat).

None of those seem political.

Yi didn't.

[Admiral Yi]

Then why put this on him?

I don't.

There could also be some spite involved (the public isn't going to pay me for a while, they can do without their monument).

This, and the desire to make the public feel the pain of the shutdown, so they can pressure their reps, is how I see it (originally stated by dps).

[Tamas]

Probably it was done just to make people who wanted to visit the memorial upset about the shutdown in order to bring more pressure to bear on Congress.

This is the most logical answer.

No. The most logical answer is that they did not want be responsible for the premises and the visitors when they are not getting paid for it.

[Viking]

Probably it was done just to make people who wanted to visit the memorial upset about the shutdown in order to bring more pressure to bear on Congress.

This is the most logical answer.

No. The most logical answer is that they did not want be responsible for the premises and the visitors when they are not getting paid for it.

No, the most logical answer is that they cannot responsibly provide visitors with the services and standard of care that they are legally required to when most of the park rangers are not available.

[dps]

No, the most logical answer is that they cannot responsibly provide visitors with the services and standard of care that they are legally required to when most of the park rangers are not available.

Pretty sure most visitors to memorials and historical sites don't really need any services as such--they just want to look at the monuments. 

Obviously, for people wanting to take part in outdoor activities at national parks (hiking the back country, etc.) it's a different story.

No. The most logical answer is that they did not want be responsible for the premises and the visitors when they are not getting paid for it.

Then why were they showing up to put up barriers?  And I'm pretty sure that furloughed government workers wouldn't be individually liable for anything that happened to tourists during their furlough anyway.

[Razgovory]

They were closing shop before they left?

[Tamas]

No, the most logical answer is that they cannot responsibly provide visitors with the services and standard of care that they are legally required to when most of the park rangers are not available.

Pretty sure most visitors to memorials and historical sites don't really need any services as such--they just want to look at the monuments. 

Obviously, for people wanting to take part in outdoor activities at national parks (hiking the back country, etc.) it's a different story.

No. The most logical answer is that they did not want be responsible for the premises and the visitors when they are not getting paid for it.

Then why were they showing up to put up barriers?  And I'm pretty sure that furloughed government workers wouldn't be individually liable for anything that happened to tourists during their furlough anyway.

Right. Leaving the site open but unguarded is the right thing to do! And it's Obama's fault anyway.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah. I think maintenance and liability are pretty obvious reasons to close them. Especially because (presumably) some services are also provided by DC, who are also shutdown.

[Ideologue]

It sure is, unless the FTCA got shut down too.

[grumbler]

Then why were they showing up to put up barriers?  And I'm pretty sure that furloughed government workers wouldn't be individually liable for anything that happened to tourists during their furlough anyway.

I am not sure I understand what you and Yi are talking about.  In what way is the closed-because-of-shutdown memorial's "barriers" any different from its closed-for-the-night barriers?  If the memorial was closed for the night on Monday, and didn't open Tuesday morning because the workers who would open it were told to stay home, wouldn't the "barriers" still be up, without anyone showing up and putting them up?