Imagine that – WWII monument hasn’t been shut down

This is so typical of the hyper-partisan Capitol Hill shenanigans that led to the shutdown (and possibly a default):  It turns out that the “closed” World War II Memorial that has become such a focal point in this morass has actually been open on a daily basis.

According toPolitico, the metal barricades around the open-air monument have been opened for visitors as they arrive by National Park Service rangers since the second day of the shutdown. Politico found that veterans have easy access to the site – and they are upset that the memorial has become the scene of such political gamesmanship.

The shutdown began with the Obama administration placing barricades around the National World War II Memorial, a symbolic move to demonstrate the consequences of congressional malfeasance.

But by Day Two of the shutdown the Republicans had turned that image on its head, making the monument the scene of political theater as the GOP painted the administration as anti-veteran.

On Day 14, Sen. Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin were key speakers at a rally at the memorial that got the tea party folks so riled up that they grabbed metal barricades and hauled them over to the White House. When the protesters started piling up the barricades at the White House gates, the police arrived and the angry crowd began calling them “brown shirts” and “Gestapo.”

We’ve come a long way from the days when the GOP was the party of law and order that had little tolerance for rowdy demonstrators.

Jim McLaughlin is the lead organizer for the Honor Flight Network, the nonprofit group drawn into the dispute when several GOP lawmakers helped its guests gain entry during Honor Flight’s first visit to the memorial hours after the shutdown started.

He told Politico that his group, while attempting to stay out of the partisan bickering, has had no difficulty bringing several hundred more veterans to see the monument since the congressional standoff began on Oct. 1.

The Honor Flight Network also hasn’t made any changes to its flight schedules — many of the chartered aircraft were reserved weeks or months in advance, including several groups of veterans who arrived Tuesday from Arizona, Texas and Missouri, according to Politico.

Paul Rieckhoff, the outspoken founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, has blasted Democrats and Republicans for the way they have tried to use the WWII Memorial for political gain.

“Veterans are America’s favorite political chew toy,” he said. “Both parties love to use our veterans and talk about our veterans, but right now, neither party’s delivering for our veterans.”