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Paul Broun needs a calendar

Far-right complaints about closed memorials were foolish during the shutdown, but they're even worse now.

In an interview with the Michael Opitz Show Thursday, Republican Georgia Congressman and Senate candidate Paul Broun claimed the World War Two Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial were never closed during a government shutdown. "There was absolutely no reason, whatsoever, for this administration to block access to the World War Two Memorial or the Lincoln Memorial. It's never ever been done in a government shutdown prior to this administration doing so."

Look, I don't expect much from Paul Broun, but this is ridiculous, even for him.
 
First, if far-right lawmakers didn't want to see federal parks and memorials closed during the shutdown, they shouldn't have shut down the government. This was a silly talking point during the crisis, and for Broun to keep talking about this is foolish.
 
Second, the only other real government shutdowns were in the mid-1990s, when Republicans shut down federal operations -- and closed the Lincoln Memorial.
 
And third, no administration ever closed the World War II Memorial during the previous shutdowns because the memorial opened in 2004.
 
For those unfamiliar with Broun, he's perhaps best known for arguing that that cosmology, biology, and geology are, quite literally, "lies straight from the pit of Hell," and that President Obama only believes in supporting "the Soviet constitution." Broun, an apparent Birther, also believes cap-and-trade would kill people; the Affordable Care Act will dictate what kind of car Americans can drive; the health care reform effort reminds him of "Northern Aggression"; and he considers Obama to be a Hitler-like figure intent on establishing a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist dictatorship on Americans.
 
In 2010, Broun argued that the Centers for Disease Control might "give all the power to the federal government to force you" to eat healthier foods, which would include the CDC "calling you to make sure you eat fruits and vegetables, every day. This is socialism of the highest order!"
 
He's currently a candidate for the U.S. Senate.