Government shutdown: Closing national parks could spark public outcry similar to 1995

[bananas]

http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_24209569/government-shutdown-closing-national-parks-could-spark-public

Government shutdown: Closing national parks could spark public outcry similar to 1995

By Paul Rogers
09/30/2013 05:29:14 PM PDT | UPDATED: 110 MIN. AGO

<snip>

During the last government shutdown, for 28 days in 1995, national park closures sparked waves of angry calls to Congress and the White House.

"Once the shutdowns began, the reaction from people who wanted access to the parks was absolutely incredible," Bruce Babbitt, who was U.S. Interior Secretary at the time, said in an interview Monday.

<snip>

Public opinion eventually turned against then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Republicans in Congress who had pressed for the shutdown as part of a budget stalemate with President Bill Clinton. The shift helped Clinton rebound from low polling numbers and win re-election in 1996.

"The park closures in 1995 made a tangible difference," said Joan Anzelmo, who worked that year as a spokeswoman for Grand Teton National Park. "The visual of park rangers closing down national parks, closing down the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument -- keeping Americans out of these iconic American sites -- those visuals were really a strong factor in people understanding what a government shutdown meant. People got mad."

<snip>

[longship]

1. Well, there are plenty of Grand Canyon pictures on line.

And who needs to go to Yellowstone when we have Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo cartoons. You wanna visit Monument Valley? We have Wile E Coyote vs the Road Runner and all those John Wayne movies.

So who's worried about a shutdown when we have all these backups?

Nota bene: This caveat is solely for those who have only seen the Grand Canyon on their televisions. All others will know that this is sarcasm.