The government shutdown resulted in  a host of surreal moments, including one in which a Congressman castigated a National Park worker for the shutdown he helped vote for.

At the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., Congress members attempted to talk to press about the horrible, terrible situation was...that....they voted for.

Gawker's  Tom Scocca described those lawmakers as committing "an act of civil disobedience against themselves."

The worst part of the whole thing? "Rep. Randy Neugebauer's (R-Tex.) Wednesday confrontation of a poor park ranger on the scene -- who was doing nothing more than her job -- blaming her for the closure he voted for and telling her that she should be ashamed of herself," as the Huffington Post reported.

Mark Seagraves reported the conversation for NBC news. Segraves saidm

"How do you look at them and ... deny them access?" said Neugebauer. He, with most House Republicans, had voted early Sunday morning to pass a funding measure that would delay the Affordable Care Act, a vote that set up a showdown with the Senate and President Barack Obama. With the parties unable to agree on how to fund the federal government, non-essential government functions shut down Tuesday.

"It's difficult," responded the Park Service employee.

"Well, it should be difficult," replied the congressman, who was carrying a small American flag in his breast pocket.

"It is difficult," responded the Park Service employee. "I'm sorry, sir."

"The Park Service should be ashamed of themselves," the congressman said.

"I'm not ashamed," replied the ranger.

After that, of course, things kinda went to shit. A crowd of onlookers demanded that Neugebauer leave the ranger alone-- after all, the reason the park was shut down was that Congress had...shut it down. And that he'd voted to shut it down.

 Neugebauer, of course, pointed the finger at  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) fault, but nobody believed him. 

The Huffington Post said that the whole incident is "messaging", as the Huffington Post calls it, "the mostly disingenuous bilge that politicos spit in order to gain some phantom upper hand in a war of rhetoric that plays itself out in the press. It's not intended to be sincere, it's all posturing -- throwing sub-standard witticisms at a wall in the hopes that something will stick and convince people.

However, in this case, an actual park ranger was hurt. "You're not actually supposed to extend "messaging" out into the world of ordinary human Americans in this fashion, and victimize park rangers with it," they wrote.

Do you agree with this or disagree? Watch the video and sound off in the comments below!