Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) accused Democrats of “curb-stomping veterans” because the Washington D.C. World War II Memorial had been closed after Republicans forced a government shutdown over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law.

The controversy over the over the memorial began on Tuesday after Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX) had taken photos with a number of elderly veterans who were denied entry due to the shutdown. By Wednesday, the National Park Service announced that the World War II Memorial would remain open to veterans only.

But that did not stop Stockman from insisting that “Democrats are curb-stomping veterans” in a fundraising letter sent out on Thursday.

“There is no other way to put it. Democrats are curb-stomping veterans,” he wrote. “Obama set up this confrontation, and even had Park Police warn wheelchair-bound 90-year-old vets may be arrested for seeing it before they die, because he hoped the mainstream media would blame Republicans.”

More: Rep. Stockman Fundraising Letter Claims Democrats Are ‘Curb-Stomping Veterans’

To the GOP, keeping a memorial open is more important than taking care of the people it was built for, or the employees whose job it is to maintain the site for future generations.