What Happens When Only One Senator Showed Up to Work (Spoiler Alert: He Got A Lot Done!!)

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A weather front that has dumped snow all across the eastern United States did not spare even the south. Heavy snow blanketed the state of North Carolina and temperatures fell well below freezing. The state grinded to a halt as Governor Pat McCroy shut down non-mandatory state government operations and urged people to stay in-doors.

The state legislature seemed to heed to Governor McCroy’s advice and took a snow day off. One particular state Senator, however, did not.

Senator Jeff Jackson is a North Carolina State Senator from the 37th district, which represents portions of Mecklenburg County. Through all the sleet and sludge, Senator Jackson managed to get into work at the State Senate. It turns out he was the only one.

Senator Jackson started the day off by snagging a great parking spot:

He soon realized that he was the only one around. Not one to just laze about, he began to get to work:

He had a productive morning tackling energy reform, and then decided – only since he was in the office anyway — to start tinkering with education:

Nothing gives you a more satisfied feeling than a successfully completed checklist!

A few meetings were probably cancelled, so he had the free time to casually iron out some other longstanding legal kinks:

In case he didn’t already know, Senator Jackson learned that some people get very uncomfortable even by the theatrical suggestion of a productive legislative branch:

He managed to reach a common sense consensus on investments in higher education:

Through all of this, he never loses sight of the small stuff either:

Minutes before noon, he manages to reform the criminal justice system to characterize drug addiction as what it actually is – a medically recognized illness.

He slays filibusters and helps parents pay for childcare in one fell swoop!

When asked if he wished it were “this easy” in real life, the Charlotte Observer reported Senator Jackson saying, “Or even half this easy. Wouldn’t it be nice if both sides had a voice in legislation instead of just ramming everything through.”

It would be, wouldn’t it?

While Jackson’s stunt is precisely that – a political stunt – he does underline the tremendous problem our nation has with legislative inaction. Even as we speak, our national legislature, specifically the US House of Representatives, is refusing to provide funding to the department of Homeland Security in order to pressure President Obama to rollback reforms initiated on immigration policy. Instead of having grand debates and passionate discussions, our legislators are reduced to conducting political tit-for-tat sideshows that work toward besmearing each other far more than toward the good of the American people.

See more of Senator Jeff Jackson’s “#snowday” adventures on his Twitter Feed.

featured image – Twitter