Stick it to the GOP at ‘Is This Job Essential?’

isthisproWhich government jobs are truly essential? The folks at “Is This Job Essential?” were tired of government officials making decisions about which jobs were and were not necessary. So they decided to use the magic of the Internet to put the vote to the people.

Isthisjobessential.com offers up government jobs and let visitors rate how essential those positions are, from 1 to 10. The site reminds you, under politicians, that “This elected official is getting paid right now.” According to voters, the least essential jobs are held by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, Virginia Representative Eric Cantor, and Kentucky Senators Mitch McConnel and Rand Paul. Meanwhile, the five most essential jobs — National Lab Researcher, Passport Guy, The Person Who Helps Moms and Kids, The Person Who Gives Flu Shots and a Happy Police Dog — were impacted by the government shutdown.

That’s pretty much the gist of the site: that the politicians responsible for grinding government to a halt are still getting paid, while the people who have jobs contributing something to the country are being screwed over by the shutdown and/or budget cuts. It would be nice if they could give more information about each political figure, especially their culpability in the government shutdown, so people could make a more informed vote and so the sight could be a touch more educational. That being said, it’s nice to see people up-in-arms over the most recent Republican attack on democracy. (I’m no fan of the Democratic party, but to suggest that the shutdown was not completely the fault of the GOP is complete and utter bullshit.) If only someone could force Ted Cruz to look at this site, perhaps with some sort of A Clockwork Orange style eyelid-opening device, the world might be a slightly more just place. Unfortunately, if any Republicans do happen upon the site they will just use their well-honed “bury your head in the sand” powers to ignore its existence. This kind of thing will likely just be passed around social media amongst people who already agree with the site’s sentiments. But hey, maybe it will piss off that one Republican friend you have on Facebook who thinks this is all Obama’s fault. That’s something, right?

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