A lot of people have been blaming the political paralysis in our government on issues like gerrymandering or the birther movement, but the real problem has been around since the 1880s: Groundhog Day. In February, Americans take a day out of their seasonal affective disorder to recognize one groundhog’s ill-fated predictions. How can we, in the most powerful nation on Earth, become obsessed with rodents governing the weather forecast? Whether he sees his shadow or not, Punxsutawney Phil is one of the worst institutions in American politics.

For some, Phil’s anti-establishment campaign is a welcome change from the talking heads on The Weather Channel. “He’s not like the other meteorologists,” they say, “he’s not afraid to say six more weeks of winter!” But for the professional meteorologists at The Weather Channel, Groundhog Day is simply astounding. Americans shove Al Roker aside and say, “sorry, I want get a good look at the ground here to see if I can spot a rodent’s dark reflection.” Dear America: get your eyes off the ground and look at something intelligent, like a thermometer.

Don’t assume that just because Phil is folksy and from your “neck of the woods” that he is also immune from lobbying. OpenSecrets.com can tell you how much Phil and other groundhogs have received in kickbacks from Jack Frost when he predicts six more weeks of winter. Before we put our trust in our groundhogs, we should be asking them, “whose shadow are you really seeing?”

Not only do the kickbacks hamper his predictions, but also his partisanship. The groundhog sides with conservatives that do not believe in the climate science. Al Gore made a documentary about this, yet Phil still chooses to be a partisan predictor of the weather, rendering his predictions out-of-touch and cold-hearted. Hey Phil, have you ever stared into a polar bear’s eyes as it drowns? Open your eyes, Phil, to “An Inconvenient Truth.”

Washington D.C. is floating on a melting ice cap. If our government doesn’t figure something out soon, we’ll drown. (And guess what, Phil, if your predictions continue to derail our democracy, you’ll be furloughed in the next government shutdown.) I hope Americans will open their eyes to this issue and vocalize their outrage with a meaningful anti-Groundhog Day hashtag.

-Travis Filicky, Senior Staff Member