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Because buying Congress is likely the world’s best investment (paying 1000 to 1, according to experts like Jack Abramoff -3rd para of http://tinyurl.com/9p2hr) both the President and The People need a "Plan B" when Congress doesn't represent!
National ballot initiatives since 1891 have kept Switzerland's Parliament honest, modest and representative. Initiatives in 24 states are the origin of most reforms, like women's suffrage (passed in 13 states before Congress went along), publicly financed elections (passed by initiative in 6 of 7 states with them), medical marijuana (similarly in 9 of 13 states) and increasing minimum wages (in all 6 states that tried in 2006). See http://Vote.org/initiatives for more examples and references. The media have seized on the problem initiatives.
But voters on initiatives should get what legislators get: public hearings, expert testimony, amendments and reports. The best project for such deliberative process is the National Initiative for Democracy, led by former Sen. Mike Gravel: http://Vote.org.
Sen. Gravel's project is the most evolved and far-reaching, instituting ballot initiatives at all levels from local to national and with many improvements over state initiatives.
Gravel has found how to get the National Initiative into the Constitution WITHOUT begging Congress. Registered voters can now vote to ratify the National Initiative for Democracy at http://Vote.org, much as citizens ratified the Constitution at the Conventions when the Legislatures wouldn't!
In the 1787 debate (http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debates_831.asp) James Madison said: "The people were in fact, the fountain of all power, and by resorting to them, all difficulties were got over. They could alter constitutions as they pleased. It was a principle in the Bills of rights, that first principles might be resorted to."
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Also visit http://ni4d.us for a section-by-section commentary.
Posted by Joshua Pritikin on 11/30/2008 @ 04:15PM PST
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Obama talks of change and that is terrific.. it will be better than the last 8 years but where is the talk that needs to happen... ie. war/imperialism equals bankruptcy both moral and financial. This lesson is true of all empires. Why is it not being mentioned by Obama and the Establishment. The People will spend their money more wisely than more military, more nukes, more bombers, more weapons, more war... I'd vote for education, healthcare, tax reform, and reduce the deficiet.
What would you vote for with your money?
Posted by lynne mosier on 11/30/2008 @ 07:33PM PST
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President Elect Obama,
While listening to your acceptance speech there was one sentence that stood out to me the most because you seemed very sincere. It was the sentence where you said you needed our help and that you could not do this alone. Let us help you and all of us by supporting The National Initiative for Democracy. We need to be given a change to be involved with our governance and if you were sincere you would welcome this opportunity.
Posted by Lori Ford on 12/18/2008 @ 07:28PM PST
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we must act now on single payer health care which will generate hope as well as jobs and on one vote per person. Let's have a true democracy!
Posted by mAura cleary on 12/18/2008 @ 10:04PM PST
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