Reply #5: "Initiative, Referendum, Recall" [View All]

[pnorman]

were part of the Populist Party agenda in the latter part of the 19th Century. Others included Unicameral Legislature, Direct Election of Senators, and even Universal Suffrage. To one degree or other, these were incorporated into the Constitutions of the western states, including California.

But don't look to our federal Constitution for any help there. It was framed mainly by Federalists who were almost obsessed with keeping the Swinish Multitude in check. Later Amendments and judicial interpretations helped make it a little more democratic. But you're right ... it's NOT in our Federal Constitution. But with a little luck, that Drug-Store Cowboy may yet leave the Presidency the same way he entered it ... and by a 5-4 vote. ("To spend more Quality Time at the Crawford Dude Ranch, with his beloved Golf-Carts").