Forum Post: Let Citizens Vote in National Referendums on Major Issues
Posted 12 years ago on Oct. 29, 2011, 5:17 p.m. EST by natref
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Four reasons to let the citizen’s vote in National Referendums on major issues only.
It’s our lives and we have the right to participate in the decision making process when policies and laws are being created that we all must live with. Elected officials are at best unfairly influenced by re-election, party loyalty, and concentrated interests, into making decisions on our behalf that with greater frequency are not in our best interest.
Those people elected to serve us have failed in their responsibility to do so and our democracy demands that we get involved. The most effective and “non-institutional” way to do this is to afford the citizens a fraction of the decision authority to accept or reject government’s major policy proposals on issues of vital national importance.
The potential for National Referendums on major issues would minimize the political game playing that the two major parties tend to engage in at our expense for political gain. National Referendums would act as a political antiseptic for the partisan bacteria that is taking over our democracy.
We are more than capable of weighing in on major decisions that affect our lives. This is proven by the fact that millions of Americans make difficult decisions on a regular basis in managing businesses, their family’s future, their finances, (consistently much better in this regard than the government ever has) career choices, healthcare issues, and a host of other challenges that are no more difficult to think through than just about anything our representatives are confronted with.
This is not a proposal to replace our present representative system. It is offered in addition to and on the invitation of Congress to invite the citizens to share in a portion of the responsibility in major decisions addressing issues of vital national importance.
Yes, if single payer national health insurance (HR 676) had been voted on through a binding, national referendum, it probably would have passed.
Declaration of independence, and excerpt: Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
This sounds like a plan
I liked your post! You hit it on the head on your first point regarding elected officials being unfairly influenced. For decades now both the right and the left have been bought and paid for by corporations and special interests (including unions). The current system of legalized bribery (campaign donations) and paid lobbyist have turned our "representatives" into the lap dogs of the corporations and special interests. What we need is real, loop-hole free CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM if we want to break the cycle. It needs to be THE main goal of these protest!!! Other meaningful reforms will follow, but only if we get the money out now! The crony-capitalism/neo-feudalism we have right now will continue until we stop the corporations from using their money to "speak" as if they are representing millions of Americans.
a direct voting system for National Referendums can be set up on the computer
if everyone votes with their name, the process will be transparent, public and verifiable.
those who do not have time to set policy and vote
may give their vote to another for them be signed (named) permission
Excellent point! National referendums should be held at the state and local level as well.