Stick With It, Guys
Pennsylvania State Senator Jim Rhoades probably won’t win. So Pennsylvania voters won’t win either–not for now.
The senator’s bill proposes a right to citizen initiative. Thanks to recent political scandals, there’s been much talk of reform lately in Pennsylvania. But the legislature’s reform commission, where everything from transparency to term limits is on the table, won’t even consider the Rhoades proposal.
It’s a catch-22. The legislature “has a stranglehold on what gets done in this state,” notes citizen activist Gene Stilp. Initiative rights would allow voters to go directly to fellow citizens, to escape the stranglehold. But this stranglehold is also why the bill is at the bottom of the slush pile.
Stick with it, guys. This is a cause worth fighting for.
Matthew Brouillette, president of the Commonwealth Foundation in Pennsylvania, says the initiative “can be a double-edged sword. You can get some good and bad things. Overall, it’s a good check on state government.”
Yes, but let’s qualify that qualifier. Citizens sometimes vote for bad laws. But they’re also quicker to correct their mistakes than pompous politicians; witness the voters passing and then repealing a high-speed train project in Florida. And citizen initiative has been a critical check on government: advancing women’s suffrage, ending poll taxes, thwarting excessive taxation, imposing term limits, and so on.
Initiative-passed laws at least show public support. Not so much can be said of laws passed by legislators. Special interests can wield tremendous influence on lawmakers. But they can’t buy off entire electorates.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
