Posted 9:52 AM by Blah blah

The Dangers of Direct Democracy (Politics)

Please read this great essay by John Ellwood, a Berkeley professor of public policy. He explains the weird way we have in California of using the referendum, initiative, and recall to bypass our own state legislature.

Pulling the Plug on Davis Won't Change Much (Washington Post):
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It's true that Davis is a notoriously uninspiring governor, now seen as being in the pocket of moneyed interests and unwilling to grapple seriously with policy. And it's true that he has failed to close a budget deficit that's bigger than the entire budget of almost every other state in the nation. But the drive to recall him points up the dangers of California's excessive fondness for direct democracy, which, financed by deep-pocketed political opponents and assisted by slick consulting firms, has in this case derailed the ordinary political process and altered its timetable.

The recall drive is the latest product of California's culture of anti-politics. At its core, this culture is built around a heightened distrust of centers of economic and political power....

Unlike most states that have the option of the direct initiative, for example, the California version, reflecting an ongoing distrust of institutions, leaves no role for the legislature to modify initiatives enacted by the people unless the initiative specifically allows for this. In 1994, for example, following the shocking murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, the "three strikes and you're out" initiative was about to obtain enough signatures to be placed on the ballot. In response, the legislature enacted a law with exactly the same language as the initiative. But advocates of the initiative, distrusting the legislature and fearing it would water down the law in the future, went ahead and got Proposition 184 on the ballot. When passed, the proposition differed in only one respect from the law the legislature had enacted, which it superseded -- it could only be changed by another initiative. Later studies indicated that most Californians who voted for Proposition 184 thought it would require that the third crime triggering the third strike would have to be a violent felony. But this was not the case, and some criminals have received 25-years-to-life sentences after a third felony conviction for relatively minor crimes such as stealing golf clubs or slices of pizza....

Californians' fondness for their unique procedures and rules flows from a belief that the cure for any and all ills of democracy is more democracy. They think that because of these rules they have more control over elites. But if they wake up on the day after a recall with a new Republican governor (or a new Democratic governor for that matter) what will have changed? The new governor will still have to carve a two-thirds majority from a legislature that will be the same as it is today. The pattern of citizens wanting more spending for education, health care and environmental protection but remaining unwilling to raise taxes to pay for these services will still be there.

But if the recall is successful there is one potential -- and significant -- danger: It could become an institutionalized and frequently used weapon. We've seen this happen before. Until the 1970s, the direct initiative was rarely used. It was in effect a safety valve voters could use if the political establishment consistently thwarted the popular will. But since the passage of Proposition 13, the initiative has become a more and more integral part of California policymaking.

The same could occur following a successful recall. The Democrats and their allies are unlikely to miss the lessons of 2003. The recall will be added as another weapon of political combat. Elected officials will increasingly fear taking actions that create short-term pain for long-term gain. Who would be willing to risk being thrown out of office for taking unpopular action, even if it's temporary?

Clearly some Californians believe that recalling Davis will somehow magically cure the problems that have built up under his tenure. But as far as I can see, that's just another case of California dreamin'.