Write in BRIAN KELLY for Congress PA District #8 Primary in 2022

Brian Kelly for Congress PA District #8 Primary in 2022 :

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Initiative, Referendum, and Recall

 

Initiative, Referendum, and Recall are fundamental precepts of a direct democracy. Ours of course is a representative democracy with a Constitution as a defining document just in case the lawmakers in all branches ever were to go astray -- all at the same time.

 Because we have a Constitution, our democracy is best called a Democratic Republic. With three branches of government, one would think that the parts could keep honesty and the people's business at the top of their lists.  Instead, being Democrat or Republican appears to be more important today than being a good representative whether in the House, the Senate, the Presidency, or even the Supreme Court. 

 

And, so, it sure seems that rather than separation of powers, we now have collusion by party. The Party's influence is only to help in the elections and then the good of the country is supposed to prevail.  The party affiliations should be left in the outside area of the Halls of Congress.

 

This is not happening. There is a fundamental breakdown in our democracy and we all know it. With a President who would prefer socialism or communism to capitalism, this is not the time to be having a constitutional crisis, yet that is precisely what is happening. Government has stopped honoring the spirit and the hard copy precepts of the Constitution. This president uses methods reserved for emperors and kings to get his will done and Congress does nothing. Congress and the President must go. We can do better!

 

The Founding Fathers thought they had done enough with a representative democracy and a Constitution.  Why would the people vote bums into office?  Yet they do.  We do! . Some State Constitutions do permit citizens to draft legislation (Initiation) or put bills that are passed by the legislature on a ballot in the form of referenda or propositions for the people's approval (referendum). Additionally, some states have the power to send them packing. They can send home officials who are not doing their jobs. (Recall). This is different from but similar to impeachment. Unfortunately, there are no such mechanisms available in the Constitution to permit these notions to operate at the Federal Level.

 

In addition to a number of other places in the library or on the Web, you may study the issue further at

 

http://www.extempprep.org/directdemocracy.html

http://www.cusdi.org/

 

The above site has been in the process of putting together a constitutional amendment to change our national constitution to permit the people to have a direct voice in the government. With the shenanigans and childlike behavior of our Congress in recent years, its time is overdue.

 

This item is listed above under government reforms. When the Congress is unresponsive, there is a type of democracy called a direct democracy, which uses notions called Initiative, Referendum, and Recall to assure the people have a say in their government even if their Congress chooses not to hear them.

 

Referendum (plural referendums, also referenda) - A direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal (which may be either the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a statute, the recall of an elected official or a specific government policy.) Referenda may be either mandatory or advisory and are also referred to as ballot questions, ballot measures, or plebiscites

 

Initiative (also known as a popular or citizen's initiative) - specific type of referenda in which the proposal (including a recall proposal) is placed on the ballot as a result of a petition signed by a certain minimum number of members of the electorate (or of registered voters)

 

Recall is a power reserved to the voters that allows the voters, by petition, to demand the removal of an elected official.

 

It is time that the people have a mechanism, once a bad legislature, such as the 111th shows up for work. Using the these three tools the people would have a mechanism to make up for having placed a few bums in power, and they could even throw them out without an election.

 

That kind of power today is needed for the people today. Ask your candidates their opinion!

 

Write in BRIAN KELLY when you vote for your Congressional Representative for PA District 8.