The “will of the people,” as expressed in the results of heavily funded voting initiatives, is nonsense that Republicans should reject. Our nation’s founders feared and opposed direct democracy by establishing a government representative of the United States and guaranteeing each member state a “republican form of government.”
However, the Republican Party candidates who participated in the third presidential debate last week seemed to miss this key point, which was reflected in their nonsensical responses to questions about the recent presidential debate. ballot initiative that just passed in Ohio. Ron DeSantis, for example, baselessly blamed the pro-life movement for being “caught inaction” by Number 1, the abortion initiative, without mentioning that God-given rights should not be decided by popular vote.
Republicans should be defending representative government from abusing the ballot initiative process that allows it out-of-state industry and liberal billionaires enact laws contrary to the informed decision-making of each state’s elected representatives. No. 1 Ohio will be benefit the billion dollar abortion industrywhile No. 2 will benefit the growing marijuana industry, targeting Ohio with a projected $4 billion marijuana industry.
Fortunately, some members of the Ohio Legislature are rising up against this misuse of voting initiatives change the culture of the Buckeye State. Ohio’s elected representatives should not sideline or kowtow to ballot initiatives that conflict with Ohio’s long-established traditions and our Constitution.
The passage of Radical Issues 1 and 2 in Ohio represents an attack by industry and out-of-state billionaires to transform the state, and the Republican-controlled General Assembly should vigorously oppose this invasion. Four out of five Republicans voted against Issues 1 and 2, i.e. who should Republican legislators listen to, not a multi-million dollar flood of TV ads.
Lawmakers should not be discouraged by media chants that “the people have spoken.” There are representatives who are standing up to the tyranny of a misled majority, and Republican officials should not abandon the promises on which they campaigned for Ohio.
Giving in to ballot initiatives is a betrayal of representative government and voters themselves. By denying voters the right to elect representatives who protect their state’s way of life, Republicans are encouraging residents to move to Texas and other states that prohibit mob rule through ballot initiatives.
Leftists are freaking out about their plan spend hundreds of millions of dollars to operate the ballot initiative process in about 20 states (40% of our country) to pass legislation rejected by legislatures there. Dissatisfied with transforming Colorado and the West Coast into family-hostile havens, liberals are using the process to invade the Midwest with culpable coastal values.
More Midwesterners will inevitably respond by moving to Texas, where leftists cannot replace the Legislature. But families in Ohio and Missouri shouldn’t have to move to protect their lifestyle.
In less than a year, marijuana as adopted by Missouri ballot initiative turned it into a $1.5 billion marijuana mecca, with ubiquitous billboard ads and retail stores selling it. Child poisonings and motorcycle accidents have increased significantly, and the fentanyl-related death crisis has intensified.
The Republican answer to questions about Issues 1 or 2 in Ohio should be that some issues are not suitable for a popular vote, which most states recognize by prohibiting bypassing the Legislature on ballot initiatives. We do not allow any type of national initiative or referendum because our Founders, who created our Constitution, wisely rejected direct democracy.
However, the liberal media is misusing voting initiatives to bully Republican legislators into breaking their own campaign promises that got them elected. There is no such thing as a specific “will” of the people, and candidates should keep their campaign promises instead of allowing out-of-state billionaires to rewrite their laws in harmful ways.
Republicans reject a call for a nationwide popular vote to elect the president, and instead the office is filled by the Electoral College. Republican presidential candidates should campaign to defend our Republican form of government against a progressive strategy of direct democracy.
Our Declaration of Independence is absolutely opposed to the infringement of God-given rights by popular vote or in any other way. This timeless document describes the concept of inalienable rights as a “self-evident” truth, yet Trump’s presidential rivals seem to think anything is fair game when it comes to voting initiatives.
The Ohio Legislature, with its Republican majority, could immediately invalidate Cannabis Ballot Initiative No. 2 to prevent Ohio from becoming a decadent culture from a potent herb. The marijuana-saturated states of California and Colorado are experiencing rapid population decline, and Midwestern lawmakers should not allow liberal errors to reshape the heartland of our country based on improper ballot initiatives.
John and Andy Schlafly are the sons of Phyllis Schlafly (1924–2016) and run the continuing Phyllis Schlafly Eagles writing and policy work.
