National initiative
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| Founder | Mike Gravel |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| Focus | A government that allows the people to work in partnership with elected officials. |
| Location | |
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Area served
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United States |
| Product | Democracymouse |
| Owner | Tom Lombardi |
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Key people
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Mike Gravel (past) Tom Lombardi (present) |
| Website | NationalInitiative.us |
National initiative refers to a process that allows for an initiative to be petitioned at the federal level in the United States and, thus, would require a national vote on the national ballot measure. Initiatives in the United States (direct and/or indirect ones) are currently only possible as state measures in some states.
The process and system for a national initiative is currently being proposed by Mike Gravel, a former U.S. Senator, and the Democracy Foundation, a non-profit non-governmental organization. The set of proposals, referred to by its proponents as the National Initiative for Democracy, has gathered notable endorsements from the likes of Ralph Nader, author, activist and former independent candidate for President of the United States; Noam Chomsky, linguist, philosopher, political activist and author; Tom Atlee, author of The Tao of Democracy and co-director of the non-profit Co-Intelligence Institute; and Howard Zinn, author of the bestseller A People's History of the United States.
The National Initiative for Democracy (NI4D) is a proposed constitutional amendment (Democracy Amendment) which recognizes the people's right to make laws at the local, state and federal level of every jurisdiction in the country and a federal law (Democracy Act) which spells out orderly procedures for the people to develop and vote on laws.
"The National Initiative does not change or eliminate Congress, the President, or the Judicial Branch of government. Laws created by initiative must still stand up in the courts just like laws created by Congress." The National Initiative adds an additional check—the people—to America's system of checks and balances, while setting up a working partnership between the People and their elected representatives.
The framers of the National Initiative for Democracy believe the law-making branch of government (Congress) no longer effectively represents the will of the American people. They believe as America continues to grow and diversify, Congress can only become less and less effective in representing the masses; that the gap between the elite decision making few and the ever diversifying average citizen, can only be bridged through direct citizen participation in governing. They contend "voting out" representatives from office or enacting term limits is a good idea, those actions do not address the basic, fundamental flaw of governing an enormous, increasingly heterogeneous population by a tiny, elite few. They believe that recent technological advances have made it possible for all Americans to voice their opinions on policies and laws which affect their lives; technology that did not exist in 18th century America, when the Constitution was written.
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