How the left is getting its way

A coalition of left-wing groups discovered long ago that they could not elect the people they’d like, nor get their preferred policies into law because North Dakotans were too smart for that. They were in the habit of electing people with common sense who reflected their center-right, generally conservative viewpoints.

What’s a leftist to do?

They might be out of step with the vast majority of North Dakotans, but they’re not stupid. Like George Soros and his ilk, the left sought other means to get their way. In North Dakota, the simplest path seemed to be spending the money necessary to enact initiated measures. 

Like many states west of the Mississippi, North Dakota is an initiative and referendum state, although far fewer east of us — established earlier in the republic — are.

The concept sounds great. Pure “democracy”! “Power to the people”! The problem is that the process has become broken and that it’s not exactly what our Founding Fathers had in mind. In fact, they feared direct “democracy,” likening it to mob rule. They understood what history had clearly showed — that democracies fail.

That’s why, instead, they created a representative republic, grounded in the Constitution. They were committed to ensuring that the people’s voices would be heard and that, at its core, government would be “of, by, and for the people,” but they understood the need for a measured, orderly process for that to occur, wary of the dangers of direct democracy. 

We, The People

“We The People” (words so often repeated and heralded today), the words with which the Constitution of the United States begins, announced that “The People” had created a system of government, one which most agree is the best the world has ever seen.

The system our Founders designed was an ingenious one in which the people would make their views known and their voices heard by electing some from among them to represent them in the legislative branch of government, which was also divided to balance the interests of the population with those of the states in these “United States of America”.

They also designed three distinct branches of government — the executive branch to carry out and enforce the laws passed by the legislative branch, and the judicial branch to resolve disputes about those laws. 

It remains the great American Experiment that has now endured nearly 250 years and is still the envy of the world.

The danger of Trojan Horses

In North Dakota, the far left knew, of course, that their views and objectives were out of step with the people, at best, so they couldn’t propose them, honestly and outright. That’s where camouflage comes in. Oftentimes, such radical proposals have been carefully hidden and cleverly concealed in benign or attractive packaging —a Trojan Horse, in a sense.

It’s a simple but clever concept. The initiated measures they craft are often voluminous (one was 30 pages long!). Fully aware that voters won’t have the opportunity, nor the inclination, to read, digest, analyze and critique them, they apply window dressing which makes them sound reasonable or even desirable. Because of this, they’ve had some success in getting them passed.

All voters typically know about a ballot measure they’re asked to vote on is what’s written on the ballot or what they’ve heard about it. The ballot only contains a brief paragraph attempting to summarize what the measure does — an unintentional aid to the obfuscation. Those launching such efforts also typically have ample resources from leftist donors to fund advertising campaigns and other promotional efforts to get them passed, often involving the same misleading talking points.

Thank goodness that all such proposals have not passed but some have! Others have come close, and the trend spells danger in the future. It has gained steam simply because leftists in North Dakota now largely ignore the election and lawmaking processes, understanding that their new favorite scheme works far better. 

Even worse, they now also ignore the opportunity to make law, opting instead to amend our Constitution, at every turn, in an effort to deeply embed their nefarious dogma in our foundational document, making it very difficult to reform or change.

Are there solutions?

Nothing is wrong with initiative and referendum. Like anything else, it’s their abuse that’s dangerous.

Solutions are possible. Some have been proposed. But they’ve been quickly and loudly shouted down by those behind the deceptive schemes, misleadingly characterizing them as efforts to take power away from the people, rather than the efforts to protect the people’s Constitutional power, ensure that they’re fully informed, and preserve our republic, which they are. 

One simple idea was to require the printing of each measure proposal, in full, on the ballot. How would reading a 30-page document versus a one-paragraph summary affect voters’ inclination to understand and support a complex and perhaps deceiving and dangerous measure? It’s probably not a bad idea to share complete information and ensure full disclosure to the voters.

In the meantime…

It’s more important than ever for people to look behind the misleading sound bites and simple slogans.  

Only if voters become aware of these dangerous schemes and take the time and effort to locate the full text of each measure and then educate themselves to thoroughly understand the complex “Trojan Horse” ballot proposals coming their way, or “when in doubt, vote no,” will the trend be slowed.