Don't hold your breath, although I agree with the sentiment. However, you remind me of something that occurred in Texas in the 80s that sorta ties in with the elitist ideas of our political class.
In the mid-60s, Texas enacted a set of "blue laws" establishing a hodge-podge of ignorance that stipulated what could and could not be sold on Sundays. The list was just dumb - for example, you could buy baby formula, but not diapers. You could buy a hammer, but not nails - stupid stuff. Texans hated it from the git-go and began a battle with the state legislature to have the blue laws repealed (the legislature wouldn't budge). In the 80s (I think, maybe the late 70s), a newly elected governor proposed an Initiative and Referendum bill so that the citizens could bring issues to the ballot box if they could get enough legitimate signatures on their petitions. The legislature voted it down. Afterward, one legislator (from the Houston area) stated that the reason the legislature voted against the bill was because they "didn't want that kind of power in the hands of the people".
Astonishingly, NO ONE picked up on what he said! In a government of, by and for the people, the representatives of that government "didn't want that kind of power in the hands of the people". That attitude is still prevalent in our elected officials. They don't know who they work for.
I lived in TX in the 70s and early 80s, and I don’t remember that. But it would have infuriated me had I noticed that comment. We have such a pitiful referendum process in WI that it is non-existent for all practical purposes. My husband is always thumping on our State reps to put in a true referendum from the people, but I fear it is impossible.
I think that our current referendum has to be suggested by the Legislature, passed twice by the people, and then passed again by the legislature and then signed by the Governor. I could be wrong on a step there, but it ensures that nothing coming from the people will ever be passed and signed into law. We’ve passed photo voter ID 3 times and it has been vetowed every time. Same with Concealed Carry. Same with Death Penalty for Capital crimes.
Of course in CA, which has the best people’s referendum, the legislature, or the courts, just over-ride the people’s vote, so...???
BTW, I do remember the Killer Bees scandal of that period where part of the legislature ran away and hid to avoid voting on something they didn’t want.
And I do remember the Blue Laws which were in place when I first moved there in 1972. They would put a chain, or a row of grocery carts, across the aisles of the grocery store wher you could not shop on Sunday. During those years you could not buy mixed drinks in many restaurants, including the Astrodome, unless you were a “member”. As I remember, membership cost $1 and was issued for the evening. Other places allowed you to buy “set ups” and you brought your own liquor in a brown paper bag. I don’t remember when all that went away, but I pretty sure that those laws were all gone by the time I moved away in 1982.
Stupidity, IMHO.
Same with the “dry” counties. They sure didn’t stop anyone from getting all the alcohol they wanted. 2 of my kids went to college in “dry” counties — Waco and Lubbock — and it didn’t stop the drinking and partying. My neighbor’s kid got kicked out of the dorm for rolling a keg of beer down the hall at Texas Tech. He just got an apartment. And the owner of the newspaper where I worked put herself through college (many, many years ago) by doing liquor runs to the next county and bringing back booze for her friends at TTech.
The Baylor kids just moved their parties to Dallas and rented hotels where they could drink and dance all they wanted.