Citizens in Charge

Last Saturday tens of thousands of Americans from every part of the country gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC to protest recent and proposed massve increases in the power of the federal government. Among those who came to Washington to make their voices heard were Democrats, Republicans, independents, Libertarians and folks from all other political stripes.

The citizens who took part in the 9/12 march had a wide range of greviences to air in the capital. One thing that binds them together is the sense that their elected officials represent special interestes and not the average American, and they’re tired of it.

According to Mark Tapscott of the Washington Examiner:

Now, the crucial question is what comes next….A regular reader of this column, who prefers to remain anonymous, has suggested a third possibility for a foundational element – a federal recall. There is no recall provision in the U.S. Constitution. But recalls are fairly common at the state level, with the most famous likely that of California Gov. Gray Davis in 2003.

Here at Citizens in Charge Foundation we love the idea of citizens being able to hold their elected officials accountable through the recall process at the state and local level. As Mark notes:

Recalls are associated with initiatives and referendums, two reforms associated with the Progressives of the early 20th century. More recently, there is a renewed interest on the Right in these processes, as seen in the Ballotpedia.org web site, and the work of Paul Jacob and the Citizens in Charge Foundation.

Why not have a federal recall? Recall empowers voters with a powerful tool to hold officials accountable, and we need just as much accountability at the federal level as we do at the state and local.