Direct Initiative

Alex Kawa
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Politics
  • Semiweekly

Direct Initiative is a political podcast that focuses on direct democracy and ballot initiatives throughout the United States. Hosted by Alex Kawa, the show highlights why direct democracy is necessary in America, and why the initiative process should be expanded. Also highlighting ballot measures happening across the country.

  1. 09/21/2023

    Psychedelics on the Ballot?

    The California State Legislature has just passed a bill decriminalizing psychedelic drugs. In this episode, we talk about how the voters of Oregon and Colorado approving ballot initiatives to do so in their states over the past couple of years contributed to this, as well as ongoing campaigns to get this onto the ballots in Massachusetts and Michigan.

  2. 09/07/2023

    Why Direct Democracy is Better Than 3rd Parties

    With many leftists and progressives advocating for a new third party as an alternative to the Democrats, in this episode, I talk about why I would rather focus on expanding on the existing groundwork for direct democracy, rather than try and simply find new ways to elect candidates.

  3. 08/21/2023

    Massachusetts Passes Free School Meals

    As part of their new state budget, Massachusetts has passed universal school meals for all children, as well as free community college and infrastructure upgrades. This was the result of the Fair Share Amendment, which was narrowly approved as a ballot measure in 2022. This not only shows the power of direct democracy, but the close vote also shows how corporate interests will fight progress, and try to hijack a system that was designed to put more power in the hands of the voters.

  4. 08/16/2023

    New Initiatives to Ban Gerrymandering and Protect Abortion Rights

    After the landslide defeat of Issue 1, which was designed to weaken direct democracy in Ohio, voters in the state are now organizing to get onto the 2024 ballot an initiative to ban gerrymandering by taking redistricting power away from the corrupt state legislature. Meanwhile, in Arizona, organizers are fighting to get a constitutional right to abortion on the ballot. In this episode, we talk about what these campaigns mean for these states.

  5. 08/11/2023

    Why Do Conservatives Support Progressive Ballot Measures?

    Ohio voters recently rejected Issue 1, which was meant to weaken the ballot initiative process in the state. With even many Republican voters in this red state showing up against this measure, it begs the question: why are Republican voters inclined to support nominally liberal ballot measures?

  6. 07/23/2023

    Protect Women Ohio's Anti-Abortion Propaganda

    Protect Women Ohio is an anti-abortion group that has released several ads in support of Issue 1, which will soon be voted on in order to stifle a pro-choice amendment that is likely to be on the Ohio ballot this November. In this episode, we debunk three of their ads, and talk about how propaganda is used in direct democracy.

  7. 07/15/2023

    The Case for a Judicial Recall

    With several reports about corruption and conflicts of interests regarding certain Supreme Court justices, people are once again talking about how to reform SCOTUS. In this episode, we take a look at one option that hasn’t really been discussed yet, recall, and how it could be used to remove corrupt judges.

  8. 07/08/2023

    Oregon to Vote on Ranked Choice Voting

    The Oregon state legislature recently sent a measure to the 2024 ballot that would institute ranked choice voting in the state. This is the latest in a movement to bring RCV to more states, and is an indication of the power of the ballot initiative process.

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About

Direct Initiative is a political podcast that focuses on direct democracy and ballot initiatives throughout the United States. Hosted by Alex Kawa, the show highlights why direct democracy is necessary in America, and why the initiative process should be expanded. Also highlighting ballot measures happening across the country.

Information

  • Creator
    Alex Kawa
  • Years Active
    2023
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Alex Kawa 2023
  • Show Website
    Direct Initiative