Yes, we should vote directly

“Colorado Republicans have refer madness,” March 17 column

Doug Friednash’s column was a good summary of the mechanics of government and citizen options for redress. It also was a bit simplistic and more than a little disingenuous. The back and forth of the legislature is rarely as straightforward as implied, and the voice of the voters is heard only every few years. Much can happen and even be fixed in place before redress at the ballot box can occur.

The national popular vote bill “ensures that every American’s vote counts equally” is too facile. If one considers the 2016 election, Hil-

Friednash, as a former city attorney, then chief of staff for Gov. John Hickenlooper, comes from entrenched political interests in power, who believe their political insight is superior to the rest of us. He believes the “political class” have the full right and privilege to decide who is to defer to whom about what.

His very misleading op-ed claims we the people have “direct” legislative power simply because we vote people in and out of power. This total disconnect by Friednash fails to recognize what happens when the citizens of our country, Great Britain’s or elsewhere are continuously ignored by representatives when proposing their policy initiatives.

His objective is to empower government, and ours must remain to shorten their leash.