Blockbuster Democracy
The website/blog covers direct democracy--initiatives, referenda and recalls. As it says, "Direct democracy has become blockbuster democracy: a half-billion-dollar international industry of signature gatherers, consultants, and election lawyers who use ballot measures less as a method of making law and more as a tool of mega-communications to boost some politicians, hurt others, and supplement lobbying campaigns."
Joe Mathews is an Irvine senior fellow at New America Foundation. He served recently as a reporter at the Los Angeles Times, where he covered a number of California initiatives.
The New America Foundation is a "nonprofit public policy institute that was established through the collaborative work of a diverse group of public intellectuals, civic leaders and business executives." It was founded in 1999.
