In a real sense, the smallest minorities (corporations) seem to have tremendous power to manipulate policy in their favor. This disproportionate use of power and representation is probably not what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they were thinking about minority representation.

We currently operate in a representative democracy. For a country of our size and power there are advantages to representative democracy with proper checks and balances that are considerate of the needs of the nation, in hand with the executive powers responsibly executed.

The Centrist Party is not advocating abandoning representative democracy but examining areas or levels of government where more direct democracy might be advantageous.

Instead of leaving the politicians in charge of all the issues, additional responsibility can be placed in the hands of the people in consideration of state and district needs. Common sense dictates that the interests of businesses, governance, and the people, remain balanced with regards to the short and long term needs of our nation in the world.

This is the purview of our system of governance and seemingly in line with the intent of the framers of our Constitution.

The intention of our forefathers regarding more direct democracy was to meet the needs of the people and empower the vote. Increasing direct democracy in some areas can reduce special interest influence and add balance to the system.

In other words, a special interest group would have to influence everyone at the same time. This is likely too expensive, so the problem is mitigated by the economics. Aspects of our governance and political system already employ more direct democratic methods, so all we need to do is identify areas where advantage exists and at what level.

Better checks and balances that are efficiently designed can also mitigate the affects of special interests and benefit the nation.