Joe Mathews on the initiative process: Do you want fries with that?

One recent Sunday night, I stopped by a Wendy's in Colton, a gritty San Bernardino County city. I wasn't there to grab a square hamburger and a Frosty, but rather to glimpse the struggles of California's peculiar system of democracy. California's governance might seem to emanate from the marble halls of Sacramento. But if you want to see how our state really treats democracy - as fast food, with laws and amendments being rapidly cooked, distributed, and fed to us - then you should get to Wendy's. The people there were professional petition circulators, who have been gathering signatures to qualify initiatives for California's November ballot. They are important because of California's democratic laziness.