There is nothing either illegal or iconoclastic about civic initiative, referendum, or recall. They are merely today's forms of other such devices that were a part of the great Athenian democracy about 2,400 years ago. The Athenian democracy cemented initiative, referendum, and recall as timeless measures of whether a particular government is a democracy or not. They work at keeping us divided against ourselves. They feign battles of opposing views and gridlocks in mundane matters, so that emphasis is shifted away from any issue, like the Battle In Seattle, that might unify the people.
Direct democracy is traditional in Switzerland.
Swiss citizens won the national level referendum in 1848 and the national level civic initiative in 1891. The US cannot even come close to Switzerland's dual success. Our nascent colonies began using the referendum in the 1640s. The people's consent and wisdom was required, and colonial governments knew it. By the time of the Revolution, all state governments were ready to formalize the referendum.