Conservatives have not cornered the market on ballot initiatives.(Opinion)

At the start of this year the wily Karl Rove helped shore up President George W. Bush's reelection through the initiative process. That included coordinating a host of conservative ballot initiatives, such as gay marriage bans, which would boost turnout, while dividing Democratic office holders and peeling away swing voters toward conservatives.

Though the initiative process has traditionally been used as a device for conservatives to motivate base voters, liberals should not prematurely bemoan the potential impact of initiatives in the 2004 election. Nor should they a