Politics: If you can't join 'em, beat 'em

THE TROUBLE with direct democracy is that most issues are too complex to be boiled down to a simple yes-no question. Nevertheless, ballot initiatives have been a favorite tool of the antitax movement in Massachusetts - from a 2000 measure to cut the state income tax to subsequent efforts to eliminate it entirely. Fortunately, at least one key activist has come to understand the limits of that approach. Barbara Anderson, head of Citizens for Limited Taxation, is now urging like-minded voters to focus instead on unseating incumbents. “Distracting the voters with a ballot question,’’ she told State House News Service this week, “prevents the necessary things from getting done.’’ Hear, hear. People who are dissatisfied with the status quo in Massachusetts should focus instead on sending new voices to Beacon Hill.