The difference is that direct democracy doesn't scale. Switzerland has a population of 8 million; the US has a population of 330 million. Also, I'm willing to bet that Switzerland is more homogeneous than the US. And size wise, Switzerland is only larger than 9 US states.
What I'm saying is that the US is huge. And diverse. It's a scaling issue.
What I'm saying is that the US is huge. And diverse. It's a scaling issue.