In actuality once our repesentatives are elected there are in fact no controls upon them except their own desire to be relected in the next election cycle. So therefore we the people give up that power to the elected representative between elections and the repersentatives are free to do as they will regardless of what the people have to say as has recently been demonstrated.
We have no way to hold these repersentatives accountable except by voting them out of Office and we can only do that at certain periods. In the extreme we have the 2nd Amendment, but how practical is that power which you are abhorent to use? So if we the people have power it is a power which we have given to the government with very loose reins placed upon them. To regain the power of the people by use of the vote takes 4 to 6 years at best through the electorial process. By that time irreversable damage can and has been done to our Republic.