The summit is wrapping up with a presentation from attorney Andrew Giacomini, managing partner of Hanson Bridgett, explaining the legal strategy for calling a constitutional convention without the participation of the legislature.

"Everything I'm telling you is subject to debate," Giacomini says, but he is pretty emphatic that he's right. Such a convention can be called with two initiatives. At first, probably in June 2010, backers of a convention could put an initiative on the ballot that would amend the constitution to permit the people to call a convention directy, without the participation of the legislature. He anticipates legal and political opposition, but isn't worried. "I think that's about as hard as fogging up a mirror with my breath," he says. The second initiative would ask the public to call the convention, and set out the agenda and the delegate selection options. This initiative could appear on the November 2010 ballot -- or on the June 2010 ballot alongside the first initiative.

He also outlined four possible approaches to how to pick delegates. 1. a direct election of delegates in existing districts (the current constitutional process), 2. a Prop 11-style approach, with a citizens commission. 3. a jury pool style approach, with citizens called at random, and 4. a process that includes a panel of experts. He doesn't suggest a favorite, but says a decision has to be made.

I'm borrowing the title of this post from a terrific book by Duke Political Science Professor John Aldrich. 

It poses a good question, one that we cannot afford to lose sight of as we think about political reform on a grand scale in California. 

Why Parties? 

The answer is that our government would be unworkable without them.

Legislators use parties to coordinate their actions. The Founders decried the influence of faction but quickly found that groups that banded together in the legislature dominated those who didn't.  Order trumps chaos.  

And it turns out that this order is very useful.  Voters employ party labels to evaluate the results of coordinated actions by members of their government.  If these actions work as planned - to lower the unemployment rate for example - members of that party stay in office.  If they don't, the party gets thrown out.  

This is called accountability.*  It's the cornerstone of any democratic system.