Only the voters may call a California constitutional convention. Its members would not be politically appointed, but selected by the people. The proceedings would be open to full public view. It would have no power to touch the U.S. Constitution--that is, the federal courts, the Bill of Rights and the guarantee of a republican form of government in every state.

Anything the convention produces would be submitted to the voters for ratification or rejection. And at the very worst, if the convention somehow wrote and the voters ratified a constitution that's even worse than the one we have now, the voters would be free to change it again.

There is no risk-free solution. We cannot both demand fundamental change and guard against it. It is a logical inconsistency.

Ultimately, we must trust the wisdom of an informed electorate. That educational process will occur if the question of true governmental reform is brought to center stage.