You say that Proposition 14 won’t fix the problems in Sacramento caused by the two-thirds requirement, legislative gerrymandering, term limits, or runaway use of the initiative. It also won’t cure shingles, plug the BP hole in the Gulf, or get our troops home from Afghanistan.

But it will, at the margins, give centrists a chance that they currently lack in most legislative districts, especially if they are Republicans. Because of the two-thirds requirement, every budget solution in the past two decades has required at least one and usually two or three Republicans to cross party lines, often at the expense of their political careers.

You seem to have forgotten that voters passed Prop. 11 in 2008, which should in time, coupled with the passage of Prop. 14, make for a more responsive Legislature. (Prop. 11 will take effect in the 2012 election.). Prop. 14 is admittedly a modest proposal, but it’s the best that’s possible because the Supreme Court unfortunately invalidated California’s open primary.

I understand why the political hacks in the Democratic and Republican parties don’t want to give voters a greater say but find it surprising that The Independent would cast its lot with them. The voters spurned the parties in passing Prop. 11, and I believe they will do so again in approving Prop. 14.—Lou Cannon

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