Sources and friends sent me a number of thoughtful criticisms of yesterday's post about Assemblywoman Nicole Parra's banishment from the Capitol and Assemblywoman Patty Berg's comment, "We have spent millions of dollars ensuring that Nicole comes back three times in a row." These emailers make some strong points.

Among these: Party discipline is an important value. It's selfish for one member to hold up something as important as the budget because of her own constituency. If legislative leaders were to permit such behavior, there would be chaos. Another criticism involved Parra's cause -- the water bond, which many see as welfare for the ag biz.

Let's leave the water debate for another time (though it's worth noting there is a bipartisan compromise on the table) and take on the party discipline point. Party discipline is fine -- if legislative leaders enforce it in the service of delivering for the state. But in this era, when it comes to the budget and resolving California's major problems, legislative leadership consistently has failed to reach timely compromises.

Perhaps it's time for a new approach that seeks not to punish moderates but to encourage them to lead in the way in finding compromise. But there's little interest in real compromise among leaders of either party. They're about control, not governance. It speaks volumes that Parra, a high profile moderate who has had three tough races, has been kicked out of the Capitol.

Some emailers thought I was being too hard on Berg. I don't mean to single her out. She's typical of her colleagues. Another point: parties in this day and age are little more than vehicles for assembling the money of interest groups. Take the "we" out of Berg's sentence and insert any number of interest groups that fund parties: CCPOA, ExxonMobil, Indian gaming tribes, etc.

People would be outraged at the notion that Parra owed such groups her vote. And when you're talking about the virtues of party discipline, you're really talking about the virtues of interest group discipline. The reaction against Parra reveals the sort of legislative mindset that produces corruption. With a few exceptions, California legislators have avoided investigative scrutiny by law enforcement agencies in recent years. Which is not healthy. Scrutiny is healthy.

Sacramento and its political culture would make a great target for an ambitious young prosecutor. Who is that prosecutor?