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California has been getting failing marks in every major category from education and economics to infrastructure and taxation. Speaking of....we are now the most taxed state in the nation, but the kicker is, we also have the highest paid legislature in the nation. This is a legislature that has done a terrible job of managing our vast resources and we reward the them for failure...have we become like AIG? That makes no sense to me. We're virtually bankrupt and the state's credit rating is in the toilet and we pay legislators $116k a year and an almost equal amount in benefits?

We were once in the top 5 of the best states for a public education, now we rank somewhere around 47th. I never believed we would ever see the day when we would be on par with Arkansas for education.

Crime is so bad here we can't build prisons fast enough, according to the latest PEW study we are 200% overcrowded, the prisons are bursting at the seams! To make it worse, Unions have caused runaway costs and we seem to have no solutions how to stop it. Our highways are decaying, our welfare system is horrendous and these things are just highlights, look deeper and it gets worse.

I think it's time for Republicans to accept what they did wrong and got them thrown out of power and look for ways they can rehabilitate themselves. The time should be right to offer a real change, and not by out Democrating the Democrats and abandoning solid GOP principles, but by simply standing up for those good principles while legislating common sense measures to correct long standing problems.

Its been said time after time because its so true, you lead best by setting the example. And while the Republicans may not have the votes to get anything passed that the Democrats don't approve, they can still lead by their example, if nothing else it will be a welcomed effort by 90% of voters who feel politicians are incapable of moral leadership and setting good examples.

Republican can make a much needed statement by presenting sweeping legislative reform, even if it's likely to fail because eventually this sort of responsible, ethical effort will resonate with the voters. Let me give you a few examples of the kind of legislation I think people would embrace: There should be a 20% pay cut based on current performance and the recession. Everyone knows our legislature is not worthy of receiving the highest salaries in the country. The Republican's need to admit it and say so in legislation! It's the perfect time to propose a pay cut!
Next, every law passed must come with a sunset clause that says if the law did not have the desired results, it dies without any further action, otherwise it can be submitted for permanency. This is responsible, efficient and cost effective. Legislators should take a solemn pledge to focus on the 6 main categories most important to California, and that is no particular order, crime, education, welfare, taxation, immigration and the economy and get those issues in shape first, before dealing with any special interest legislation! This prioritizing is fundamental to good government and it should come from the Republicans. Previously such problem solving was deemed so time consuming and overwhelming it was simply put off, but legislators did find the time to pass thousands of special interest laws that voters could care less about and that is insult to injury.

The Republican Party should find a way to allow legislators to spend more time working on those tough issues than they do fund raising for reelection. This would be a relief to some good legislators who hate the eternal fund raising part, that ever outstretched hand, when they could be doing the job we elected them to do. Speaking of fund raising, we just got a donation request from Tom McClintock and he's only been in office for two months and he's already on the campaign trail, fund raising. This is rediculous, and reform here is something the voters can relate too! For the past 30 years they (voters) said so by passing a half dozen initiatives for campaign finance reform that the GOP (and Dems) crushed and then the legislature failed to follow up by passing their own version of said reform. This is not how you win hearts and minds folks!

The GOP needs to instill confidence and the only way to do that is by being ethical in everything they do. Republicans should take a pledge, no more earmarks, no more of these unethical pork attachments to important pieces of legislation in order to get it passed. This is vote buying, its a bribe and people find it offensive! It needs to stop and this should be coming from the Republicans, so what's holding them back? Probably the same thing that got them tossed in the first place, a lack of vision and consensus to take on the tough problems.

To demand these things will take a whole lot of courage and resolve, but this grand endeavor sets a high standard of moral leadership. Its far above that of the opposition and it meets the expectations of the voters head on. I have to believe that voters will eventually respond to it, but we have a lot of credibility to restore and fences to mend and that means it won't be quick or easy, but what great things in life are? Regardless of the partisan advantage, it's still the right thing to do.