Walking through the cafeteria across from the Capitol in Atlanta these days, an observer of human nature cannot help but be amused and bemused. It is the season of immaculate conversions. No, not of a religious nature, but political. There are so many earnest fellows staggering around, swearing, "I was always a closet Republican, really, honest!"

The old Democratic lobbyists sit huddled in mass, wringing their hands and discussing how to recover from Republican victories. These folks have wined and dined the old political regime for decades. They have reveled in the pain inflicted on Republicans by their former partners in pork and political hedonism. They have bought more liquor, ate more BBQ and hosted legislative outings to more questionable clubs than they can count in pursuit of the largess so prevalent in the corrupt atmosphere that was Democratic Atlanta. Many of them are running to the Republicans now offering bags of money. It is all they know how to do.

Meanwhile, the agency heads and their political proteges are also out meeting with newly elected Republicans and their transition managers, desperately seeking some Republican friend who will say a kind word about them. These guys are pushing a revisionist version of history, and some do it well. "Well, I tried to mitigate the impact of Barnes' awful policies as best I could, and maintain my job. We were waiting and praying for the Republicans!" These declarations are spewing forth from the same people who aided and abetted Barnes, Murphy, Walker, et al. every step of the way. These are some of the same guys who lied to our few state level Republicans until the end, and slept in the enemy camp. It is enough to make a grown man cry, or otherwise physically ill.

The Republicans will feel some need to keep some of these folks who know how to make the trains run on time, well, sort of. They will feel the need for some institutional knowledge to help them over the hump of transition and new governance. However, the entrenched bureaucrats know that, and some of the worst violators are out now playing to that need. Some of the same people who hide money in state agencies, and play tricks with the books are counting on continuing their games with the new kids on the block. Their goal is to keep the state infrastructure of Democratic power brokers as intact as possible until this "aberration" corrects itself.

Already, we see them marching around the city from transition team to transition team. Humble, helpful, why, they are just dedicated public servants who want to help and to serve if they can. The sad part is that many will survive because of political naivete, and because of the political inbreeding so prevalent in Atlanta that crosses party lines. Make no mistake, these people are masters at obfuscation and blocking, slowing progress. They have created the labyrinth of rules and regs that now serve only to give them power. They won't give up that power if they are kept. It is how they have survived. The Republicans cannot keep them, and succeed.

Republicans must decide if they want to revolutionize state government, or just engage in cosmetic tinkering around the edges. Some might be content to just eliminate the worst of Roy's abuses and go back to a sort of pre-Roy era where a modicum of moderation is the order of the day. The truth is that state government could be cut in half today, and the average Georgian would never know the difference, except in reduced taxes.

A real ethics process can be created that is as nonpartisan as possible, replacing the current tool of the Democrats. It should be a felony for an elected official to use the GBI, the GSP or the State Auditors for political purposes. Roads, clean air, the need for new prisons and other issues loom large. First, however, the Republicans must show that they mean business, that they are different. The best way to do that is to bring in fresh horses, new blood not tainted by past allegiances, and dealings with the government. Appoint a tough Inspector General with real power, and give him or her the authority to recommend sweeping changes, and make them permanent in law.

I told a story of walking through a graveyard near the Capitol as I came upon a headstone. The inscription read, "Here lies a politician and a statesman." I turned to my friend and said, "I didn't know that they buried two people in one grave." I hope I can retire that joke now that the Republicans have arrived.

Drink deeply from the well of conservative principle, and inoculate yourselves with doses of character before the virus that infects the Capitol seduces you. Clean house, Grand Old Party, and your reign may be long and fruitful for the people of Georgia. Remember, when the Allies rode into Berlin, the roads were littered with uniforms and helmets of the old regime. It was hard to find anyone who was not for liberty, and real reform.