As a long-time California resident, it's hard for me to say that we're a lost cause, but I'm pretty sure we are.

Governor Gavin Newsom, LA Mayor Karen Bass, and the pretty much everyone who has preceded them in modern history have taken what was once the crown jewel among American states and turned it into a cesspool of crime, corruption, lawlessness, and evil.

Most of my columns tend to be relatively long, but this one doesn't have to be. The circumstances have clear conclusions prima facie. Now, we need to highlight the current state of affairs as the latest example of failure and hope that the citizens of California finally come to their senses.

They almost certainly won't, but we're living in shocking times. Stranger things have happened. Unexpected things. Therefore, it behooves us to at least try to wake up my fellow Californians by pointing out realities that have been obvious to my audience for a very long time.

Democrat rule is damaging. Sustained Democrat rule is disastrous. California in general and the major metros of the state in particular have been completely controlled by Democrats for decades.

The list of utter failures is extensive, but here are some recent highlights:

LA Fires were caused by Democrat policies while other Democrat policies have greatly hampered recovery

The high-speed rail project is laughable on an international scale

Homelessness is so bad that the actual numbers have been completely hidden from the public

Cost-of-living is untenable and inexcusable

Despite greater revenues than the vast majority of countries, the cities and the state are constantly in the red

Now, we have the riots. And it's not just that the riots are happening, which should be plenty of evidence of Democrat failures. It's that they are being promoted by Democrat lawmakers while law enforcement is being told to stand down.

They want this to happen. They want their own citizens to be harmed for the sake of defending criminal illegal aliens.

This is it. This is the last straw. If my fellow Californians cannot reach the blatant and logical conclusion about the Democrats who rule the state, then it's time for the rest of the country to abandon us as a lost cause. Pull back the National Guard. Tell ICE to focus their resources on states that will not fight to protect illegal aliens.

I live here because I must, but I do not want my state to continue to burden the rest of this nation. If we can't figure it out this time, then we're never going to figure it out.