A common refrain of Republican surrogates and spin gurus is that something over 70 percent of the American people believes the country is on the wrong course. What is needed is change.

“Change” is a slippery concept. Change from what, to what? Too little, folks complain. Too much, folks complain. Like the porridge in the “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” fairy tale, what constitutes “just right?”

So alright, let’s talk about change.

But first, some numbers.

There are 54 Republicans in the Senate, 44 Democrats, and two independents who caucus with the Democrats. Republicans have controlled the Senate since 2014.

There are 248 Republican members in the House, with 186 Democrats, and three vacant seats. Republicans have controlled the chamber since 2010.

There are 31 states with Republican governors, 18 with Democrats, and one with an Independent.

There are 30 states wherein Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature, with 11 states controlled by Democrats. In eight states, each party controls one of the two chambers. The 50^th state? Nebraska has a one-chambered legislature that is officially non-partisan.

According to Ballotpedia.com, nationwide there are 1,087 Republican state senators versus 821 Democrats. Percentage wise, that translates to 55.1 percent Republican against 41.6 percent Democrat.

Nationwide, according to Ballotpedia, there are 3,017 Republican state representatives. There are 2,334 Democrat state representatives. Percentage wise, this translates to a 56 percent to 43.1 percent split in the Republicans’ favor.

That’s the big picture. What about Indiana?

We have one Democrat senator and one Republican. Indiana’s House delegation consists of seven Republican congressman and two Democrats.

We have one Republican governor (when he’s here, which isn’t often anymore). A Republican has held the office for the last 12 years. All statewide offices, but one, are held by Republicans.

The Indiana Senate has 40 Republicans and 10 Democrats.

The Indiana House has 71 Republican members and 29 Democrats.

Now, where were we? Oh yeah, the need for change.

And what about change here in Indiana? How do we stack up?

There are any number of entities out there that rank the states from the most to the least, or the best to the worse. These rankings range from the serious to the frivolous. For example, did you know www.estately.com ranks Indiana second in the nation in the number of Arby’s restaurants in the state? “The Meats” anyone?

Admittedly, any statistician worth his or her calculator can make the numbers twitter whatever song they choose (that’s “twitter” as birds do, not as The Donald does). Nevertheless, there are responsible sites out there, and the outcomes of these rankings for the Hoosier State are, at best, mixed.

CNBC ranks Indiana 16^th overall as a top state for business. They say Indiana is 1^st in the nation for the (low) cost of doing business and for its infrastructure. That’s great. On the other hand, the same ranking has Indiana 18^th in the nation in access to capital, 26^th in technology and innovation, 29^th in education, 36^th for its workforce, and 45^th in quality of life. That’s not so great.

Politico Magazine ranks Indiana 31^st among the states in its 2016 rankings. Governing Magazine puts us at 27^th. The rankings typically take into account such things as year-to-year changes in state unemployment numbers, state per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the percentage of real change in GDP. While not infallible, such ratings probably should carry more weight than counting the number of Arby’s in the state.

I know other sources can be cited, but collectively, Indiana comes across as the “Great State of Average” (or slightly below). If average is good enough for you and for your children, you probably should stand pat with the hand you have. If not, you might want some different cards from the dealer.

It’s the same up and down the ballot, and across the nation. People say they want to change the course of the country. That’s fair. Might I make the suggestion, however, that change should start with changing out the folks who have been in charge of putting the country wherever it is today that folks find unacceptable?

The Republicans protest it isn’t them.

But the numbers say otherwise.