WobLog

From today's Wall Street Journal, an article on the new "Young Guns" of the GOP, who are hoping to use the 2010 midterm elections to inject some new energy — and new faces — into the Republican party:

Meet the new Young Guns.

The recent wave of Democratic retirements bodes well for Republicans. Yet they are still largely winning by default. The public doesn't like the Democratic agenda, but it hasn't forgotten the GOP's own corruption and loss of principle. And crafting a new image is a tough haul for a minority that is stuck responding to events, and that is still populated by many of the same, entrenched faces.

What is happening instead is a real (if underreported) effort to reshape the party from the bottom up--to, in effect, repopulate it with a crop of reformist candidates in the midterm. Behind the effort are three congressmen--Wisconsin's Paul Ryan, Virginia's Eric Cantor and California's Kevin McCarthy.

In 2007, Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard profiled this trio as the "Young Guns" of the GOP. Hailing from different parts of the country, from different perspectives, what the three shared was a core belief in fiscal conservatism, a wonkish interest in tackling systemic government failures (budget, entitlements), and an ability to connect to younger voters.

At a recent interview, Rep. McCarthy remembers that not long after the article, the three sat down and vented frustration that party leaders seemed more interested in protecting old faces than investing in new talent. Inspired by Mr. Barnes's label, they began the Young Guns program, to recruit and bring along a new generation of House Republicans.

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Kevin McCarthy is the congressman for the district where Lisa's parents live. My father-in-law has always had good things to say about him, much of it based on personal experience. Paul Ryan has always impressed me in TV interviews, and Eric Cantor has been a key player in the effort to kill Obamacare. Here's hoping their "Young Guns" project gets some real traction!