By Reid Wilson, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, March 14, 2008

Since 1913, when the House of Representatives expanded to 435 members, no Republican freshman class has been smaller than the one that began to serve after the 2006 election. Just 13 new House GOP members were sworn into office in January 2007, fewer even than were elected after the Watergate scandal decimated Republican ranks in 1974. But those GOP newcomers who survived the 2006 Democratic wave have bonded better than most freshman classes, and several are already playing a role in trying to help their party win back the majority.

	GOP newcomers who survived the 2006 Democratic wave have bonded better than most freshman classes, and several are already playing a role in trying to help their party win back the majority.

The 13 new Republican members entered Congress at the bottom of the barrel. While freshman Democrats were showered with media attention, given important roles in introducing items on their party's legislative agenda, and hailed as the beginning of change in Washington, their GOP counterparts were harshly reminded that to be a freshman in the minority is to be virtually powerless.

Yet this class represents the foundation of the future of the House Republican Conference. Unlike the Democratic freshmen, few will face serious election challenges. "The freshman Republicans are going to be here longer," said freshman Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. "On a macro level, we should be able to weather most storms."

Added freshman Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., "I see our class being more conservative than the whole. I see our class more ethical than the whole. We are the beginning of a new phase of Republicans."

Twelve of the freshmen came to Congress with some legislative experience -- only Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., had no such background -- although their previous tenures did not quite prepare any of them for what they found in Washington. Freshman GOP Rep. Peter Roskam was accustomed to more hands-on involvement with every bill when he served in the Illinois Senate, which has 59 members. And in the Ohio Senate, freshman GOP Rep. Jim Jordan had just 32 colleagues.

"Legislation is called up, amended, debated, voted on, and disposed of all in your presence," Roskam said of his service in Illinois. "That's obviously not true here." The House Financial Services Committee, of which Roskam is a member, is larger than the chamber from which he came. "You've got to look at the House of Representatives as 20 legislatures, basically, that periodically come together," he told a former state Senate colleague.

Both Roskam and McCarthy were better prepared than most first-termers on Capitol Hill. Roskam worked for Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., a former House Judiciary Committee chairman, and McCarthy worked for Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., a former House Ways and Means Committee chairman. In each case, the new member succeeded his old boss. Still, actually serving in office is different from what anyone expects. "This body is large, and if anybody comes and thinks they know it, they're wrong," McCarthy said.

Many of the new Republicans characterized the GOP's losses in the 2006 election as symptomatic of a party that had lost its way. "We sort of have to get back to the basic concept of what Republicans are," Jordan said.

"A lot of Republicans lost because the Republican Party lost its way," added Heller, citing rampant federal spending and ethical lapses. "One of the best things, I think, about Congress -- and I learn this as I go along -- is the infusion of new blood."

Although they come from diverse backgrounds and have vastly different personalities, the freshman class members view rebuilding the party brand as largely their responsibility, and they welcome the opportunity. To do so, they must work together closely. Jordan, a former high school wrestling champion who revels in combat on the House floor, is quick to compliment McCarthy, who sprinkles his conversations with surfing analogies and in turn speaks highly of Roskam, who prefers football metaphors and talks of his close relationship with Heller, who concerns himself with mining, gambling, and cattle-ranching issues.

McCarthy, Chief Deputy Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., are taking the lead in trying to build a larger freshman GOP class next year through a new program called the "Young Guns Team." The initiative, which held a kickoff dinner on February 7, will encourage this Congress's freshmen to mentor a Republican candidate or two heading into the 2008 election. McCarthy said that the effort will target 16 candidates initially.

The goals, McCarthy and others involved in the program said, are to recruit the right kind of candidate, one who can persevere, as this group of freshmen has, despite inhospitable political conditions; and to provide first-time office-seekers with a base of support. "We want to attract fighters," said Jordan, who is also involved in the Young Guns. "Who's the guy or the lady out there who's going to come in here and bring the energy, bring the intensity?"

McCarthy thinks that the political climate will be more favorable this year for anyone challenging a sitting member in November, particularly as the economy worsens. "When you're running, you're running against what's happening in Washington, D.C., today, with both parties," he said. "When the economy gets tighter, people get more frustrated. When you're frustrated, you want to fire somebody."

The National Republican Congressional Committee lags far behind its Democratic counterpart in terms of money in the bank, and McCarthy and others are hoping to pick up the slack. Each freshman has his or her eye on a few promising recruits, although when asked which candidate stands the best chance of joining them next year, most pointed to John Gard, a former Wisconsin Assembly speaker who narrowly lost to freshman Democratic Rep. Steve Kagen in 2006. House Republicans and NRCC officials rate Gard as one of their most promising candidates this year.

Most of the Republican freshmen will have an easy time retaining their seats, but a few face the prospect of a difficult re-election battle in November. Buchanan won in 2006 by just a few hundred votes, while Roskam and Heller beat back strong Democratic challenges, also by narrow margins. At least two freshmen, Reps. Bill Sali, R-Idaho, and Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., face primary contests that could turn treacherous, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has set its sights on freshman Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich.

The freshmen can benefit from keeping their distance from what voters see as a flawed Washington, several of the lawmakers suggested. During his 2006 campaign, Roskam sat for an interview with a Fox News reporter. "You know, I've been interviewing Republican candidates and members of Congress all across the country, and they're really defensive. You're not defensive," Roskam recalled the reporter telling him.

"What do I have to be defensive about? I'm the good guy," Roskam said he responded, adding in a recent interview: "It's difficult to characterize a freshman as part of the entrenched failures in Washington. It's just a mischaracterization that won't sell with the public."

To survive, Roskam said, he's relying on an old approach. "Play University of Michigan football: Three yards and a cloud of dust, and a short little pass at the end," he said, laughing. "This is not rocket science. Returning your calls, returning your mail. We've helped 1,000 constituents in our district office."

Jordan's recipe for success is succinct: "Go home." He has made himself a constant presence in his Ohio district.

Beyond simply surviving, some members of the GOP freshman class already appear poised to thrive in Congress. None would admit to harboring higher ambitions, but it is easy to see that a few will become well-known political names.

Many of the freshmen singled out McCarthy as the one among them destined for larger assignments. He already sits on the NRCC's executive committee, and he's one of the rare members who can rattle off statistics about districts in play other than their own. Jordan referred to him as "Mr. Political Animal," and several Republican aides suggested that he is the GOP freshman to watch.

But like the others, McCarthy is humble when talking about his own potential. "Politics is about teamwork. It's where you fit best," he said. "If you do the job you have well, there will be opportunities for you."

For House Republicans serving their first term, the struggle is finding a way to do that job well. The 13 could be around together for a long time, and the first impressions they make could determine whether they end up as backbenchers or as leaders of the congressional GOP.

The author is an associate editor at RealClearPolitics.com.