Young Guns: Falling from Favor?
The self-proclaimed “Young Guns” of Capitol Hill are appearing a bit older these days.
The GOP group of congressmen, dubbed “Young Guns,” was created by Reps. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Technically they are not a part of the Tea Party Caucus, however, many of their views closely align. They came into the district riding on applause and approval from their constituents, ready to shake up and clean out Washington.
One year later, however, that enthusiasm has waned.
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Republicans, in particular, the Young Guns are blamed for the near government shut down that occurred in early August. They are thought to have rejected compromise by threatening government default. This threat created anxiety about the economy and low confidence in Congress as its approval rating slid to its lowest at just 12 percent.
"Right now, voters hate everyone," said Steve Stivers, one of 62 first-term "Young Gun" Republicans in the House of Representatives, to Reuters. "People are frustrated. But I feel we are on the right track."
They swept into office in November 2010, promising spending cuts and halting government growth. At the time, the anti-government movement was at its peak and the GOP politicians promised to shake up the status quo.
They kept their promise.
But by doing so, they raised the anxiety level of Wall Street, angered voters, and pushed the government to the brink of shutdown and default.
Many believe their hardball tactics lead to the first-ever downgrade of the United States' AAA credit rating by Standard & Poor's.
On the flip side, supporters of the Young Guns and Tea Party are not satisfied either. They wanted more: more cuts and more caps on future debt limit raises.
With both sides dissatisfied with the Young Guns, the GOP favorability rating is tied with Democrats, about 40 and 43 percent, respectively, according to The Associated Press, when respondents were asked which party they trust more to handle the federal budget deficit.
A Pew Research Poll last month showed the Republican Party's favorable rating at 34 percent, compared with 43 percent for the Democratic Party.
These numbers give the Democrats hope of remaining in the White House for another four years.
Jesse Ferguson of the Democratic congressional campaign committee commented to Reuters: "While [the Young Guns] might have started with great hype, the 'Young Guns' leadership has misfired over and over again."
