The freshman representative stood in front of a throng of puzzled-looking Republican congressmen. Their leader, John Boehner, had surprised the newcomer moments earlier by asking him to address a 2009 party retreat on how he had knocked off a Republican congressman in a primary. The freshman, a hard-charging Utah conservative named Jason Chaffetz, looked out at his new colleagues and said the first thing that came to his mind.
“I am your worst nightmare.”
Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah is among a group of passionate, hard-charging conservatives who have been inspired by the aggressive tactics of GOP leaders Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy and Paul Ryan. The trio is known collectively as the Young Guns.
He might as well have been speaking to the leader himself. Boehner already was feeling the heat from relatively young conservatives such as Chaffetz who wanted to push their agenda harder and faster, inspired by a passionate trio of Republican stars known as the Young Guns. Then-Republican Whip Eric Cantor, his deputy whip, Kevin McCarthy, and Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan all had captivated House conservatives with their aggressive messages and tactics. Cantor especially had made a name for himself by arguing that the party should go on the offensive more against House Democrats. Privately, some Republicans said they would vote for Cantor over Boehner in a leadership fight. Now, increasingly, as the Young Guns’ popularity grew, Boehner sought to bring fledgling congressmen like Chaffetz into his fold.
Some advisers to the representatives thought such moves should have come sooner. While Boehner had been slow to woo Chaffetz during his 2008 campaign, Cantor and McCarthy had wasted no time in getting close to the freshman.
First, Cantor telephoned with congratulations and a pledge of help before 8 a.m. the morning after Chaffetz’s primary triumph — part of Cantor’s effort to make friends with new arrivals, gaining allies before Boehner ever met them. Then, McCarthy, nearing the end of only his first term in the House but already being groomed for a key leadership position, called Chaffetz with lavish encouragement of his own.
A generational bond helped fuel the relationship: The 40-somethings had children about the same age, along with a shared passion for exercise regimens, long work hours and political uses for social media — all supplementing their prodigious ambitions. Chaffetz expressed appreciation for his new comrades, whose appetite for feisty politics had linked them with Ryan. Boehner enjoyed new members’ official loyalties, but Cantor, McCarthy and Ryan generally had their hearts.
While stressing his allegiance to Boehner, the 44-year-old Chaffetz sees an impatience in himself and his friends that separates them from older members. “We’re the generation that demands and wants things right now,” says Chaffetz, who is contemplating a 2012 primary challenge against Utah’s senior Republican senator, Orrin Hatch.
The 61-year-old Boehner — who declined through a spokesperson to be interviewed for this story — “is trying to ride all the right waves right now, and the Young Guns are symbolic of that wave,” Chaffetz observes. He believes that Boehner recognizes a natural tension there, and is grateful that the speaker has reached out to young, aggressive conservatives such as himself. “The Young Guns have shown people that it’s not just going to be business as usual. ... [Boehner] is the leader of this party ... and he’s one of the old guard. But, see, he was willing to adapt.”
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