McCarthy, Fellow ‘Young Guns’ Pen Strategy Book

A small effort a few years ago by then-freshman Kevin McCarthy and two of his fellow young congressmen to help get more of their GOP ilk elected has not only grown in size but resulted in a book to be published in September.

McCarthy, R-Bakersfield and chief deputy House Republican whip, penned “Young Guns. A New Generation of Conservative Leaders” with House GOP Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia and Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

They “outline a new direction for the Republican party in terms of engaging a new and diverse party leadership, modernizing and winning political campaigns and thinking about the long-term policies that will show how to restore America’s greatness by reasserting and reapplying its principles,” according to a description released this week by publisher Simon & Schuster.

The 224-page book will be out Sept. 14; it can be pre-ordered now.

“It’s how we turn this party and this country around,” McCarthy said Tuesday from his Washington, D.C., office.

McCarthy said each wrote about three chapters of the book and his focus on strategy. “Young Guns” is how the three up-and-comers were described in a 2007 profile published by The Weekly Standard; it’s now the name of a National Republican Congressional Committee program to recruit candidates and train House members.

Fred Barnes, executive editor of The Weekly Standard, wrote the forward for the book. The magazine’s cover photo for the 2007 spread is the cover shot for the book.

All proceeds from “Young Guns” will go to Fisher House, which similar to the Ronald McDonald House Charities provides places to stay near major military and VA medical centers for families of hospitalized service members, McCarthy said.

Republican political strategist Mary Matalin helped get Simon & Schuster on board, McCarthy quipped, as publishers were hardly beating down the trio’s door to publish their writings.

The book tour is still being developed and is pending ethics committee OK but would probably involve some special events on weekends and during election-related events McCarthy attends around the country as the chief recruiter of House Republican candidates.

The three probably will appear both together and separately; and there probably will be an event in Bakersfield, McCarthy said. Expect television interviews, too.

“Cantor, Ryan and McCarthy are proud Republicans,” Simon & Schuster wrote about the book. “But they believe that their party has lost sight of American ideals. Through campaign support for those who believe in private sector job creation, maximized individual freedom, and a better America for our children, the Young Guns are changing the face of the Republican Party and giving Americans a road-map to get back to the American Dream.”

The publisher’s price online stood at $15 Tuesday. Amazon had it up for $10.20. The three weren’t given any kind of advance, McCarthy said.

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