Kevin McCarthy’s rise

Two years after being elected to the House, an ambitious lawmaker was appointed to a leadership position and his career took off.

After helping his party take back the lower chamber as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and becoming one of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) senior advisers, Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) was tapped by President-elect Obama to be his White House chief of staff.

It remains to be seen if Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) career will skyrocket like Emanuel’s, but he is on a similar path.

McCarthy, one of the few new Republican lawmakers to arrive on Capitol Hill in 2007, this week was appointed GOP chief deputy whip for the 111th Congress.

In announcing his decision, soon-to-be Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said, “I look forward to working with Kevin and the entire Republican Conference to serve as the check and balance to the power of Speaker Pelosi and President-elect Obama and to work with the majority to move America forward.”

McCarthy replaced his mentor, Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), who retired from Congress in 2006.

The former Republican leader of the California State Assembly visited The Hill’s office when he was a congressional candidate. McCarthy showed he had a firm grasp of policy and displayed interpersonal skills that his predecessor often lacked.

His Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill have been impressed. McCarthy was chosen to play a leading role in the formation of the 2008 GOP platform and was repeatedly mentioned as a possible chairman for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).

While heading the NRCC may be in McCarthy’s future, the former small-business owner will be busy counting votes with Cantor over the next couple of years.

Cantor, 45, and McCarthy, 43, are up-and-comers in a party that is a shambles. They will try to resurrect the GOP brand and will probably be leading Republican voices for years to come.

Unlike Cantor, McCarthy voted against the $700 billion bailout legislation — both the initial version that failed and the later one that was signed into law.

The Bakersfield native has a conservative voting record, attracting a 100 percent rating from the American Conservative Union.

He has been outspoken on energy issues and has a seat on the influential Financial Services Committee. McCarthy seeks earmarks, but has publicly disclosed his district funding requests.

Thomas was elected in 1978 and waited 16 years before becoming part of the House majority. Whether McCarthy will have to wait that long is unclear. What is clear is that McCarthy is a bright spot in a very dark period for the Republican Party.