Republican House Leaders Kids Compared To Old Democratic Bulls

With predictions of a GOP election rout mounting, some in the media are digging into what the new Republican leadership team will look like. One unusual but newsy angle comes from the Ripon Forum, the publication of the big tent Ripon Society. It finds that there could also be a generational shift from the older Democratic team to younger GOP leaders.

Among the highlights discovered by Editor Lou Zickar:

- "If they win control of the chamber, Republicans will not only have a leadership team that is, on average, almost 20 years younger than the Democratic leaders they will replace, but the first-ever House leadership team who were all born after World War II."

- "In all, 16 out of the 19 House committees will be headed by younger members should the GOP win the majority next week. To be more exact, the incoming Republican chairmen will be, on average, almost 10 years younger than the Democratic chairmen they will replace."

- "Having a younger generation in charge of the House of Representatives means that the nation will have new leaders who, figuratively speaking, are looking at life through the windshield, not the rearview mirror. Most of these leaders have mortgages. Many have children. Some are putting kids through school. For them, policy debates over rising debt and higher taxes are not esoteric exercises shaped by times gone by, but rather real world decisions shaped by the lives they and their families are leading today."

What's it all mean? Zickar concludes: "More than anything, though, having younger members take the reins on Capitol Hill means that for the second straight election, Americans will have chosen youth over experience when they went to the polls. In 2008, they elected a President in Barack Obama who was 47 years old. Now, they are on the verge of electing a Republican leadership team with an average age of 51.

"This youth movement could be one of the most far-reaching changes of this election. In the end, it could also be a generational bridge that helps a Democrat President and Republican House cross the partisan divide."

See it all here.

• Check out our editorial cartoons on the GOP.
• Check out our editorial cartoons on the Democratic Party.
• See who is donating to your member of Congress.