{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsarticles?ContentRecord_id=6393F1C3-85F1-4E2E-AE1F-9167144E2017", "Washington Post: Alexander seeks to stay the course of bipartisanship in his final Senate stretch", "2018-12-29", "2018", "2018-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Lamar Alexander", "A000360", "www.alexander.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "In baseball, .400 puts you in the Hall of Fame. Alexander declined to single out any colleagues who stayed too long in the Senate, but it's clear that had an impact on his decision.\r\n \r\nThad Cochran (R-Miss.) won a seventh Senate term in 2014, at the age of 77, and earlier this year had to retire amid a physical and mental decline. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) won a seventh term in 2012, at 78, and decided to retire this year. Lately he has struggled to articulate some points, leading to staff statements more fully describing his thoughts.\r\n \r\nAlexander, in fine health, did not want to risk tainting his reputation. Another term was an eight-year commitment, he said  two years to run for reelection and six years to serve out the term. At that point, he would be 86.\r\n \r\nHe has known McConnell for decades, but he only hinted to the leader months ago that he would likely retire. The two men did not seek each other's advice about their own futures.\r\n \r\nIt's such a personal decision, Alexander said.\r\n \r\nAs of now, McConnell, 76, is running hard for a seventh term  which would end when he is 84.\r\n \r\nAlexander wasn't afraid of a challenge from a hard-line conservative in a GOP primary. I actually like defeating evil forces where I can find them in politics, Alexander said.\r\n \r\nThat's about as intemperate as Alexander will ever sound, which makes him an outlier in this political era of shouting into the winds of cable news and social media. But that style has made him indispensable inside the Senate, where some things have not changed.\r\n \r\nIt's still based on relationships, he said.\r\n \r\nAlexander, a former Tennessee governor who twice ran for president, built strong enough relationships early in his Senate career to climb to the No. 3 post in leadership.\r\n \r\nBut he voluntarily jumped off the leadership ladder in 2012 so that he could refashion himself as an across-the-aisle dealmaker. He worked with Schumer on easing the cumbersome process for confirming presidential nominees and then spent the past four years chairing the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.\r\nThere, he racked up a series of big legislative wins with a Democratic partner, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington. The duo rewrote elementary and high school education laws, won approval for a major medical research bill, and crafted a massive package to fight opioid abuse.\r\nAlexander remains optimistic because of these accomplishments. He had his staff print Split Screen TV cards: One side has a picture of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh and the timeline of his bitter confirmation process, the other a list of bipartisan bills that won approval over those five weeks. The list includes a bill protecting songwriters' rights that is near and dear to the classic and country pianist's heart.\r\nThis is where you find me, Alexander said, pointing to the side with accomplishments. That's why I'm not in the news all the time. I'm not over here, I'm over here.\r\nBut the Kavanaugh confirmation consumed American politics and drowned out public recognition of Alexander's bipartisan work.\r\nJust as those hearings started in September, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) returned as an interim replacement for the late senator John McCain.\r\nIt's like I'm parachuting into a war zone, Kyl, who had served three terms in the Senate and then retired at the end of 2012, said in a recent interview.\r\nHe said the Senate is very different than it was just six years ago. Experiences like the Kavanaugh confirmation and now the partial government shutdown make it harder for people like Alexander to do their work.\r\nEach time that it happens, it's a little harder to bounce back, Kyl said.\r\nAlexander has two years to prove Kyl wrong.\r\nWhile overcoming a tough primary challenge in 2014, Alexander told the story of two famous Tennesseans who went to Texas to fight for independence: Davy Crockett and Sam Houston.\r\nCrockett is celebrated for his bravery at the Alamo, but Mexican troops slaughtered those Texans. Houston retreated to higher ground and later defeated Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna's army and won independence for Texas.\r\nAlexander has Houston's walking stick hanging in his office. He wants Republicans to think more like the first governor of Texas and less like Crockett.\r\nHe's just not sure which side will win in the long run.\r\nCrockett and Houston were both brave. Houston was more judicious, he said, pausing to consider the metaphor. Although, Crockett's more celebrated really among popular culture.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsarticles?ContentRecord_id=6393F1C3-85F1-4E2E-AE1F-9167144E2017"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3944278471171856, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}