{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=0b5be77f-e54c-4da8-be13-d0626f594a5c", "Self-cast group of Senate moderates wants to make a deal from the middle, for the middle | Washington Post", "2013-10-14", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "WV", "Joe Manchin", "M001183", "www.manchin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "October 14, 2013\n\t\t\t Self-cast group of Senate moderates wants to make a deal from the middle, for the middle | Washington Post \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t  In the past few days, a bipartisan group of 12 senators has come together to push both parties toward a compromise, hoping to re-open the government and raise the national debt ceiling all at once.\r\nThese 12, led by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) , are not the Senate\u2019s usual impact players.\r\nFive of them are in their first term in office. Three of them are in their first year in office \u2014 in a chamber where, traditionally, time turns into power at roughly the speed that dead plants turn into oil.\r\nBut, after weeks of deadlock, this small group seems to have given party leaders a blueprint to end the crisis. What sets these 12 apart, analysts say, is that \u2014 in an era of powerful polarizations \u2014 these senators have personal or political reasons to seek an answer in the middle.\r\n\u201cEither they\u2019re temperamentally .\u2009.\u2009. pragmatists and moderates. Or they come from states where they aren\u2019t a perfect fit for the voters \u2014 where they need to demonstrate their political independence,\u201d said Stuart Rothenberg, an independent political analyst who runs the Rothenberg Political Report . The result, Rothenberg said, is a drive to \u201cwork from the middle, for the middle.\u201d\r\nThis loose group has been at the center of the shutdown crisis since Friday, when its members proposed an agreement that would have raised the debt ceiling until Jan. 31 and funded federal agencies through March.\r\nDemocratic leaders rejected that proposal over the weekend, because it would allow a new round of \u201csequester\u201d cuts to take effect in January. But the proposal started a new round of intense negotiations, which continued Monday when the group met for two hours in the morning.\r\nIf a deal is struck \u2014 probably by Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) \u2014 these 12 could be crucial in selling it to their colleagues.\r\nThe best-known member of the group is probably Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) , the 2008 Republican presidential nominee famous for his \u201cmaverick\u201d politics. On Monday, McCain said the group was working on the details of an agreement: \u201cWe\u2019re on dates and times. We\u2019re working on specifics,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have outlines of what we think. We still have some differences.\u201d\r\nThe rest of the group includes several senators who are independent by personality. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) was ranked the Senate\u2019s 30th most liberal member in 2012 , according to vote rankings compiled by the National Journal. But Klobuchar touted her work as a deal maker in last year\u2019s reelection campaign: In one speech, she was quoted saying, \u201cI refuse to obey the fence lines .\u2009.\u2009. instead, I get things done.\u201d\r\nCollins, in office since 1997, is a Republican moderate who has frequently voted with Democrats \u2014 including on the 2009 stimulus bill. Sen. Angus King (I) , Maine\u2019s other senator, won his election as an independent last fall (though he caucuses with the Democrats).\r\nManchin has only been in office since 2010, but he has established himself as a would-be architect of compromise. During the gun-control debate that followed the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., Manchin struck a deal with Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) that would have tightened some gun regulations.\r\nThat deal ultimately failed , but it established Manchin as an independent voice in the Senate. That persona fits Manchin\u2019s political situation: He represents a state that is shifting quickly toward Republicans, so Manchin\u2019s best hope might be to underscore that he is not a pawn of his own party.\r\nSeveral others among the 12 find themselves in similar political situations. Their states have either swung between the two parties or, in some cases, turned solidly to the other side.\r\nThree of the Republicans on the list \u2014 Kirk, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) \u2014 come from states whose other senator is a Democrat. Three of the Democrats \u2014 Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) , Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) \u2014 come from states whose other senator is a Republican.\r\nFor all of them, there is danger in appearing too close to their party\u2019s extremes. Pryor might be the most endangered of the Democrats, facing reelection next year. His campaign Web site says he is working to find \u201ccommon ground and bipartisan solutions.\u201d\r\nThe 12th member of the group is Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.). Johanns is in his first term, but he has reached that special part of a senator\u2019s career that allows for a flourishing of independent thinking.\r\n\u201cThere\u2019s no risk for him here. He can do what he needs to do,\u201d said Jennifer Duffy of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.  \u2003\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\t    By:\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t    David A. Fahrenthold and Rosalind S. Helderman", 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.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=0b5be77f-e54c-4da8-be13-d0626f594a5c"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4246751088649035, "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"}