Hey, I guess it REALLY IS the year of the woman......

[a kennedy]

Sen. Collins leads female senators in shaping deal

WASHINGTON — The male Senate leaders may have tied the bow on a deal aimed at ending the government shutdown, but credit for shaping the package is being given to a group of women, led by Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.

Collins, a moderate Republican in her third term, was the leader of a bipartisan group of 14 senators — six of them women — who developed a compromise to end the 16-day partial federal shutdown and temporarily raise the debt ceiling so the nation isn't on the brink of default.

While the group's proposal was not left intact, Collins and other senators who participated say elements have been incorporated and helped provide the framework for the final deal hammered out by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

"It's a good outcome," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., part of the 14-member group. "Leadership, I must fully admit, was provided primarily by women in the Senate."

Collins said Wednesday it was a "truly collaborative effort," adding that all in the group deserved "kudos" for working on the deal. McCain joked that he had won "a small side wager" from Collins in the course of their negotiations.

She said she began the effort on Oct. 5, on a rare Saturday session for the Senate, after listening to speeches in the chamber during the first weekend of the government shutdown that were sharp and partisan from both Republicans and Democrats. Collins delivered a speech of her own that day, urging her colleagues to work together on a solution.

Another great day for women.....

[a kennedy]

1. Hey, just thought I'd bring this up again.....women of the Senate...

got the whole d*mn compromise thing going, and as a result, no default, no shutdown, and no longer waiting for this whole d*mn country to STOP. Way to go women of the Senate.

[avaistheone1]

2. Kudos to the women.

I hope this story becomes widely known.

[a kennedy]

3. Men Got Us Into The Shutdown, Women Got Us Out

Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) said on Wednesday afternoon that their female colleagues can take most of the credit for driving the compromise that is expected to temporarily reopen the U.S. government and raise the debt ceiling before Thursday's deadline.

"Leadership, I must fully admit, was provided primarily from women in the Senate," McCain said after the bipartisan deal was announced.

Pryor said that people sometimes like to joke about women in leadership, but he is a huge fan of his female colleagues after watching them negotiate. "The truth is, women in the Senate is a good thing," he said. "We're all just glad they allowed us to tag along so we could see how it's done."

Following weeks of stagnation, The New York Times reported on Monday that a bipartisan group of women senators was playing a crucial role in opening discussions between Republicans and Democrats over how to move forward and reopen the government. Out of the 14 senators on the bipartisan committee that laid the framework for the debt deal, six were women. Susan Collins (R-Maine) started the group, and Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) took part in negotiations.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that women were so heavily involved in trying to end this stalemate,” Collins told The New York Times. “Although we span the ideological spectrum, we are used to working together in a collaborative way.”

Klobuchar said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday that the friendships the Senate women have developed will help them work together to craft a long-term budget without the counterproductive barbs that some politicians throw at each other when they don't agree.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/16/shutdown-women_n_4110268.html?utm_hp_ref=politics