Suddenly, miraculously, the members of the Mod Squad are the cool kids in Congress.

I’m talking fierce, dedicated mods — i.e., moderates — like Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., who are co-chiefs of a bipartisan gaggle of congressional representatives called the Problem Solvers’ Caucus.

With the House split between 222 Republicans and 213 Democrats and a 50-49 split favoring Democrats in the Senate at the moment, next sessions’ bills will have to squeeze through with tiny margins, and that means most successful legislation will require bipartisan votes. Suddenly, the Mod Squad of centrists are, in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s words, the “majority makers.”

The extremely narrow majority House Republicans have also means that any group of a certain size within either the GOP or Democratic caucuses can hold great sway.

And that means the aisle-crossing Problem Solvers, for one, are a sought-after group.

Politico recently reported that the once-almighty Freedom Caucus of Republicans is reaching out for help on its list of priorities next session from the Problem Solvers.

The roughly 50 members of the Problem Solvers Caucus are equally divided between Democrats and Republicans. Fitzpatrick and Gottheimer formed the group in 2017 to find some common ground on key issues facing the nation, championing “broad ideas that appeal to a broad spectrum of the American people.”

“We believe that government should be no different than our personal relationships,” Fitzpatrick stated during a recent virtual discussion hosted by the Ripon Society, “where you meet in the middle and build consensus. You don’t focus on that which you disagree, you focus on what you agree on and come to the center to move forward. Any functional relationship in our lives works that way."

In other words, the caucus hopes to be the key that finally unlocks the nation’s gridlock.

You gotta hand it to the American people, really: By giving neither side a resounding win in the midterms, they sent a loud message to Washington: “Work Together, You Friggin’ Idiots and Get Something Done!”

That was the message I heard in the unexpectedly tight race in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, which is overwhelmingly Republican after redistricting last summer. Despite its deep-red hue, CD3 nearly elected a rich Democrat from Aspen over gun-toting woman of the people, Lauren Boebert.

And the only real explanation is that they are sick and tired of Boebert’s screamin' tweets and cable rants and want her to get something done. For all her high-profile bluster, Boebert has yet to pass a single bill.

Her opponent, Adam Frisch, campaigned as a moderate who promised to work with Democrats and Republicans. His campaign videos railed against "angertainment" and proclaimed him “a conservative businessman” who supports the Second Amendment, securing the border, reducing government regulation AND abortion rights.

I first heard about the Problem Solvers Caucus from Frisch, who promised to join it immediately if he won.

Which begs the question: Why don’t all of Colorado’s reps join it? Looking through the ranks of the Problem Solvers, I couldn’t find a single Colorado politician. Why is that?

Might be because they don’t want to spoil their track record as one of the most ineffective, cloutless delegations in the country. Why can’t, for instance, our delegation do something, anything, to keep Space Command in Colorado?

Friday, Sen. John Hickenlooper proposed a bill that would provide a legal framework for legalizing marijuana nationwide. Woo-hoo! How does that help Colorado?

Newspapers throughout the country have a real chance at a resurgence if a bill co-sponsored by Rep. Ken Buck is passed soon that would allow papers to negotiate together against the Googles and Facebooks of the world for their fair share of the profits those tech giants make off newspapers’ content.

Where is the rest of our delegation in supporting Buck’s effort? This is a bill that could actually save democracy. That’s as bipartisan as it gets.

Compare our delegation's record to the Problems Solvers:

The Problem Solvers Caucus and a bipartisan group of senators put together bipartisan, bicameral COVID-19 emergency relief legislation that was turned into law.

Working with a bipartisan coalition, the Problem Solvers Caucus helped Congress pass much-needed criminal justice reform.

On Jan. 3, 2019, with bipartisan support engineered in part by the Problem Solvers, the House enacted an unprecedented agreement known as “Break the Gridlock.” These rules instituted a new “Consensus Calendar” for any bill with more than 290 cosponsors, requiring three days’ notice for committee mark-ups, and preferential treatment for popular bipartisan amendments, according to the Problem Solvers website. The result is increased openness, bipartisanship and transparency in the House.

The Problem Solvers Caucus was the linchpin in pushing through the STOP School Violence Act of 2018; the Securing Our Schools Act of 2018; and appropriations to fund mental health programs established by the 21st Century Cures Act, all of which were passed by Congress and signed into law.

Co-chiefs Fitzpatrick and Gottheimer met for dinner last week and talked about possible rules changes to make their coalition even more effective. They now have guidelines to endorse only bills that are bipartisan when introduced.

“In an ideal world, there wouldn’t be a need for the Problem Solvers Caucus,” Fitzpatrick said in that roundtable. “That would just be the way everybody operated and conducted themselves. Josh and I, by virtue of our leadership of the caucus, believe that no one party has a monopoly on good ideas. No one party has a monopoly on being good human beings."

“The Problem Solvers Caucus is the most important thing I do in Washington,” added Gottheimer, “and I know Brian feels the same way. We are trying to find common ground to get things done — to govern — instead of just tweeting nasty things or yelling and screaming on cable news trying to be some sort of entertainer.”

Hear that, Colorado delegation? Let me repeat the message of Election Day, loud and clear: Colorado voters want you to be problem solvers, too.

Vince Bzdek, executive editor of the Denver Gazette, Colorado Springs Gazette and Colorado Politics, writes a weekly news column that appears on Sunday.

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