Thread by @davidfholt

I would not pretend to have the expertise needed to comment on the substance of the bipartisan border security and foreign aid package partly negotiated by Oklahoma’s @SenatorLankford. But I do know a thing or two about the role of an American elected official. 🧵

Among our obligations as an elected representative is to 1) Use our position to address major challenges and opportunities as soon as is practical, and 2) Recognize that politics is the art of the possible; in other words, we have to live in reality.

I greatly respect that on this issue, Senator Lankford put his energy into improving a situation that concerns many Americans. This is exactly what he is supposed to do. It is what Oklahomans elected him to do.

And Senator Lankford understood that it is not appropriate to artificially wait for some far-off election, especially when it is obvious that no election will fundamentally change the nation’s political dynamics.

This last point leads to my second commendation. I further greatly respect that Senator Lankford is behaving like the adult in the room on this topic, recognizing the reality that the Senate and the White House are controlled by Democrats.

In the real world of governance, we elected officials almost always have to work in a bipartisan manner to achieve anything. This means making compromises. Compromise is a fact of life if you wish to achieve anything in our form of government.

At almost no time in modern American history has bipartisan compromise not been necessary. The idea that any election is going to change that reality is entirely fantastical. Any elected official who offers a future without compromise is lying to you and wasting your time.

Ultimately, I have no say in how this bill proceeds in Congress, but I can give credit where it is due, and I credit Senator Lankford for his work to make real progress on this issue.