Dole in final column: ‘Too many of us have sacrificed too much’

The late Sen. Bob Dole wrote in his final op-ed published after his death of the difficulty accomplishing politically much without compromise as the nation remains steeped in division following the last two presidential elections and infighting within both the Democratic and Republican parties.

In a piece for USA Today, Dole wrote that “during my years in Congress, Democrats and Republicans were political combatants, but we were also friends.”

“I learned that it is difficult to get anything done unless you can compromise — not your principles but your willingness to see the other side,” Dole said.

“Too many of us have sacrificed too much in defending that freedom from foreign adversaries to allow our democracy to crumble under a state of infighting that grows more unacceptable by the day,” he added.

In October, Dole started to draft the piece with pen and paper. He completed it on Nov. 23, less than two weeks before his death early Sunday. He was 98. 

A host of bipartisan lawmakers, President Biden, and nearly all living former presidents expressed condolences while praising Dole for his nearly 30-year service.

Pelosi, in a joint statement with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced that Dole would lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda on Thursday.

The former three time presidential candidate had announced earlier this year that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.