Former U.S. senator and WWII veteran Bob Dole (R-Kansas) passed away at the age of 98 on Sunday, and many in his home town of Russell, Kansas are mourning not only the storied lawmaker but his bipartisan, compromise-focused style of politics, as well, The New York Times reports.
"The fighting we've got going on now, I know he was so against that," said Lance Waymaster, a farmer outside of Russell.
"Bob was one of a kind — unfortunately," added Daron Woelk, who owns a jewelry store on Russell's Main Street. "I think we'd all be better off if there were more men like him."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Dole was a Republican through and through, and "fought fiercely for conservative policies," writes the Times. But he also made "celebrated compromises" with Democrats, including the expansion of the food stamp program and the passage of the Americas With Disabilities Act.
Dole visited Russell frequently until recently (due to his declining health), and seemed to have, at some point, crossed paths with everyone, writes the Times, whether it was over a meal or during a stop by the VFW post.
"Bob was not your run-of-the-mill politician ever; Bob was a statesman," explained Dole's nephew, Larry Nelson. "He would not fit in this group of people on the Hill now."
-
Trump officials reinstating 2 Confederate monumentsSpeed Read The administration has plans to 'restore Confederate names and symbols' discarded in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder
-
Trump nominates Powell critic for vacant Fed seatspeed read Stephen Miran, the chair of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers and a fellow critic of Fed chair Jerome Powell, has been nominated to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
-
ICE scraps age limits amid hiring pushSpeed Read Anyone 18 or older can now apply to be an ICE agent
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additionsSpeed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war
-
House committee subpoenas Epstein filesSpeed Read The House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for its Jeffrey Epstein files with an Aug. 19 deadline
-
India rejects Trump threat over Russian oilSpeed Read The president said he would raise tariffs on India for buying and selling Russian oil
-
NY's Hochul vows response to Texas gerrymanderSpeed Read Gov. Kathy Hochul has promised to play ball with redistricting that favors the Democrats
-
Texas Democrats exit state to block redistricting voteSpeed Read More than 51 legislators fled the state in protest of the GOP's plan to redraw congressional districts
