In U.S. Sen. Bob Dole’s final public message before he died on Dec. 5, he provided a lesson in civics that too few in today’s politics are willing to abide.

In a column for USA Today that he finished writing (in longhand) on Nov. 23, Dole emphasized the importance of principled compromise. Principled compromise was a virtue respected and practiced by the nation’s founders, yet even many of today’s conservatives who say they revere the founders nonetheless treat compromise with contempt.