How politics come into play as Sen. James Lankford is censured by own party members

Oklahoma has been good to me ― actually better than good. I was born in Meeker nearly 80 years ago, and then raised and educated in Bartlesville. That experience prepared me for a life that I wouldn’t trade for anything. I earned a degree from the Naval Academy, a second degree later, and was able to fly the world’s finest jet aircraft for 24 years. I continued to see the world in a second career, with travels stemming from positions at the White House, Pentagon and FAA headquarters ― all in Washington, D.C.

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Today, as a North Carolina resident (due in large part to our five grown children’s homes), I remain concerned with issues that affect our future, and those of our children and grandchildren. My wife (also from Bartlesville) and I also stay attuned to Oklahoma issues through communications with our Oklahoma siblings and also through The Oklahoman.

Two of the dominant issues currently attracting our attention are the southern border crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine — and Congress has made them intertwined ― rightly or wrongly. I am particularly close to the latter issue. As a government executive 20 years ago, I was privileged to visit Ukraine and work with its government leaders ― both in Kyiv and elsewhere in Europe. I came to understand their desire to be part of NATO, which required reforming their government (with emphasis on eliminating corruption) and vastly upgrading their military and civil technology.

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Then, in the summer of 2022, less than six months after Russia launched its invasion, I visited Ukraine again ― this time for three weeks of delivering food from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, to Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Amidst artillery shelling there and in Odessa, I saw the determination, resilience and gratitude that are so characteristic of the Ukrainian people. Once again, just a year ago, my wife and I were struck by the notion (that I accept as fact) that we’re all in this together. So, when the opportunity to provide more assistance arose, we opened our home to two Ukrainian refugees ― a then-37-year-old mother and her 8-year-old son. Today, she has a job in a supermarket deli, is preparing her U.S. tax return, and he is halfway through the third grade. And of course, for them, there is no end in sight.

Those who would pretend that Vladimir Putin’s goals are limited to conquering Ukraine have a different understanding of world history from what I learned in Bartlesville schools. He is shrewdly watching how the United States and other allies of Ukraine are reacting. I can only imagine how delighted he is that many Americans want other issues to stand in the way of assisting in Ukraine’s defense.

That brings us to today in Oklahoma. Sen. James Lankford, with what appears to be the interest of our nation in mind, has cooperated (oh my goodness) to offer both aid to Ukraine and a border deal that his colleague, Sen. Lindsey Graham, says is as good as will be for years — regardless of the next presidential election. And for that? He is censured by members of his own party.

Sen. Lankford has provided what a vast majority of Americans support. Those same Americans would welcome an awakening on the part of those so critical of Lankford and the art of compromise. What I can say with supportive evidence is that those who are looking for everything they want are much more likely to come away with closer to nothing. That’s why the border crisis is unresolved, and that’s the sad state of our politics today.

Carl McCullough is a native of Bartlesville. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1966 and pursued a career as a naval aviator and federal government executive. McCullough is the author of "Sid and the Boys: Playing Ball in the Face of Race and Big Business."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Sen. Lankford censured as own Republican Party members play politics