Sen. Jon Kyl has done something very rare in Washington today. Compromise.

Last fall, the Arizona Republican was re-elected on a tough anti-immigration platform. But when Democrats took control of Congress his calculation shifted. “I had a choice,” he told The New York Times. “Do I sit on the sidelines and say, ‘that’s a bad bill?’ Or do I get in the fight and try to shape it as best I could?”

The bill Kyl helped write (with liberals like Ted Kennedy) has something for everyone to like -- and hate. Twelve million illegal aliens already here would get a shot at citizenship, but the process would be very long and arduous. And it wouldn’t even begin until many costly moves to reinforce the border were in place.

Still, Kyl’s role has stirred up a storm of scorn from conservatives back home. “He has betrayed the people who voted for him,” thundered state legislator Russell Pearce. “It’s absolutely a sellout of America.” And the senator has acknowledged the abuse: “I have learned some new words from some of my constituents.”

Well, we have our own word for Kyl. That word is “legislator.” And we mean it as a compliment.

Legislators see a pressing problem and try to solve it. They work with others, including folks from the other party. And they understand that “compromise” is not a dirty word. In fact, it is the very essence of the legislative process.