Mia Love is a CNN Political Commentator who just completed her second term representing Utah's 4th district. Before Congress she served as a mayor and city council member in Utah. Love made history as the first and only African-American Republican female member of Congress. The views expressed in the commentary are the author's own. View more opinion at CNN.

(CNN) As the partial government shutdown drags on, many members of Congress seem to be finding creative new ways to wage an optics war instead of viewing this as an opportunity to tackle pressing or longstanding issues facing the nation.

Mia Love

Earlier this week, newly elected Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chose to march to Sen. Mitch McConnell's office to deliver a letter urging him to reopen the government. In the age of Twitter popularity contests, I guess they concluded that this was somehow more productive than directly engaging in dialogue with members of the opposing party and trying to reach a consensus.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a golden opportunity to make a real immigration reform deal as part of the negotiation to open up the government. The deal could potentially include a resolution for Dreamers or grant temporary protected status to immigrants who are unable to return to their origin countries.

About 800,000 federal employees are still furloughed or working without a paycheck as a result of the shutdown, and they are being overlooked while politicians put their own interests first.

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