Liberals: can you name one conservative political figure whom you respect and perhaps even admire?

_ “Please note that this question is about the person’s traits and/or record and/or reputation rather than about your emotions; in other words, something objectively observable.” _

Doesn’t that kinda contradict the question? Respect and admiration are, afterall, emotional concepts.

John McCain.

Arnold Schwarzenegger. I mean, he IS Austrian.

living? The first George Bush

Though he was responsible for some truly sinister things at the CIA, there are 2 incidents in the Bush narrative demonstrating the breadth of knowledge and temperament worthy of a President. Both of these are examples of a man seasoned through experience to understand the requirement to at times defy popular attitudes and even sacrifice his own political well being to the benefit of the country. I’m talking about the speedy withdrawl of U S forces following the liberation of Kuwait and the decision to raise taxes, which killed Bush politically, but was largely responsible for the economic boom that followed (for which Clinton got all the credit.)

I suppose I’d have to say Bush the Elder. I don’t know that I would have agreed much with his particular policies. I was in my early teens during his tenure, and had other concerns than politics. And I don’t know that he accomplished much as president. But I have an admiration for the lifetime of service and statesmanship he’s given to his country. Maybe it’s just a flawed perception on my part, but I’ve always got the vibe from Bush I as a bit of a throwback to when politicians/statesmen undertook their role with a sense of gravitas. I don’t get that from many these days, conservative or liberal.

@Darth_Algar, well, I see your point. What I was getting at was “I respect him for x and y” as opposed to “I like him because he makes me feel z.”; “She accomplished such and such” and not “She gets a lot of people excited.”

I know I am not an American but the one I choose from the American side Living would be John McCain, and dead would be Lincon.

Yes: Former President of the United States of America (previous five-star general in the United States Army and Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War II) Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower.

I would trust him. He was a capable and intelligent man with integrity and dedicated to taking action for the greater good of all Americans.

(I’m having a hard time thinking of any non-despicable conservative US politicians more recent than Ike. I’m sure there are some in lower offices but I don’t know who they’d be offhand.)

I am not a liberal (nor a conservative), but I would say that Condolezza Rice and John Roberts are two conservative figures who I think deserve respect if only because they are capable of articulating well-reasoned arguments for every one of their public positions. They are participants not just in the public discourse, but in the larger project of public reason.

(Given my reason, one might wonder why I did not name Colin Powell, Sandra Day O’Connor, or even Arnold Schwarzenegger. The simple reason is this: while they are all Republicans, none of them are conservatives.)

@SQUEEKY2 Lincoln was not a conservative, nor were the Republicans the conservative party back in the mid-1800s.

I don’t agree with much of John McCain’s politics but I respect him as a man of integrity. He has principles based on a moral code as shown when he spoke out against the use of torture.

McCain. He seems to be doing what he honestly thinks is best for us.

Lowell Weicker of Connecticut. He’s long gone from public office, but he’s very much still with us. I’ve always admired and appreciated him. He was a member of the Republican party for many years, but as an extreme moderate. He’s from different times and a throwback to a way of thought that’s now mostly lost.

The Chafees of Rhode Island. Of course, the family is generations of liberal Democrats who do, or have, identified as Republicans.

John McKernan, former Representative from and then Governor of Maine. He was my boss for 4 years on Capitol Hill, and there are few men I respect more. And, yes, he’s a progressive Democrat by another name.

Richard Nixon. I realize this is anathema to most libs, but if you look at him objectively, he was more progressive than a lot of Dems of his era. Just sayin’.

@NomoreY_A He signed some progressive (by today’s standards) policies, but what about the various rather shady and awful things about Nixon? Respect? Trust? Admiration?

For current politicians, I lose all respect for those who don’t resist outright abominations, of which there are many. Trump and his cabinet appointments? Going to nod and vote for them? How can anyone respect or admire people who don’t call out such people?

How can anyone respect McCain when he accepted Palin as his running mate? Not to mention various other policies and votes he’s gone along with?

I would have to go along with McCain. I respected Barry Goldwater. I strongly disagreed with much that he said, but he was a person of integrity.

Yep. I’m in the McCain crowd here. I’m not fully a liberal, but many of my values align with liberal ones.

Although I think that his unfortunate cancer is the reason why he has changed, I respect and admire his calling out of the Republican party’s extreme evils. And he could call them out on much more, but I am glad he is alive and kicking ass.

Not to mention his past. What a man. The world will be a lesser place when he leaves us…

Oh yeah. Of course Arnold. Get to the chopper!!!

@Zaku Many Reps say McCain is a warmonger and they can’t stand him. Interesting so many here name him.

I agree that McCain’s standards are impossibly high for what passes as a conservative politician these days. I remember his run for the Presidency, saddled with that idiot Sarah Palin. Every town, every whistle stop defied all attempts for him to position himself and explain the issues. Instead he found himself endlessly denying to his strident base that Obama is a Muslim, Illegal alien,etc. And he didn’t once back away from such nonsense without a “no sir that isn’t true.

Sorry, but I can’t conjure much respect for McCain’s newfound conscience. It’s easy enough to take a stand when doing so costs you nothing.

George Bush Senior. He called out Regan on Voodoo economics, and raised taxes when we needed to. He’s the last Republican that I can think of that had any sense of fiscal responsibility. After completing Desert Storm, he had the sense to pull the troops out of Iraq once the immediate objective of liberating Kuwait was accomplished.

Yes, those Reagan years were terrible, TERRIBLE bad economic times. Voodoo economics. New World Order under Bush

None of you voted a second year for Bush Senior.
None of you voted for McCain. Obama promised to bring us all together and there was celebration in the streets across America.

Bush Senior lost because he was talking like a Globalist and Bill Clinton was talking like a moderate.

@Yellowdog

Was there some coherent point you were attempting to make there?

I thought the country did grow together, under Obama. What I didn’t realize was how a portion grew hateful. I am uncertain about morives, but lots of older white people seemed irritated about everything. Even things that benefited them, and their families/loved ones.

Where I live, we were all getting along well. Trump has inflamed/emboldened the hate, that had seemed to be receding. It’s not a good thing. Each day my pride of America lowers…

A certain portion didn’t grow hateful, they just decided to crawl out of the woodwork.

Well. I was working part-time selling guns during Obama’s last few years. I feel like there was a change in certain people. First, they were resentful of everything Obama did.
Then, they started getting more, and more vocal about their displeasure with Obama.
Then when Trump was running, they got really vocal, and were using racial slurs more often.

My city is pretty different from most of the deep south, but the jerks have been empowered by this right wing Trumpism…

I would like to say, because it wouldn’t be relevant on most threads, that I think McCain saying that he doesn’t want Trump at his funeral, is awesome.

Woooooo! Trump is SO deplorable, to McCain, that he doesn’t want to literally be caught dead around him.

Which should surprise no one.

Ha ha!

I don’t think its because Trump is ‘so deplorable’ (which I’m sure McCain DOES think)—but because there has been some SERIOUS bad blood between them.

If someone said some hurtful or insulting things to you, or if you were in bad relations with someone— maybe compare to, say, a relative who stole and married yer gal— you know, something deep and permanent—yeah, you wouldn’t want them at your funeral,

Well. I think McCain just doesn’t want such a piece of crap at his funeral. He is one of the few conservatives, who actually has some small amount of morality, and pride. So he calls Trump out, when it gets over his red line. It’s not much from the GOP. But it’s something. Some sign of some good left in an otherwise awful party…

If you’re a person of perceived integrity, then it should cast great doubt on the character of those whom you ban from even trying to tolerate when dead….

I wouldn’t want Trump at my funeral either.

Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski saved a lot of lives last year by opposing ACA repeal bills. I have a lot of respect for them for that. There was a lot of party pressure on them that they did not give in to.