Politicians on the 'other side' that you respect

[State Comptroller Atkins]

What the title says.

For me....

Current politicians:

David Davis (For having principles and being in favor of civil liberties)
Nigel Farage (Compared to most of the rest of his party, he's quite reasonable. He could do with keeping his mouth shut more often though )
Damian Green (A decent liberal voice within the Conservative Party. There needs to be more of those.)
Kenneth Clarke (As Chancellors go, he was decent. Also possibly the most decent member of the current cabinet.)

Past politicians:

Michael Portillo (Post-1997, of course. The Tories really should have elected him as leader in 2001.)
Ann Widdecombe (I don't actually like her, and her views even less, but at least she's honest about them.)
Harold Macmillan (I don't know if he counts considering that he'd probably be on the John McDonnell wing of Labour nowadays. Lol, jk of course.)
Edward Heath (Yeah, another obvious choice I suppose.)

[Swedish Cheese]

People I respect:

Göran Persson (S) - Was in many ways a decent PM, a jerk, but a decent PM
Margot Wallström (S) - She's a good person, she fights for what she blieves in
Jan Eliasson (S) - A fine statesman, but then he was never really a politician
Sven-Erik Bucht (S) - Love this guy, wish he was one of us
Leif Pagrotsky (S) - Proved he was a truly principled man by campaigning against the Euro
Birger Schlaug (MP) - A rare honest politician

People I don't really respect but still like:

Gustav Fridolin (MP) - He's a drunk left-loony, but he's a nice guy and from my town
Jonas Åkerlund (SD) - He's an old racist... but I just can't help but like him
Marcus Wiechel (SD) - Never heard him use anti-immigration rethoric, a nice guy

[Is JCL in mushy sappy love]

Dennis Kucinich: an honest congressman whom would've been a good foil for RP had they both  been nominated to run for president

Gabby Giffords: though she may've been dutiful for much of the Pelosi crowd, two things she had right.... Space and Israel. Comparable to President Truman.

[Proud Lieberal from Northeast]

Hmm..


Bronisław Komorowski (President, formerly PO), I always liked him personally and he's doing a decent job so far. I don't regret voting for him in runoff.

Marek Jurek (formerly PiS). All right, he's a far-right winger (although in U.S. he'd still be too moderate for Tea Party ) and I don't really like him. Yet, I respect him sticking to his believes. After all, he resigned from Speakership because of an ideological disagreement. That's something.

Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska (MP, PO)


There are others, I just need to think more.

Michael Portillo (Post-1997, of course. The Tories really should have elected him as leader in 2001.)

I like his work as an journalist, btw.

[You kip if you want to...]

I, suprisingly enough, have some time for a lot of figures on the Tory right (not the John Redwoods of the world, mind). People like David Davis and Phil Davies, outside of the Tory posh boy clique at the top, who're willing to call the government out on its crap.

[RogueBeaver]

Federally: Tom Mulcair, Bob Rae, Megan Leslie, Scott Brison, Justin Trudeau, Peter Julian, Charlie Angus, Gerard Kennedy... to name a few.

[Senator Snowstalker]

For my top 5, I'd say (no particular order)...

*Ron Paul
*Richard Hanna
*Lisa Murkowski
*Jon Huntsman
*Lamar Alexander

[Californian Tony]

In France... Luc Ferry, Bruno Le Maire, Michel Barnier, Nathalie Kosciuszko-Morizet (somewhat), and a few others who come to my mind.

In Italy, the only one who comes to my mind is Gianfranco Fini. Sure, he was a fascist, but I think this is one of the rare cases of a politician genuinely changing his mind throughout his carreer. It's been a while since he cut any links with fascism - and not in a hypocritical way, and if he weren't honest he wouldn't have left the PdL. He strikes me as a sound right-winger and someone who would be a worthy opponent if he replaced Berlusconi and his clique.

[Old Europe]

Heiner Geißler?

Well, it's a matter of debate whether he's still on the "other side" (ideologically speaking), but he's officially a CDU member nonetheless.

[Diabolical Minds Think Alike]

Republicans:

Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Jason Chaffetz, Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie, Pat Toomey, Walter B. Jones, Justin Amash, Mike Fitzpatrick

Democrats:

Dennis Kucinich, Alan Grayson, Mike Gravel, Evan Bayh, Gabby Giffords, Russ Feingold, John Lynch, Brian Schweitzer

[Leftbehind]

I, suprisingly enough, have some time for a lot of figures on the Tory right (not the John Redwoods of the world, mind). People like David Davis and Phil Davies, outside of the Tory posh boy clique at the top, who're willing to call the government out on its crap.

Phil Davies?! He's an absolute prick.

I have a lot of time for One Nationers - depending on how appropriate that label is for them (rival Labour left for extinction).

[dead0man]

Since I'm on a side by myself, pretty much every politician is on the "other side".  I respect honesty and integrity, sadly things that are lacking in almost all politicians.  I'm sure there are more out there than I can think of, but Jimmy Carter always springs to mind in questions like this.  I think he was wrong about a LOT of things, but he was honest.  I think Obama is (generally) honest.  Or at least as honest as a first term President can be.

Like I said, I'm sure there are many more, but I don't pay attention to random Republican from Ohio enough to know who has integrity and who doesn't.

[Hashemite]

I can't have much respect for anybody who associates with Stephen Harper, but in terms of decent Tories I like Gerald Keddy, Leona Aglukkaq, James Moore (but he's a bit of a creep and I dislike him increasingly) and maybe Peter Penashue. The rest, imo, are either idiots, tools or useless party hacks.

The NDP has a lot of good people including Charlie Angus, Olivia Chow, Nathan Cullen, Paul Dewar, Linda Duncan, Yvon Godin, Jack Harris, Peter Julian or Megan Leslie. (and Ruth Ellen Brosseau and the hot chick MPs obviously)

In France, for the UMP, Pierre Méhaignerie, Laurent Hénart, Alain Juppé, NKM and Bruno Le Maire. In the PS, I like Jean-Yves Le Drian, Alain Rousset, Manuel Valls, Michel Rocard, Pierre Moscovici, Christophe Caresche, Aurélie Filippetti and maybe a few others moderate-ish pragmatists.

I can also respect crazies but crazies who stick to their values, no matter how unpopular. Jean Royer might actually qualify in this regards, because he probably believed hard in the crazy sh**t he preached, despite having been shown tits and harassed in the process. Rick Santorum doesn't qualify because he's just a bigot, and I can't respect bigots. I also like politicians who are honest and truly mean what they say, which is why I like Georges Marchais and people like Cohn-Bendit.

[I left.]

I'm not officially affiliated with any political party, but I'll regard myself as "CDU-FDP" for the purpose of answering this question.

Let's see.

In the SPD, I like Peer Steinbrück (as in, would be willing to consider voting SPD if he were to become Chancellor under an SPD-led government). I respect Kurt Beck. Ah, I also like Christian Ude (and would probably vote SPD in Bayern next election).

In the Greens, I suppose Renate Künast is the least bad at federal level. I really do like Winfried Kretschmann and would not necessarily hesistate to vote Green even in B-W.

In the SED...ummm...Left, I mean, I really can't say I like anyone. I suppose I respect Gregor Gysi more than anyone else in the party, but that's not really saying a whole lot.


Now the United States. I'll call myself a Democrat despite being on record having voted in this year's Republican primary...

Republicans at national level are more or less worthless. Took me a while to realize this, but all support the same failed policies, whether they're "moderate" or "conservative". Therefore, I don't really respect or like any enough to vote for them for President, Senate or the House of Representatives at present.

I suppose I respect some that have relatively hardcore ideologies. Ron Paul. Tom Coburn. Linda McMahon for some reason. Probably a couple of other similar cases.

At non-federal level there are a couple of Republicans I sort of respect. Branstad, Haley, Martinez. Mitch Daniels. Respecting them doesn't necessarily mean I like them.

[MilesC56]

Susan Collins
Howard Coble
Jon Huntsman
Shelley Moore Capito
Kay Bailey Hutchinson

[JulioMadrid]

Antonio Basagoiti

END

Others, like Vesrstrynge, Rodriguez de Miñon or Manuel Pimentel are no longer members of the Partido Popular.

[Insula Dei]

Okay, let's try this, past and former politicians mixed:

Guy Verhofstadt (VLD): Good Prime Minister who transcended his own political background ('the Flemish Tatcher') to become a transformational leader. 'Paars' was not an undivided succes, but still probably one of the better governments post-WWII.

Karel De Gucht (VLD): Great Minister of Foreign Affairs, great EU Commisioner. Very much not a coward.

Jan Peumans (N-VA): Good parliamentarian and generally on the right side of his party, though he still occasionaly pops up in frankly idiotic controversies. One of the few N-VA politicians I genuinely respect.

Steven Vanackere (CD&V): Generally very statesmanlike, which in the contemporary party is a rarity.

Hugo Schiltz (VU): would probably not even count as 'the other side', as he'd have almost certainly ended up in the SP.a had he lived some more years. Still, one of our greatest politicians.

[I'm JewCon in name only.]

Well, most democrats I like are conservative, but I'll list 'em anyways:



Zell Miller
Heath Shuler
Gabby Giffords
John Tanner
Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (though, Kristi Noem is a better congresswoman)
Andrew Cuomo
John Breaux
Claire McCaskill



I used to really respect Anthony Weiner before the scandal despite our vast differences on the issues. Even during the scandal I felt bad for him.

[So the Heroes Fall]

Ron Paul obviously. Another would be Minnesota State Rep. John Kriesel, though he's retiring.

Republicans at national level are more or less worthless. Took me a while to realize this, but all support the same failed policies, whether they're "moderate" or "conservative". Therefore, I don't really respect or like any enough to vote for them for President, Senate or the House of Representatives at present.

Took you awhile to realize that after voting for that joke Mark Kirk.

[perdedor]

Former Rep. Joseph Cao comes to mind, it was a shame to see him go in 2010.

Hat tip to Rep. Richard Hanna for speaking honestly about who is looking out for women's interests.

[freefair]

John Kennedy, Bill Clinton , Bob Hawke, Pierre Trudeau, Olaf Palme, Willy Brandt, Chreiten,

 UK- Peter Kellner, Frank Feild, Paul Boateng, Harold Wilson, Tony Blair, Alex Salmond, Nicole Sturgeon, Alan Johnson, Lord Alan Sugar (a lot of the old working class socially conservative wing of Labour)
Dislike but Respect- Galloway, Skinner, Corbyn

[State Comptroller Atkins]

Respect- Galloway

Hohohohohoho.

[MilesC56]

Susan Collins
Howard Coble
Jon Huntsman
Shelley Moore Capito
Kay Bailey Hutchinson

I forgot Lisa Murkowski and Chuck Hagel.

[dialectical fetishist]

I have a lot of respect for Nigel Farage - his actions as an MEP have made him possibly my favourite current politician in Britain, ironically.

Outside of the healthcare reforms, I've actually found Andrew Lansley to be relatively palatable now and then.

Past Tories I respect:
Joseph Chamberlain (His tariff reform crusade in particular)
Neville Chamberlain (Poor foreign policy perhaps, but his oft-overlooked domestic policy was way ahead of its time)
Winston Churchill (Great wartime leader, no denying that)
Harold Macmillan
Enoch Powell (except for his stance on immigration which was stupid then and is still stupid now)

[Sibboleth]

but his oft-overlooked domestic policy was way ahead of its time

This piece of historical hipsterism has become far too common of late.