Conservatives’ Five Favorite Democrats

With health-care reform passed on party lines and financial-regulation reform looking like it might go the same way, there is little love lost between conservatives and liberals in Washington. Still, a few Democrats have won praise—or at least grudging respect—from the right despite the contentious atmosphere. They earn the plaudits of the other side for their aisle-crossing ways, fiscal conservatism, and, sometimes, plain old style. Here are five Democrats even a conservative can love. Some of the names may surprise you.

Current Job: Senator from Virginia

Fawning conservative quote: "Webb is an impressive man ... He could always be counted on to stand up to the elites who peddled falsehoods." —Mackubin Thomas Owens in the National Review

The basis of appeal: An author and decorated Vietnam veteran with a Navy Cross and two Purple Hearts, among others, Webb was appointed by Reagan to be secretary of the Navy and spent much of his career supporting Republican candidates. Since his election to the Senate as a Democrat, he has pressed for moderate priorities, crossing the aisle more times than any other seated senator save Ben Nelson. In recent months, he has won applause from conservatives for voting for six Republican amendments to the health-care bill and for publicly requesting that the Senate not vote on it until Scott Brown's seating.

The rub: Though he is a moderate, Webb is also a fierce critic of certain conservative positions. He abandoned the party over the war in Iraq, as well as its pro-life bent. Webb also vocally opposed George W. Bush's escalation of the Iraq War. At a White House reception shortly after his arrival in Washington, Webb refused to join a receiving line to meet Bush and didn't answer the president's question about his son, a Marine then serving in Iraq, saying, "That's between me and my boy, Mr. President." (Photo: Heng Sinith/AP)

Current Job: White House chief of staff

Fawning conservative quote: "When we hit a rough spot, he always looked for a path forward. I consider Rahm to be a friend and colleague. He's tough but fair, honest, direct, and candid." — Sen. Lindsey Graham

The basis of appeal: Some very progressive commentators have branded the former leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as a "closet conservative." The insinuation is not entirely without reason. Rather than pushing progressives, Rahm encouraged conservative Democrats to enter House races in 2006; he has instinctively tended to tack to the center since his days in the Clinton administration and later on the Hill. And he has acted no differently since joining the Obama White House, reportedly arguing for leaving illegal immigrants out of health-care reform, against pushing a big bill through at all, against promising to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, and against holding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's trial in New York, for instance.

The rub: Rahm's perceived centrism is really pragmatism. He acts as a counterbalance to too-idealistic or too-green members of the White House staff—not at all as a loudspeaker for conservative interests. (Photo: Lawrence Jackson/AP)

Current Job: Representative from Massachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee

Fawning conservative quote: "I think that I have been treated more fairly [by him], and a number of my Republican colleagues have been treated more fairly [by him], since the Democrats have become the majority than I was treated by my own leadership." — Rep. Dana Rohrabacher

The basis of appeal: Personality and his no-nonsense attitude. Conservatives couldn't possibly love his politics, but they do love his witty style and willingness to engage with the other side on reasonable points of debate. Frank often works with the libertarian contingent in the House, including members such as Ron Paul, on priorities such as reducing penalties for medical marijuana use and allowing online gambling. Frank has even won applause (and laughs) from even staunchly conservative members of the House, like Rohrabacher, during the financial-reform debate. Frank makes an especially unlikely friend to conservatives given his prominent status as the nation's highest-ranking openly gay elected official.

The rub: Some conservatives might love Frank, but they hardly like the policies he supports or the caustic rapier wit he brings to some debates. His sexual orientation has also led to some nasty remarks from conservatives, even some of his colleagues. (Photo: Dennis Van Tine/Retna-Corbis)

Current Job: Senator from Wisconsin

Fawning conservative quote: "Senator Feingold took an unpopular position within his own party on behalf of the American people. He deserves Wisconsin's thanks for doing that." —Americans For Prosperity, a group advocating for small government, in praising Feingold for opposing earmarks.

The basis of appeal: Feingold has championed a number of truly bipartisan initiatives, among them campaign-finance reform and anti-earmark legislation—the latter won him plaudits from archconservative Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina. To boot, Feingold might be John McCain's second-best friend in the Senate, behind Lindsey Graham. In addition to his idiosyncratic policy interests, he is a staunch defender of traditions that may not always serve his party's short-term interests. For instance, a member of the Judiciary Committee, he is reluctant to vote against Republican judicial nominees for ideological reasons, on the grounds that presidents deserve wide latitude in making appointments.

The rub: Aside from his fiscal conservatism, Feingold is fundamentally a progressive liberal. For instance, he took a principled stance against the Iraq War, and famously recommended that President George W. Bush be censured for his support of the warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Current Job: Governor of Oklahoma

Fawning conservative quote: "Gov. Henry [does] right by taxpayers" —Americans for Prosperity

The basis of appeal: When Brad Henry moved into the Oklahoma governor's mansion in 2003, the state was reeling from years of Republican financial mismanagement and facing a $700 million deficit. Henry worked with the Oklahoma legislature to return the state to solvency, closing the budget gap with spending cuts and even refilling the state's rainy-day fund. Once the economic situation normalized, Henry signed the state's largest income-tax cuts into law. As a Democratic governor in one of the country's reddest states, he won applause for championing fiscal conservatism and low taxes.

The rub: Henry might be conservative, but he is no Republican. For instance, he repeatedly vetoed Republican-crafted laws, including a popular 2008 provision requiring women to get an ultrasound before having an abortion. (The Oklahoma legislature overrode the veto.) Plus, it is unclear what Henry's politics might be if he were to come to Washington, or even if he wants to head there. He is term-limited, and he chose not to run against Sen. Tom Coburn, one of Oklahoma's two Republican Senators, in 2010. (Photo: AP)