I have a quote from him where he says "truth is i am a lifelong democrat,and that pisses off liberals today like you wouldn't believe"
I too can appreciate conservative Democrats...I am the first Republican in my family, but we all agree on social issues.
For instance, my taxes shouldn't pay for your handout.
In fact, I am not sure where we exactly draw the line between Democrat and Republican -- Granddaddy, the uncles, and my folks all voted for Reagan, Bush 41, Dole, and Bush 43. None of them voted for Kennedy. They all supported the Vietnam War, Desert Storm, and the War on Terror.
In their minds, though, only rich guys are Republican. But I think that with the likes of Jesse Jackson, Pelosi, Daschle, Reid, Teddy, Johnny Edwards, Kerry, and the Clintons, they are more willing to call themselves Republicans.
Again, the party left them, not the other way around.