Robert Byrd and the other conservative southern democrats mentioned throughout these comments remained democrats [or became independents, as did H.F.Byrd,Jr (who is still living, btw, as is democrat Fritz Hollings)] primarily because it would have been unthinkable for them to ever join “The Party of Lincoln.” These conservative southern democrats did, however, join forces with like-minded conservative republicans to form the Conservative coalition, which nearly always voted in block for its conservative agenda. The common thread of this coalition and the way it thought and voted was conservatism, not democrat or republican.