Former Sen. Jesse Helms dies at age 86

[helomech]

BY DAVID ESPO and WHITNEY WOODWARD, Associated Press Writers 1 minute ago


Former Sen. Jesse Helms, who built a career along the fault lines of racial politics and battled liberals, Communists and the occasional fellow Republican during 30 conservative years in Congress, died on the Fourth of July.
He was 86.
Helms died at 1:15 a.m., said the Jesse Helms Center at Wingate University in North Carolina.
"He was very comfortable," said former chief of staff Jimy Broughton, who added Helms died of natural causes in Raleigh.
Helms, who first became known to North Carolina voters as a newspaper and television commentator, won election to the Senate in 1972 and decided not to run for a sixth term in 2002.
As he aged, Helms was slowed by a variety of illnesses, including a bone disorder, prostate cancer and heart problems, and he made his way through the Capitol on a motorized scooter as his career neared an end. In April 2006, his family announced that he had been moved into a convalescent center after being diagnosed with vascular dementia, in which repeated minor strokes damage the brain.
The center said funeral arrangements were pending.


RIP......................
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080704/ap_on_re_us/obit_helms

[Paddy51]

I remember his speeches on AFRTS when I was a kid.

RIP.

[Bia]

SNL used to make good comedy poking fun at him.

Sen Jesse Helms undercover as a hippy infiltrating pot smokers and letting his Jack Booty Thugs attack.

:P

[SoSo]

He was a good man, and a true American patriot. Rest in peace.

[larrystarling]

Sad news! One of the few Republicans who wouldn't let the Liberal motormouths get away with there BS......:backhand:

[loganinkosovo]

We lost Jesse so they should lose Byrd.....Fast!

That Fu@khead Byrd should have done the world a favor and stepped in front of a train when he was 10. Grand Poobaa of the Klan and all the Liberals love his demented Alzheimer's ridden ass!

[Limeyfellow]

Helms was a bigoted SOB nutjob but at least out of office he was no longer poisoning the nation with his speech. Guess he gone for good now. The less of these type of people, the better the world would be. The sad thing is, he probably would prefer living in the Soviet Union with the crack downs he could have done.

[California Joe]

Thought he was already dead.

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

Helms was a bigoted SOB nutjob but at least out of office he was no longer poisoning the nation with his speech. Guess he gone for good now. The less of these type of people, the better the world would be. The sad thing is, he probably would prefer living in the Soviet Union with the crack downs he could have done.

:cantbeli::cantbeli::cantbeli:

I'm guessing you aren't from America, and definitely aren't from North Carolina.

[PeterRJG]

Megaraptor;3366461']:cantbeli::cantbeli::cantbeli:

I'm guessing you aren't from America, and definitely aren't from North Carolina.

You don't need to be from either place to know Helms was a card-carrying racist and a bigot. He may have done NC a lot of good, but guess what he'll be remembered for? You know what his legacy will be, don't you?

Far, far easier to remember the bad and the scandalous, than the good. Just ask Bill Clinton about that sometime.

[boone]

http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/5179/ht44docflyntwq5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I don't know much about Jesse Helms, but I thought this guy should make an appearance in his thread.

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

You don't need to be from either place to know Helms was a card-carrying racist and a bigot. He may have done NC a lot of good, but guess what he'll be remembered for? You know what his legacy will be, don't you?

Being an icon of the conservative movement, taking principled stands for what he believed in and being a strong advocate for democracy around the world. And being a strong advocate for the people of North Carolina. And transforming the politics of a state that was a Democratic stronghold into a state which hasn't voted Democratic in a presidential election since 1976.

The stuff about him being a racist and a bigot was propaganda by his democratic opponents who tried to label him a racist when he was running against black candidates (sound familiar?) or who were otherwise trying to get him because he was fighting their agenda at every turn.

[INAT]

Now I always confuse Helms with that other guy who after he died it was made public that he had a African American daughter?


Oh I know Strom Thurmond.

Nice pic of Larry F Boone.

[boone]

Strom Thurmond died? I thought he'd outlive the roaches.
and his half-black daughter

[larrystarling]

You don't need to be from either place to know Helms was a card-carrying racist and a bigot. He may have done NC a lot of good, but guess what he'll be remembered for? You know what his legacy will be, don't you?

Far, far easier to remember the bad and the scandalous, than the good. Just ask Bill Clinton about that sometime.
I guess the former grand wizard KKK individual from West Virginia is a better role model? Oh by the way he's a Democrat They can't be racist's huh? Most brain dead liberals seem to forget the ghost's in there closet's.

[shocker1]

The man fought the UN and it's many attempts to regulate our natural resources. Good politician with the usual good ole boy baggage attached to White Southern Politicians. Let's remember though which party ran the South back in the days of two water fountains. I am sure he did some dirty tricks too, nobody stays in DC that long with a clean nose.

[PeterRJG]

I guess the former grand wizard KKK individual from West Virginia is a better role model? Oh by the way he's a Democrat They can't be racist's huh? Most brain dead liberals seem to forget the ghost's in there closet's.

I'm an Australian - we don't divide the world into liberals and conservatives - that's your pastime.

I'm not comparing Helms to anyone else and I couldn't give a rat's ass. So the rest of your argument is neither here nor there. He's the guy that died and he's the subject. Simple enough to understand.

The guy was a racist and a bigot, and that's probably how he'll be remembered in years to come. I'll repeat myself here: it's the bad that gets remembered.

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

The guy was a racist and a bigot, and that's probably how he'll be remembered in years to come. I'll repeat myself here: it's the bad that gets remembered.

You're full of crap.

What has Jesse Helms done to deserve the title of "racist and bigot"?

The usual example given is a campaign ad opposing affirmative action, which has widespread opposition from across all racial groups in the United States.

Here is the ad in question:

http://youtube.com/watch/v/KIyewCdXMzk

Sorry but I don't see anything racist about this.

[boone]

[quote='[WDW]Megaraptor;3366506']You're full of crap.

What has Jesse Helms done to deserve the title of "racist and bigot"?/quote]
How 'bout being a racist and a bigot?
Not to mention a homophobe.

[larrystarling]

I'm an Australian - we don't divide the world into liberals and conservatives - that's your pastime.

I'm not comparing Helms to anyone else and I couldn't give a rat's ass. So the rest of your argument is neither here nor there. He's the guy that died and he's the subject. Simple enough to understand.

The guy was a racist and a bigot, and that's probably how he'll be remembered in years to come. I'll repeat myself here: it's the bad that gets remembered.
Since your not from this Country as far as i'm concerned you don't have a dog in this fight. It would be like me making comments about some of your political leaders I know nothing about. Making blanket statements about something you know nothing about speaks volumes itself.:bash:

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

How 'bout being a racist and a bigot?
Not to mention a homophobe.

How about providing evidence to back up your claims instead of just repeating stuff over and over again?

[boone]

Megaraptor;3366513']How about providing evidence to back up your claims instead of just repeating stuff over and over again?
The man's track record in congress is evidence enough.

[PeterRJG]

Since your not from this Country as far as i'm concerned you don't have a dog in this fight. It would be like me making comments about some of your political leaders I know nothing about. Making blanket statements about something you know nothing about speaks volumes itself.:bash:

Oh, Country with a capital fvcking C...jeez, you win.

Anyhow, did you know Jesse Helms personally? No? Then you know as much about him as anyone else in this world. I can read the same newspapers you can and watch the same TV broadcasts.

Plus, I did actually live in the US for a while.

I'm sure he has a lot of stuff misattributed to him, but he wrote a number of articles for newspapers deploring racial integration and financing for research into AIDS.

[INAT]

Since your not from this Country as far as i'm concerned you don't have a dog in this fight. It would be like me making comments about some of your political leaders I know nothing about. Making blanket statements about something you know nothing about speaks volumes itself.:bash:

Why assume he knows nothing? Just because you might not know something?

[Limeyfellow]

Megaraptor;3366461']:cantbeli::cantbeli::cantbeli:

I'm guessing you aren't from America, and definitely aren't from North Carolina.

Funny you say that, since I live in Statesville, NC.

Though I still remember him as the guy who supported the death squads in South America and Africa, supporter of Apartheid and generally concerned that the gays were out to get him and disgusted at the ideas of negros working next to the white women. The guy who tried to strip the supreme court of it powers on many issues, therefore destroying the three departments of government system. The guy even made veiled threats for assassinating Clinton. The guy who tried to block any tax money going to investigate and help with AIDS because it was the sodomite's disease. The guy who pushed for some of the most draconian laws the country has seen such as charging people who sold rap albums with racketeering for some reason. Or how about his lovable rants about the need to cover up or destroy **** artwork as obscenities. The man who spent decades to do anything possible to destroy free speech, to protect us.

I get really sick of the rose tinted glasses, that describe a bigot like Helms as any sort of hero. What next? Kissinger as the new Santa Clause?

[larrystarling]

Why assume he knows nothing? Just because you might not know something?
That's original! At least i'm from the same continent the individual inquestion is from! And FWIW I happen to have had a conversation with Mr Helms and he didn't come off as a Racist or a Biggot! The man has done alot of good for North Carolina.

[PeterRJG]

That's original! At least i'm from the same continent the individual inquestion is from! And FWIW I happen to have had a conversation with Mr Helms and he didn't come off as a Racist or a Biggot! The man has done alot of good for North Carolina.

You had a conversation with him...

I once had a conversation with Mark "Chopper" Read too, and he didn't come across as a career criminal either...but guess what? Google for him if you don't know who he is.

Edit: the fact that he did a lot of good for NC is not under dispute here.

[INAT]

That's original! At least i'm from the same continent the individual inquestion is from! And FWIW I happen to have had a conversation with Mr Helms and he didn't come off as a Racist or a Biggot! The man has done alot of good for North Carolina.

Ok whatever.So you spoke with him and he did good for North Carolina and somehow the other aspects of who he was are not true? What is the
point you are making?

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

Funny you say that, since I live in Statesville, NC.

For how long?


...supporter of Apartheid

For what reasons?


and generally concerned that the gays were out to get him

I remember him saying "I think what they do is disgusting, but so long as they do it behind closed doors it is none of my business."


and disgusted at the ideas of negros working next to the white women.

Please cite...

[boone]

You had a conversation with him...

I once had a conversation with Mark "Chopper" Read too, and he didn't come across as a career criminal either...but guess what? Google for him if you don't know who he is.
I know who he is, and good point.

[larrystarling]

Ok whatever.So you spoke with him and he did good for North Carolina and somehow the other aspects of who he was are not true? What is the
point you are making?
And the point your making is?????:bash:

[INAT]

And the point your making is?????:bash:


The point I am making is that the man was many things to many diffrent people.We are not all good or all evil but rather a mix of it.You perceived him as someone who did good others perceived him as a bigot.

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

The point I am making is that the man was many things to many diffrent people.We are not all good or all evil but rather a mix of it.You perceived him as someone who did good others perceived him as a bigot.

Except that Jesse Helms emphatically denied holding any racist views...where is the evidence that he did?

You all are just repeating what you heard from other people.

[KVLG]

Helms was a bigoted SOB nutjob but at least out of office he was no longer poisoning the nation with his speech. Guess he gone for good now. The less of these type of people, the better the world would be. The sad thing is, he probably would prefer living in the Soviet Union with the crack downs he could have done.

Just out of curiosity, do you feel the same about Bob Byrd?

[KVLG]

I'm an Australian - we don't divide the world into liberals and conservatives - that's your pastime.

I'm not comparing Helms to anyone else and I couldn't give a rat's ass. So the rest of your argument is neither here nor there. He's the guy that died and he's the subject. Simple enough to understand.

The guy was a racist and a bigot, and that's probably how he'll be remembered in years to come. I'll repeat myself here: it's the bad that gets remembered.

The evil that men do lives after them. The good is often intered with the bones, or however that goes. Could you please give me any actual statements that Helms made that were bigoted?

[Douros81]

RIP Sen Helms , you were a great American, you will be missed.

[Chulo]

You don't need to be from either place to know Helms was a card-carrying racist and a bigot. He may have done NC a lot of good, but guess what he'll be remembered for? You know what his legacy will be, don't you?

Far, far easier to remember the bad and the scandalous, than the good. Just ask Bill Clinton about that sometime.that sounds more like Robert Byrd (replace the NC with WV)

[sir-chimp]

that sounds more like Robert Byrd (replace the NC with WV)

Shut up you uppity "white n_igger"

[Havoc345]

No sweat off my back, just another dixiecrat like good old Strom Thurmond. They were nothing but good old fashioned racist, sexist and anti-gay bigots.

[Douros81]

Shut up you uppity "white n_igger"

BAMB !

Watch it

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0FIBJt-c2o0&feature=PlayList&p=E3D3E584832372EF&index=15

[Afro-European]

I read somewhere that he was an ex- KKK card carrying member(like his best buddy senator Robert C. Byrd).
Still R.I.P.

[Afro-European]

The evil that men do lives after them. The good is often intered with the bones, or however that goes. Could you please give me any actual statements that Helms made that were bigoted?

Here we go:
-The race card
he used the race card against his opponent in 1972 campaign where he used the slogan: "Vote for Helms,he's one of US".he soundly won that election.For the record,his then opponent Nick Galifianakis was a bruin skinned Greek-American.

-Opposition to AIDS funding
Helms was "bitterly opposed to federal financing of AIDS research and treatment".Opposing the Kennedy-Hatch AIDS bill in 1988, Helms stated, "There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy."When Ryan White died in 1990, his mother went to Congress to speak to politicians on behalf of people with AIDS. She spoke to 23 representatives: Helms refused to speak to her even when she was alone with him in an elevator.
He tried to block AIDS refunding in 1995, saying that those with AIDS were responsible for the disease, because they had contracted it because of their "deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct", and falsely claiming that more federal dollars were spent on AIDS than heart disease or cancer. His opposition to the spending was consonant with his long term anti-gay rhetoric and opposition to civil rights for gay men and women generally. Helms had declared homo******ity "degenerate," and homo******s "weak, morally sick wretches."

Just google him for more infos.

[gaijinsamurai]

I do hope he rests in peace, but I have to say I was glad when he retired. In my opinion, he did more to contribute to the polarization between Democrats and Republicans in this country than he did to protect us from invading Cubans & Nicaraguans, "the Homo****** Agenda" (supposedly to recruit our children into their ranks), and evil feminists.
His anti-United Nations policies did more harm refugees, starving children on the brink of death, and innocents who depended on UN relief works than it pushed fo his so-called stated desire for reforms.
He was not evil, but he was, in my opinion, mean-spirited.

[Parx400]

So he didnt like the gays. He was old and confused on that issue. I dont think that makes him wrong on everything else. When it comes to the rasist stuff he was one of the first officals to have a black staff member. He oposed The civil rights act because he was a hard core supporter of states rights over federal right. Liberals always paint people who opose the federal governements power as being against the issues.

[gaijinsamurai]

I don't know if the late Mr. Helms was a racist or not, but he definetly exploited the racism of a lot of white North Carolinans for votes, even if he did hire James Maredith to be on his staff.

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

I read somewhere that he was an ex- KKK card carrying member(like his best buddy senator Robert C. Byrd).
Still R.I.P.

I'm not sure where you read that but I'm pretty sure it's wrong.

[gaijinsamurai]

I don't believe Mr. Helms was a member of the KKK, either. And in Mr. Byrd's defense, he has been 100% remorseful about his past Klan membership, and has completely repudiated everything they stand for.

[JKD]

Liberals always paint people who opose the federal governements power as being against the issues.

Conservatives, or what passes for a conservative these days, always seem to paint those who oppose the federal government's power as being with the terrorists.

[gaijinsamurai]

.....or being unpatriotic!

[Mortuus Piscis]

JESSE ON AIDS

"There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy."
(States News Service, 5/17/88)

"I've never heard once in this chamber anybody say to the homo******s, 'stop what you're doing.' If they would stop what
they're doing there would not be one additional case of AIDS in the United State."
(Jesse Helms)

JESSE ON GAYS

This bill attempts to make sure that President Clinton is not allowed to do by Executive Order what Congress has declined to enact in the past two congressional sessions namely, to treat homo******s as a special class protected under various titles of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
(Jesse Helms, introducing an anti-gay bill in January, 1999, quoted from Rhonda Smith, "Jesse Helms Introduces Anti-Gay Bill, " The Washington Blade, February 26, 1999)


JESSE ON THE ARTS

"What is really at stake is whether or not America will allow the cultural high ground in this nation to sink slowly into an
abyss of slime to placate people who clearly seek or are willing to destroy the Judaic-Christian foundations of this republic."
(1990, on funding for the National Endowment for the Arts)


JESSE ON BILL CLINTON

Bill Clinton "better watch out if he comes down here [to North Carolina]. He'd better have a bodyguard."
(stated by Jesse Helms in regards to Clinton's supposive unpopularity with the North Carolina military. According to Helms (and refuted by military personnel),


JESSE ON CAVEMEN

I've been portrayed as a caveman by some. That's not true. I'm a conservative progressive, and that means I think all men
are equal, be they slants, beaners or ******s.
(Jesse Helms, North Carolina Progressive, February 6, 1985)



JESSE ON DAN QUAYLE

"...in the l8 years and 5 months I've been in the senate, none, none have been more capable than Dan Quayle."


JESSE ON DEMOCRACY

"Democracy used to be a good thing, but now it has gotten into the wrong hands."


JESSE ON TO ERROR

"The Lord did not make me impossible of error. All I've had to offer you is the total dedication in serving you as best I know how. And I've always leveled with you, and always will, knowing full well that everyone will not agree with me. "
(Campaign debate, News & Observer, July 30, 1984)


JESSE ON HIS HEARING AID

"Let me adjust my hearing aid. It could not accommodate the decibels of the Senator from Massachusetts. I can't match
him in decibels or Jezebels, or anything else apparently."
(1993 Senate floor debate with Ted Kennedy)


JESSE ON HIS HEART VALVE SURGERY

"It's no piece of cake, but it sure beats listening to Ted Kennedy on the Senate floor."


JESSE ON GAYS AND AIDS

"If homo******s would only stop doing what they're doing, There wouldn't be any more AIDS."


JESSE ON LATINOS

"All Latins are volatile people. Hence, I was not surprised at the volatile reaction."
(stated by Helms after Mexicans protested his visit to Mexico in 1986 to investigate allegations of political corruption.
Helms was investigating as to whether or not there might be communists in Mexico)


JESSE ON LIBERALISM

"Atheism and socialism -- or liberalism, which tends in the same direction -- are inseparable entities. When you have men
who no longer believe that God is in charge of human affairs, you have men attempting to take the place of God by means of the Superstate."
(1973)


JESSIE ON AFRICAN AMERICANS

"To rob the Negro of his reputation of thinking through a problem in his own fashion is about the same as trying to pretend that he doesn't have a natural instinct for rhythm and for singing and dancing."

"The Negro cannot count forever on the kind of restraint that's thus far left him free to clog the streets, disrupt traffic,
and interfere with other men's rights."

When a caller to CNN's Larry King Live show praised guest Jesse Helms for "everything you've done to help keep
down the ******s," Helms' response was to salute the camera and say, "Well, thank you, I think."
(Wilmington Star-News, 9/16/95)


JESSE ON THE NEW YORK TIMES & WASHINGTON POST

"The New York Times and The Washington Post are both infested with homo******s themselves."
(The Post, he charged, "caters to homo****** groups. Just about every person down there is homo****** or lesbian,")


JESSE ON THE METRIC SYSTEM

"If God had wanted us to use the metric system, Jesus would have had 10 apostles."


JESSE ON SMOKING

"I was with some Vietnamese recently, and some of them were smoking two cigarettes at the same time. That's the kind of
customers we need! "
(at a dinner to promote the state's tobacco industry, 1996)


JESSE ON YOUR TAX DOLLARS

"Your tax dollars are being used to pay for grade school classes that teach our children that CANNIBALISM, WIFE-SWAPPING, and the MURDER of infants and the elderly are acceptable behavior. ''
(Part of the text of a fundraising mailer sent out by the Helms campaign.)


JESSE ON THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA (UNC)

"University of Negroes and Communists".


JESSE ON VOODOO

Nevertheless, if the Administration insists on funding these programs I shall not stand in the way, so long as you agree
to the following conditions: 1) that no funds be obligated to any affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF) in Haiti, including PROFAMIL; and 2) that no funds be provided directly or indirectly to any group whose
programs include producing material intended to be used in a voodoo ceremony ... A.I.D. is funding programs that
endorse or legitimize what amounts to witchcraft."
(quoted in Mat Honan, "Jesse Helms' Political Voodoo," Mojo, March 23, 1999)

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

JESSE ON DEMOCRACY

"Democracy used to be a good thing, but now it has gotten into the wrong hands."

JESSE ON HIS HEARING AID

"Let me adjust my hearing aid. It could not accommodate the decibels of the Senator from Massachusetts. I can't match
him in decibels or Jezebels, or anything else apparently."
(1993 Senate floor debate with Ted Kennedy)

JESSE ON HIS HEART VALVE SURGERY

"It's no piece of cake, but it sure beats listening to Ted Kennedy on the Senate floor."

JESSE ON THE METRIC SYSTEM

"If God had wanted us to use the metric system, Jesus would have had 10 apostles."


JESSE ON SMOKING

"I was with some Vietnamese recently, and some of them were smoking two cigarettes at the same time. That's the kind of
customers we need! "
(at a dinner to promote the state's tobacco industry, 1996)


wootwootwootI love Jesse Helms...

[The Balkan]

But in all fairness he is somewhat of a racist, setereotypical old bigot from the South.

That is when you look at all his comments not just the ones you like.

[drinking das boot]

helms was an out of touch racist homophobic horrible bigot.

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

But in all fairness he is somewhat of a racist, setereotypical old bigot from the South.

That is when you look at all his comments not just the ones you like.

Maybe you can look at his other comments if you want to understand why people liked this guy:

"America never promises anybody happiness – only the pursuit of happiness, whether it manifests itself in the ownership of an automobile or a home or in any one of a thousand other ways. The genius of America is not in winning something or in being given it. The miracle of America is the opportunity to strive and work and earn the things we really want."

"I fight for what I believe. If you are not willing to stand up for what you believe, your beliefs are not strong enough."

"It had been my feeling that AIDS was a disease largely spread by reckless and voluntary ****** and drug-abusing behavior, and that it would probably be confined to those in high risk populations. I was wrong."


“The Clinton Administration might also be known in history for its unapologetic nominations of some of the most unsuitable people in America to make and carry out government policies. Actions really do speak louder than words.”

“The record of China’s failed promises to the people of Hong Kong cannot be ignored when they offer their solutions to the ‘Taiwan issue.’ The one country/two systems option held out to the citizens of Hong Kong has proven to be a worthless and malicious promise. Each passing month has seen new examples of repression that expose the unwillingness of a Communist regime to risk even the smallest pocket of freedom. The ‘democratic reforms’ that the citizens of Hong Kong were promised have been delayed and diminished over and over – in violation of their own laws.
“If one city cannot be allowed to have local democratic rule, how could anyone expect that Taiwan would be allowed to continue to live in freedom as a part of the Chinese Republic? Clearly, the fate of a democracy can never be put in the hands of a totalitarian regime.”

http://www.americandaily.com/article/10174


Most of the negative impressions of Senator Helms were liberal-media-created perceptions that totally misrepresented him for their own purposes. What's more, a lot of people believed those bogus reports. Especially those regarding race.

When I first received the book, I told a friend that I planned to review it, [that] it appeared to be a very open and honest account of his life. The friend said, "Does it mention the white sheets hanging in his closet?" This widely held false perception of Senator Helms was a direct result of misleading journalism.

Jesse Helms was positively not racist as the democrats (http://www.americandaily.com/article/10174#) and their press made him out to be. In the account of his earlier life, he tells how he once got into a fuss with a black boy who called him a "white cracker." Helms retorted by using the 'N' word.

His father, a very upstanding man with high morals and ethics, and who believed in the dignity of every human life, "….happened by" as Helms describes it, "and heard what I said.

"He reached down, took my hand and led me into our home. Gently he taught me a lesson I've never forgotten: "There's nothing you did that made you white, and there's not a thing he did that made him colored. Son, I don't want to hear you say that word again. Do you understand?"

"I said, "Yes, sir." I've kept my word ever since. I don't care anything about the color of skin; I want to know what's in the head and what's in the heart." And it is to be noted that Senator Helms never advocated segregation.

...



When he hesitated to vote for a huge sum to be appropriated for AIDS research, since he felt it was out of proportion to money allocated for other diseases that affected a greater number of citizens, the "gays," fueled by the liberals, exploded into a hissy fit (http://www.americandaily.com/article/10174#).

The democrats and their press quickly labeled him a 'hate-filled homophobe," firing up demonstrators who stormed his home in Arlington, Virginia and draped a huge condom over the roof of the house. Senator Helms and his wife Dot were out of town at the time, but neighbors and police took care of the problem.

As the AIDS problem progressed, in March of 2002, Senator Helms along with Senator Bill Frist offered an amendment to add $500 million for International Development's programs to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic.


http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/fictionortruth.asp#fic2


Fiction: Senator Helms is racist and has opposed the progress of African
Americans.

Truth: From his childhood Senator Helms was taught to respect all people and to understand that all
Americans had as their birthright life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

In his earliest correspondence (http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/documents/earlycorrespondence.pdf), Jesse Helms rejected the doctrine of white supremacy and as manager of WRAL-TV (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30287) he hired both minorities and women in responsible positions, even proposing to set up a department at WRAL (http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/documents/JHlettertoAS.pdf) for the sole purpose of training minority candidates for significant career opportunities. As a US Senator he was known and appreciated by the Capitol workforce for his genuine friendship and interest in them. Individuals like James Meredith and Claude Allen have recounted their staff experiences with Senator Helms many times. In fact, Senator Helms was responsible for the hiring of Claude Allen in 1985 as the first African-American to serve on the Republican or Democratic professional staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The archives of WRAL editorials from the 1960’s include Jesse Helms’ high praise for African-Americans such as Rev. Leon Sullivan (http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/documents/SullivanViewPoint.pdf), Asa Spaulding (http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/documents/SpauldingViewPointexcerpt.pdf) and others whose leadership demonstrated that dreams matched by diligence could offer any American a better future. These editorials make plain the Senator’s respect for those who wanted to better their lives through their own labors and his frustration over those who preferred the free ride of government handouts. That frustration had nothing to do with color and everything to do with a failure to appreciate all that America had to offer anyone who was willing to pursue their goal. An editorial praising the way in which a young architecture student by the name of Harvey Gantt (http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/documents/GanttViewPointexcerpt.pdf) integrated Clemson University illustrates Jesse Helms’ support of progress that was genuine and sustainable.

In his memoir, Here's Where I Stand (http://64.49.237.76/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Book+01), Senator Helms Says:

“It has always been my belief that people of goodwill on all sides of an issue can resolve their differences without the intervention of the government. We will never know how integration might have been achieved in neighborhoods across our land, because the opportunity was snatched away by outside agitators who had their own agendas to advance. We certainly do know the price paid by the stirring of hatred, the encouragement of violence, the rise of suspicion and distrust. We do know that too many lives were lost, that businesses were destroyed, and millions of dollars were diverted from books and teachers to support the cost of buses and gasoline. We do know that turning our public schools into social laboratories almost destroyed them.”

Upon the Senator’s retirement Walter Russell Mead (http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=95001024) wrote in the Wall Street Journal’s Opinion Journal:

“… If Mr. Helms can be seen as one of the great conservative figures of American history, calling the nation to remain faithful to traditional values in the midst of rapid social change, he also deserves to be remembered as one of a handful of men who brought white Southern conservatives into a new era of race relations.

This was not my initial impression of Mr. Helms, when as a young boy in North Carolina during the civil rights movement I listened to his anti-integration, anti-Martin Luther King commentaries on WRAL-TV. But once the civil-rights legislation of the 1960s was enacted, Mr. Helms--along with some of his erstwhile segregationist colleagues like South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond--did something very revolutionary for Southern white populists.
He accepted the laws and obeyed them.

This is not how Southern politicians responded in the 1870s and 1880s. Populists like South Carolina's "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman did not just fulminate against civil rights laws. They led movements of armed, organized resistance, intimidating black voters at the polls, defending racial lynchings and, in Tillman's case, being directly and openly involved in the murder of black political leaders.

Even as the passions of the civil-rights movement were at their height, Messrs. Helms and Thurmond (whose father was Ben Tillman's lawyer) shunned violence. Without ever losing their credentials as hard-core defenders of Southern values, they hired African-American staffers and gave African-Americans the same level of constituency service they gave whites. Even their opposition to affirmative action is based on their claim that these principles violate what ought to be a color-blind stance on the part of the government.

That is something no white Southern politician, and especially one representing Mr. Helms' core supporters of farmers and small-town whites, would have ever said before Jesse Helms came along. It is something they all say now.
Mr. Helms could have followed the Tillman path and led the white South into violent resistance; he also could have failed to carry his supporters with him into grudging acceptance of the new racial order. He disciplined and tamed the segregationist South even as he represented it to a hostile nation. We are all better off because he managed this difficult high- wire act.”

[The Balkan]

There's really nothing you can say that can make his racial comments sound better. They don't erase anything else good he said or did, but they are there and he obviosly was an out of touch bigot.

EVen a bigot can be skilled at things and have valid oinions on other issues.

[sir-chimp]

EVen a bigot can be skilled at things and have valid oinions on other issues.

http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/7995/senatorbarackobamavg8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/7995/senatorbarackobamavg8.c216646701.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=396&i=senatorbarackobamavg8.jpg)

yes, yes they can

[The Balkan]

http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/7995/senatorbarackobamavg8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/7995/senatorbarackobamavg8.c216646701.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=396&i=senatorbarackobamavg8.jpg)

yes, yes they can

Well when I hear Obama call whites crackers or honkeys, Asians chinks or Hispanics beaners, maybe I'll agree with you.

And I'm sure he hates his mother lol.

[sir-chimp]

Well when I hear Obama call whites crackers or honkeys, Asians chinks or Hispanics beaners, maybe I'll agree with you.

And I'm sure he hates his mother lol.

You do comprehend that bigotry consists of more then just racist terms?

But hey I dont know nothing since I am just one of those typical white people clinging to my guns and religion - which being a agnostic puts me in a interesting position.

[The Balkan]

You do comprehend that bigotry consists of more then just racist terms?

But hey I dont know nothing since I am just one of those typical white people clinging to my guns and religion - which being a agnostic puts me in a interesting position.

Yes, I'm well experienced in knowing what bigotry and racism is. And like it or not that comment he made was pretty much on point. At least it was in my opinion, and alot of other people's.

Was it a smart one to make? No.

But it was honest.

Kinda like how people are defending Jesse Helms controversial remarks saying "well it's true". Why can't Obama do the same?

[sir-chimp]

Yes, I'm well experienced in knowing what bigotry and racism is. And like it or not that comment he made was pretty much on point. At least it was in my opinion, and alot of other people's.

Was it a smart one to make? No.

But it was honest.

Kinda like how people are defending Jesse Helms controversial remarks saying "well it's true". Why can't Obama do the same?


A lot of people would give the same weak explanation for Helms bigoted remarks as you just predictably gave for Obama's and claim the bigotry is merely representing facts. While in truth there is no "facts" there is merely their bigoted perceptions.

Bigotry is bigotry is bigotry -You can try to spin Obama's remarks anyway you like just because you happen to agree with his bigotry, but it doesn't change it for what it is no matter how much you try to fool yourself otherwise.

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

Well when I hear Obama call whites crackers or honkeys, Asians chinks or Hispanics beaners, maybe I'll agree with you.

And I'm sure he hates his mother lol.

"My grandmother was a typical white person who once confessed to me her fear of black men..."

[gaijinsamurai]

You do comprehend that bigotry consists of more then just racist terms?

But hey I dont know nothing since I am just one of those typical white people clinging to my guns and religion - which being a agnostic puts me in a interesting position.

When did Obama say that white people typically cling to guns and religion? I am aware of his infamous comment in regards to rural folks, but did he specifically say it was white people?

[Dominique]

How did this go from Jessie Helms to Obama?

[The Balkan]

Megaraptor;3370595']"My grandmother was a typical white person who once confessed to me her fear of black men..."

And that, where he's speaking aboput his own family, is on the same level as this...

"All Latins are volatile people. Hence, I was not surprised at the volatile reaction."

"To rob the Negro of his reputation of thinking through a problem in his own fashion is about the same as trying to pretend that he doesn't have a natural instinct for rhythm and for singing and dancing."

"The Negro cannot count forever on the kind of restraint that's thus far left him free to clog the streets, disrupt traffic,
and interfere with other men's rights."


Obamas remark is true, you're just looking for something to be offended at. If anything he should've said "stereotypical" and not "typical", I'll give you that.

lol I find it amazing how much Obama scares some people. It really says alot to me.



How did this go from Jessie Helms to Obama?

Apperantly some people think they are the same.

[sir-chimp]

And that, where he's speaking aboput his own family, is on the same level as this...

"All Latins are volatile people. Hence, I was not surprised at the volatile reaction."

"To rob the Negro of his reputation of thinking through a problem in his own fashion is about the same as trying to pretend that he doesn't have a natural instinct for rhythm and for singing and dancing."

"The Negro cannot count forever on the kind of restraint that's thus far left him free to clog the streets, disrupt traffic,
and interfere with other men's rights."


Obamas remark is true, you're just looking for something to be offended at. If anything he should've said "stereotypical" and not "typical", I'll give you that.

lol I find it amazing how much Obama scares some people. It really says alot to me.




Apperantly some people think they are the same.

deflection and spin is deflection and spin

and bigotry is bigotry is bigotry

Would the spin dr kindly explain to us what a "typical" white person is?

The fact he would use his bigotry in reference to his own family says all that much more about him.


When did Obama say that white people typically cling to guns and religion? I am aware of his infamous comment in regards to rural folks, but did he specifically say it was white people?

Nope he did not specifically say "white". Im not sure but I think he may have been referring to the large populations of Eskimos that settled in small towns through out Pennsylvania and the Midwest.


How did this go from Jessie Helms to Obama?

Because its amusing to jerk around self righteous hypocrites who will breathlessly attack one bigot and then will - quite predictably - blindly defend another.

[The Balkan]

I see that you prefer to ignore the obvious difference so I have nothing left to say.

[Mortuus Piscis]

Chimp you know even if Obama was out yelling kill whitey, that doesn't take anything away from the racist comments Helm's has made.

They are there and they are real, regardless of what any other man does or says.

"but he did it too" is some 2nd grade ****. stop trying to take attention away from the real discussion. Obama could be the first black leader of the klan and it has nothing to do with this.

[JKD]

Megaraptor;3370595']"My grandmother was a typical white person who once confessed to me her fear of black men..."

When did the "typical white person" part work it's way into Obama's speech? I've seen that misquote elsewhere as well.

Obama: "I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/18/obama-race-speech-read-t_n_92077.html

Describes my grandparents as well. I think a lot of people miss the point of what he was trying to say or just do so deliberately to try and score political points.

[INAT]

Megaraptor;3366956']Except that Jesse Helms emphatically denied holding any racist views...where is the evidence that he did?

You all are just repeating what you heard from other people.


Well apart from actually knowing the man yes I did hear some of it from other people. That is one way in which we as humans obtain information about the world we live in.How do you gain information reading, writing speaking and listening right?

I did not say anything like he is or he is not I just made an observation about our perception so simmer down,Bif.

[Douros81]

JESSE ON SMOKING

"I was with some Vietnamese recently, and some of them were smoking two cigarettes at the same time. That's the kind of
customers we need! "
(at a dinner to promote the state's tobacco industry, 1996)


JESSE ON YOUR TAX DOLLARS

"Your tax dollars are being used to pay for grade school classes that teach our children that CANNIBALISM, WIFE-SWAPPING, and the MURDER of infants and the elderly are acceptable behavior. ''
(Part of the text of a fundraising mailer sent out by the Helms campaign.)


JESSE ON THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA (UNC)

"University of Negroes and Communists".


The UNC just floored me. Thats just to cool, RIP Sen Helms.

[[WDW]Megaraptor]

When did the "typical white person" part work it's way into Obama's speech? I've seen that misquote elsewhere as well.

Obama: "I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/18/obama-race-speech-read-t_n_92077.html

Describes my grandparents as well. I think a lot of people miss the point of what he was trying to say or just do so deliberately to try and score political points.

Oh, he definitely said it:

http://youtube.com/watch/v/abPQ9kZe3ZA

[Chulo]

oh nos! huffington post misspoked

[SBL]

oh nos! huffington post misspoked
Right-wing lies.

[JKD]

Megaraptor;3372207']Oh, he definitely said it:

http://youtube.com/watch/v/abPQ9kZe3ZA

Ah, I stand corrected, sir. Even though "My grandmother was a typical white person who once confessed to me her fear of black men..." is sort of an amalgamation of the two.

Still, I don't think Obama hates whitey or anything. It's a complex issue and not an easy point he's trying to make. He definitely didn't do himself any political favors there though.

[JKD]

oh nos! huffington post misspoked

No. Two different quotes (and [WDW]Megaraptor's was still a miss quote to be all technical about it). I didn't know about the second one. My bad.

[Douros81]

oh nos! huffington post misspoked


She just a media whore, and rides the wave of the time. I remeber when she used to prise Newt. She's a whore.