You also left out similar segregationists such as Sam Ervin and William Fulbright. Helms was a segregationist, which is hardly a surprise for a man born in 1921, but he was no racist based upon the evidence. The
radio station he ran in NC as well as his staff in the Senate reflect nothing of the sort. He certainly had no problem ramrodding Colin Powell's nomination through as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. As in many areas, he was ahead of his time-he was anti-affirmative action which even the Supreme Court is now.
As for homophobic, that misunderstood and equally misused term, Helms was certainly not in the meaning used here. He received that reputation for requiring that women testing positive for HIV and their physicians be informed so that pregnant women could be given the vaccine that prevents HIV from being transfered to their unborn child. For some reason this was a huge privacy issue with the liberal minds of the day and denoted homophobia. Helms also, virtually single-handedly, saw to it that far more money for HIV treatment was sent to Africa. Along the way he developed a personal friendship with the rock star Bono.
And while it may be fine for the poster above that he knew the man not personally, those who did, including his political opponents and many who thought they hated him previously, found that the man was unfailingly gracious, solicitous, and a true southern gentleman.
Helms indeed was anti-liberal, but in a way that the vast majority of the American poeple are now. He was a resolute Cold Warrior in an age when all that brought to mind among the cognoscenti wwere scenes from Dr. Strangelove. He preserved Ronald Reagan's candidacy in 1974 for long enough for Reagan to win in a landslide in 1980. Originally not a supporter of Israel he changed his mind on that issue and became one of her staunchest supporters.
It's quite easy to throw charges about based upon stereotypes but, if one is willing, the pursuit of the truth is far more rewarding. And I'll tell you one thing; you wouldn't have seen an embarassment of a Republican Congress spending money as this last one did without a hew and cry from Jesse Helms. He had backbone and he used it.
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