Jesse Helms passed away on July 4, 2008. He represented North Carolina in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2003, the longest any Senator from that state has served. He was also an asshole. Helms deserves respect upon his passing, but he also deserves honesty about his virulent racism, which lasted long past its political shelf life or social acceptability. He was vigorous and unashamed in his defense of segregation and his own personal racism, and age did not give him wisdom.
Like other politicians, he was a master at cloaking his baser motives in high-minded rhetoric. In a 1959 op-ed piece, he wrote, ""Compromise, hell! ... If freedom is right and tyranny is wrong, why should those who believe in freedom treat it as if it were a roll of bologna to be bartered a slice at a time?" Noble sentiments, until you realize that by "tyranny" he meant civil rights laws.
Rest in peace, Senator Helms. If there is a God, I hope He's black.
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