Jesse Helms

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Jesse Helms
U.S. Senator, North Carolina
In office 1973–2003
Preceded by	B. Everett Jordan
Succeeded by	Elizabeth Dole
Born	October 18, 1921 Monroe, North Carolina
Political party	Democratic to 1970 Republican since 1970
Spouse	Dorothy Helms
Religion	Baptist

Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. (born October 18, 1921) is a former five-term Republican U.S. Senator from North Carolina and a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is considered one of the leading figures of the modern "Christian right", but was widely seen as the epitome of a Southern racist and bigot by many. On April 2, 2006, Helms's wife of 63 years, Dorothy Jane "Dot" Coble Helms, announced that he is afflicted with multi-infarct dementia and had been moved to a convalescent facility near their Raleigh home.

Contents 1 Family and education 2 Early career 3 Election victories 4 1976 Republican National Convention 5 Senatorial service 6 Controversies 7 Retirement 8 References in Popular Culture 9 References 10 External links 10.1 Pro-Helms 10.2 Anti-Helms

[edit] Family and education

Helms was born in Monroe, North Carolina, where his father, called "Big Jesse," served as chief of police. Jesse and Dot Helms are the parents of three children: Jane, Nancy of Raleigh, and Charles Helms of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They have seven grandchildren.

Helms never obtained a university degree. He attended Wingate Junior College (now Wingate University) and Wake Forest College but did not graduate. He also holds honorary Doctor of Law degrees from some universities including: Bob Jones University [Grove City College]], Campbell University, and Wingate University.

[edit] Early career

Helms's first full time job out of college was as a sports reporter with The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina. Here he met Dorothy Coble, who was the News & Observer's society reporter. They married in 1942. During World War II, Helms served stateside as a recruiter in the United States Navy. After the war, he pursued his twin interests, journalism and politics (at this time, within the Democratic Party). Helms became the city news editor of the Raleigh Times and would later move on to radio and television.

Helms began his career in politics as an unofficial researcher for conservative Democrat Willis Smith, who ran for the U.S. Senate in 1950. After the election, Senator Smith hired Helms to be his administrative assistant in Washington, D.C. In 1952, Helms worked on the presidential campaign of Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr., of Georgia, who was seeking the Democratic nomination.

From 1953 through 1960, Helms was executive director of the North Carolina Bankers Association. He went on to become the executive vice-president, vice chairman of the board and assistant chief executive officer of Raleigh-based Capitol Broadcasting Company, from 1960 until his election to the Senate. During his time at CBC, he gained fame as a conservative commentator through his daily editorials on WRAL-TV. Many of the editorials were later used as evidence of Helm's racial intolerance. For example, in one he labels the University of North Carolina (UNC) the "University of Negroes and Communists." Meanwhile, Helms won a seat on the nonpartisan Raleigh City Council in 1957, serving for four years.

Helms worked on the unsuccessful 1960 Democratic primary gubernatorial campaign of I. Beverly Lake, Sr. In 1980, I. Beverly Lake, Jr., failed in a Republican gubernatorial campaign in North Carolina; he lost to incumbent Jim Hunt.

In 1970, Helms, prodded by a daughter and disgruntled by the Democratic Party's positions on civil rights issues, finally left the Democratic Party to become a Republican.

[edit] Election victories

In 1972, Helms announced his candidacy for a seat in the United States Senate. He won the Republican primary with 60.1 percent of the vote and eliminated two intraparty opponents. Meanwhile, the Democrats retired the ailing Senator B. Everett Jordan, who lost his primary, 55.3 percent to 44.6 percent, to Congressman Nick Galifianakis of Durham. Benefiting from Richard Nixon's landslide re-election, Helms became the first Republican elected to the Senate from North Carolina in the 20th century. Helms polled 795,248 (54 percent) to Galifianakis' 677,293 (46 percent).

In 1978, Helms successfully defended his seat against state Insurance Commissioner John Ingram in a low-turnout off-year election. Helms received 619,151 votes (54.5 percent) to Ingram's 516,663 (45.5 percent). Ingram carried the strong support of President Jimmy Carter.

In 1984, in the most expensive Senate campaign up to that time, Helms narrowly defeated two-term Governor Jim Hunt, thanks in part to (then-President) Ronald Reagan's support and status. Helms polled 1,156,768 (51.7 percent) to Hunt's 1,070,488 (47.8 percent). Although this was a solid victory against a formidable opponent, it should be noted that President Reagan carried the state with 62% of the vote, and GOP gubernatorial candidate James G. Martin won with 54%.

In both 1990 and 1996, Helms won against Harvey Gantt, the former mayor of Charlotte. Helms' 1990 victory has been partially credited to a late-running television commericial which urged white voters to reject Gantt because of the Democrat's support for affirmative action programs. This ad was the brainchild of noted former Clinton political consultant Dick Morris. Helms won the 1990 election by 1,087,331 votes (52.5 percent) to Gantt's 981,573 (47.4 percent). In his 1990 victory statement, Helms mocked the major North Carolina newspapers for their unhappiness over his victory, quoting a line from "Casey at the Bat": "There's no joy in Mudville tonight."

In 1996, Helms drew 1,345,833 (52.6 percent) to Gantt's 1,173,875 (45.9 percent). Helms supported his former Senate colleague Bob Dole for president, while Gantt endorsed Bill Clinton.

Helms' largest margin of victory in any of his four elections was 54.5 percent of the vote, making him the most successful Republican politician in North Carolina history. Helms was particularly popular among older, conservative constituents and was considered one of the last "Old South" politicians to have served in the Senate.

[edit] 1976 Republican National Convention

During the 1976 Republican National Convention, Helms encouraged a movement to draft Senator James L. Buckley, as an effort to stop the nomination of Ronald Reagan for President, despite his eariler support during the North Carolina presidential primary. Reagan had announced that Pennsylvania Senator Richard Schweiker would be his running-mate if picked; Helms believed that Schweiker was far too liberal. The "Draft Buckley" movement was mooted when President Gerald Ford very narrowly won the party's nomination on the first ballot.^[1][2]

[edit] Senatorial service

As a senator, Helms became one of the leaders of the increasingly influential conservative movement within the Republican Party, giving Ronald Reagan crucial support in 1976 in the pivotal North Carolina GOP primary that paved the way for Reagan's presidential election in 1980. This was accomplished in part through literature that claimed incumbent Republican Gerald Ford might name liberal Senator Edward Brooke as his vice presidential nominee.

Helms became chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee in the 1980s. He was also an advocate of the tobacco industry in Congress since much of the North Carolina economy relies on tobacco. (Hubert Humphrey once said that, "I'll trade Jesse Helms his tobacco vote for my wheat support any day.") Tobacco companies such as R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris have supported him, including giving generously to the Jesse Helms Center at Wingate University.

When Republicans regained control of Congress after the 1994 elections , Helms became chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In that role, he pushed for reform of the United Nations and blocked payment of UN dues by the United States. Particularly as he gained seniority and clout, Helms became known as "Senator No" because he would obstruct a variety of Democratic bills and presidential appointments. Helms reportedly delighted in the nickname. But Helms passed few laws of his own, due in part to his bridge-burning style. Hedrik Smith's The Power Game depicts several senators specifically blocking Helms' goals as result of his intransigence. The 1960s conservative icon and fellow Republican senator Barry Goldwater once remarked that Helms was "off his rocker". [1]

Helms vehemently opposed granting MFN to China, citing human rights concerns.

Though a chairman of a major Senate committee, he regularly eschewed invitations to go on Sunday interview programs claiming his constituents did not watch them. He also advised a young press aide that wanted to write a letter to the New York Times after one of its editorials condemned Helms not too. Again, most of the constituents that voted for him did not subscribe to the paper, hence, no need to engage in a fight with them.

[edit] Controversies

Helms opposed the Martin Luther King holiday bill in 1983 on grounds that King had two associates with communist ties, Stanley Levison and Jack O'Dell, and he was also angered by King's alleged philandering. Helms once deeply offended a black colleague, Democratic Senator Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois, by singing part of "Dixie" on a Capitol elevator. Helms was in a battle with Moseley-Braun over the recognition of the Daughters of the Confederacy through symbolic legislation. Moseley-Braun won, in a memorable floor fight, and Helms was furious. Helms hired Claude Allen, who is black, as his press secretary. James Meredith, who earned fame as the first African American student admitted to the University of Mississippi, also served on Helms' staff.

While working on the 1950 campaign of Republican Willis Smith against Democrat Frank Porter Graham, Helms helped create an ad that read "White people, wake up before it is too late. Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and your daughters, in your mills and factories? Frank Graham favors mingling of the races." Another ad featured photographs Helms himself had doctored to illustrate the allegation that Graham's wife had danced with a black man. (FAIR 9/1/01, The News and Observer 8/26/01)

Helms was an ardent supporter of now-deceased Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. [2]

After a protest during his 1986 visit to Mexico, Helms opined: "All Latins are volatile people. Hence, I was not surprised at the volatile reaction."[3]

Henrick Herztberg of the New Yorker noted in his memoirs that Helms had "the 'humorous habit'" of calling all black people "Fred".

Helms would employ race in future elections, as in 1990, when he ran the famous "Hands" television ad in a tough reelection race. The ad has become legendary in Southern political circles as the most direct appeal to white backlash in modern American politics. It showed rough white hands opening a letter, and then crumpling it and throwing it away, while the voice over talked about how much the white man needed the job, and how it went to a less qualified black man because of affirmative action (watch the ad).

Helms opposed an amendment offering reparations to Japanese-Americans who had interned during World War II; he proposed an amendment stipulating that no reparations would be made unless the Japanese government compensated the families of Americans killed at Pearl Harbor.

In 1994, Helms created a sensation when he told broadcasters the late Rowland Evans, Jr., and Robert Novak that Clinton was "not up" to the tasks of being commander-in-chief and suggested that Clinton had "better not show up around here [Fort Bragg] without a bodyguard", on the anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. [4]

Helms was a strong supporter of drug prohibition, and opposed Bill Weld's nomination because Weld supported medical marijuana[5]. Helms often proposed bills that escalated the "war on drugs" [6].

Jesse Helms had a near brush with death in connection with his trip to Seoul Korea to celebrate, on invitation from the President of South Korea, the 30th year commemoration fo the U.S.-Korea Mutual Defence Pact. Senator Helms and Idaho Senator Steve Symms, both conservative Republicans and Congressman Caroll J. Hubbard, a Democrat of Kentucky, all staunch critics of the Soviet Union, were scheduled to fly on September 1, 1983 to Seoul on Korean Air lines flight 007. This was the flight that was shot down that night by the Soviets over Sakhalin Island just off the coast of Siberia. But instead of boarding KAL 007 from New York, Helms flew from Los Angeles on KAL 015 which, with KAL 007, stopped at Anchorage airport for refueling before the next leg of the trip to Seoul.[citation needed]

While waiting at the airport Senator Helms befriended two young American girls, Noelle (5 years)and Stacy (3 years) Grenfell who were waiting to board KAL 007[7]. Senator Helms wrote of that meeting - "I’ll never forget that night when that plane was just beside ours at Anchorage airport with two little girls and their parents...I taught them, among other things, to say I love you in deaf language, and the last thing they did when they turned the corner was stick up their little hands and tell me they loved me...I’ll never forget that.."

[edit] Retirement

Due to recurring health problems, including bone disorder, prostate cancer and heart disease, Helms did not seek re-election in 2002. His Senate seat was won by Elizabeth Dole, wife of long-time colleague and former Senator Bob Dole. Helms remains to date the longest-serving popularly elected U.S. senator in North Carolina history.

Since retiring from the Senate in 2003, Helms has been in poor health. In September 2005, Random House published his memoir Here's Where I Stand. Helms has also been recruited by pop star Bono for charity work. In 2004, he spoke out for the election of Republican Congressman Richard Burr, who, like Elizabeth Dole two years earlier, defeated the Democrat Erskine Bowles to win the other North Carolina Senate seat. Helms has designated Wingate University as the repository of the official papers and historical items from his Senate career.

Jerry Falwell's Liberty University opened the Helms School of Government in 2005, in honor of Jesse Helms. Helms was present at the dedication ceremony.

In April 2006 news reports disclosed he has Multi-infarct dementia, which leads to failing memory and cognitive function, as well as a number of physical difficulties. He has since been moved into a convalescent center near his home. His wife was quoted to say that "he has his good days and his bad days. He still sees friends. Company is good for him. He is still signing books. But he is not able to conduct any business or make any speeches."^[3]

[edit] References in Popular Culture

• During the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards, host Dennis Miller announced that Helms was in the audience, followed by a close-up of a pig. The pig was actually the pig used to portray the title role in the movie Babe.
• Helms is pointedly targeted in a satiric comedy routine by Bill Hicks, in which Helms' effect on society based on his role and record as a legislator is likened to skinning children and collecting their hides.
• Musician Todd Rundgren wrote a song about Helms entitled "Jesse" in which he says "I wanna say f**k you, Jesse Helms."
• Nerdcore hip-hop artist MC Hawking released a song in MP3 format called "Why Won't Jesse Helms Just Hurry Up and Die?"

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] Pro-Helms

• The Jesse Helms Center
• "Jesse Helms: To mold a nation" - article at the Charlotte News & Observer
• "1987 Speech to Congress warning of 'Systematic psychological warfare' from Eastern establishment"
• Liberty University's Helms School of Government

[edit] Anti-Helms

• "Jesse Helms: 16th century thinkin'" - article at Freepress.org
• "Jesse Helms, White Racist" - a 2001 article by David Broder of The Washington Post
• "Media Downplay Bigotry of Jesse Helms," FAIR, 2001.
• "A Career Based on Contempt for Democratic Rights" WSWS, 2001.
• Whitewash article by Barry Yeoman, The Independent Weekly

Preceded by B. Everett Jordan	United States Senator (Class 2) from North Carolina 1973–2003 Served alongside: Sam J. Ervin, Robert Morgan, John P. East, James T. Broyhill, Terry Sanford, Lauch Faircloth, John Edwards	Succeeded by Elizabeth Dole
Preceded by Claiborne Pell	Chair of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 1995–2001	Succeeded by Joe Biden
Preceded by Joe Biden	Chair of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 2001	Succeeded by Joe Biden