Jesse Helms

Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr.
United States Senator from North Carolina
In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	B. Everett Jordan
Succeeded by	Elizabeth Dole
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Claiborne Pell
Succeeded by	Joe Biden
In office January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001
Preceded by	Joe Biden
Succeeded by	Joe Biden
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	Herman Talmadge
Succeeded by	Patrick Leahy
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Dorothy Helms

Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. ( October 18, 1921 - July 4, 2008) was a five-term Republican U.S. Senator from North Carolina, and a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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 University but did not graduate. He holds honorary degrees from some universities including Bob Jones University, Grove City College, Campbell University, and Wingate University.

Helms' granddaughter, Jennifer Knox, is a lesbian and currently elected to public office, a Judge in North Carolina, elected as a Republican.

Early career

Helms's first full-time job after college was as a sports reporter with The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina. There he met Dorothy Coble, who was the newspaper'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 later moved to radio and television.

Helms began his career in politics as an unofficial researcher for Willis Smith, a conservative Democratic lawyer and former president of the American Bar Association, who successfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1950. Smith ran as a supporter of racial segregation. 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. When Smith suddenly died in 1953, Helms left Washington and returned to Raleigh.

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 the 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 in Raleigh. The editorials, which he gave at the end of each night's local news broadcast, made Helms famous throughout eastern North Carolina. The editorials featured folksy anecdotes interwoven with vivid right-wing viewpoints. He referred to The News and Observer, his former employer, as the "Nuisance and Disturber" for its promotion of liberal views. The University of North Carolina, which had a reputation as a bastion of liberalism in the state, was a frequent target of Helms' criticism: in one memorable editorial he suggested that a wall be erected around the campus to prevent the university's liberal views from "infecting" the rest of the state. In another editorial he referred to the University of North Carolina as the University of "Niggers" and "Communists."[1] Although his editorials created controversy, they also made him popular with conservative voters, and Helms won a seat on the Raleigh City Council in 1957. He served for four years.

Helms worked on the unsuccessful 1960 Democratic primary gubernatorial campaign of I. Beverly Lake, Sr., who ran as a supporter of racial segregation. Lake was defeated by Terry Sanford, who ran as a racial moderate willing to implement the federal government's policy of school integration.

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. Helms played upon Galifianakis' ethnicity during the campaign, running under the slogan "Vote for Helms—He's One of Us!". 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. The 1978 election would give Helms his largest margin of victory in his five Senate campaigns.

In 1984, in the most expensive Senate campaign up to that time, Helms narrowly defeated powerful two-term Governor Jim Hunt, thanks in part to then-President Ronald Reagan's support and popularity in North Carolina. 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 percent of the vote, and GOP gubernatorial candidate James G. Martin won with 54 percent.

In both 1990 and 1996, Helms won against Harvey Gantt, the former mayor of Charlotte. Both campaigns attracted major national attention not only because of Helms' national prominence and controversial positions on many issues, but also because Gantt was an African-American whose liberal political views provided a stark contrast to Helms. Helms' 1990 victory has been partially credited to a late-running television commercial that urged white voters to reject Gantt because of the Democratic candidate's support for affirmative action programs. The ad showed a white man's hands ripping up a rejection notice from a company that had not hired him due to affirmative action policies that had given the job to "less qualified minority". It was criticized for its perceived subliminal content; As the hands crumple it up, for a fraction of a second the letter fades to a picture of Mr.Gant and the hands appear to be crushing his head. The advert was produced by Alex Castellanos, who would in 2000 again come under fire for making an Bush campagin advert criticizing Al Gore's healthcare policies and flashing the word 'RATS' over the top of it.

The ad was the brainchild of Dick Morris, who in the 1990s would become a key political adviser to President Bill Clinton. 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.

Although Helms is generally credited with being the most successful Republican politician in North Carolina history, his largest proportion of the vote in any of his five elections was 54.5 percent.

In North Carolina Helms was a polarizing figure, and he freely admitted that many people in the state strongly disliked him: "They (the Democrats) could nominate Mortimer Snerd and he'd automatically get 45 percent of the vote." Helms was particularly popular among older, conservative constituents and was considered one of the last "Old South" politicians to have served in the Senate. However, he also considered himself a voice of conservative youth, whom he hailed in the dedication of his autobiography. He is widely credited with helping to move North Carolina from a one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party into a competitive two-party state that usually votes Republican in presidential elections. Under Helms' banner, many conservative Democrats in eastern North Carolina switched parties and began to vote increasingly Republican.

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 earlier 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.

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.

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 North Carolina's rural 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, both directly and through donations to the Jesse Helms Center at Wingate University.

Helms led the Senatorial opposition to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in 1983.

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. 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 in part because of his bridge-burning style. Hedrik Smith's The Power Game depicts several senators specifically blocking Helms' goals as result of his intransigence.

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 not to write a letter to the New York Times after one of its editorials condemned Helms: again, since most of the constituency did not subscribe to the paper, there was no need for him to engage the paper in a dispute.

Senator Helms was instrumental in obtaining the previously withheld black box to KAL 007 by writing to Russian president Boris Yeltsin. He also condemned the forced labour camps established by the USSR.

Retirement

Because of recurring health problems, including bone disorders, 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 U.S. Representative 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 Jesse Helms School of Government in 2005. Helms was present at the dedication ceremony.

In April 2006, news reports disclosed Helms 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 have said 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."

In February 2008, a scholarly biography entitled Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism was published by St. Martin's Press. The author is University of Florida history professor William A. Link (formerly of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro).

References in popular culture

• Musician Todd Rundgren wrote a song about Helms entitled "Jesse".
• Loudon Wainwright III wrote a song about Helms entitled "Jesse don't like it".
• Nerdcore hip-hop artist MC Hawking released a song in MP3 format called "Why Won't Jesse Helms Just Hurry Up and Die?"
• In 1993, Roy Zimmerman of the Foremen penned a song called "Jesse Helms" for the Folk Heroes album.
• In 1998, Monroe, North Carolina native Tim Kirkman wrote and directed Dear Jesse, a first-person documentary filmed "letter" to the senator from the openly gay filmmaker.
• Acoustic guitarist Don Ross named a song "Jesse Helms Night in Havana"

See also

• Jesse Helms on Wikiquote
• Korean Air Lines Flight 007

External links

• International Committee for the Rescue of KAL 007 Survivors
• [2] - Obituary

Pro-Helms

• The Jesse Helms Center
• "Jesse Helms: To mold a nation" — article at the Raleigh News & Observer
• Liberty University's Helms School of Government

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, Independent Weekly
• "Jesse Helms says: Hey! I'm the Biggest Bigot Here!" - a collection of his more politically incorrect quotes