July 4, 2008, - 5:20 pm
Sen. Jesse Helms, Rest In Peace
Compromise, hell! That’s what has happened to us all down the line – and that’s the very cause of our woes. 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?
–Senator Jesse Helms, writing in 1959 on compromise in politics.
An American patriot has passed away. Sen. Jesse Helms died, today, at the age of 86. Although history may not treat him well–he was unfairly and incessantly vilified because he was a conservative who mostly stuck to his principles–he was a good guy who loved America and didn’t give in to liberals until the end of his career. That’s why my late father was a proud donor to his campaign.
Jesse Helms was not only a great American patriot, he was–as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee–one of the few elected officials in the Congress who understood the threat of Islamic jihad ahead of his time. He was unapologetic for his strong support for the State of Israel in its fight against the terrorism we finally woke up to (and then again fell back to sleep about) on 9/11.
He was one of the Knights of the Realm of the Reagan Revolution. Helms was a conservative across the board–in both foreign policy and domestic issues. Helms was as tough on Communism as he was on funding for the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, which funded disgraces like “Piss Christ” and Robert Mapplethorpe “art.”
Unfortunately, like many politicians who worry about their legacies and how history will remember them when they near the end of their careers, Helms fell prey to criticisms of him by the gay and AIDS funding communities. And he decided to get on board Bono’s tax-funded gravy train of forgiving billions in debt owed by mostly AIDS-stricken African countries, even though some of them are terror-host states–like Sudan–are Arab-run Islamic hells in which Blacks and those with AIDS are slaughtered.
Still, even though he “made amends” to the far-left constituencies who loved to hate him, today, they are not remembering him kindly. Here are some of his quotes gathered by AP, which remembers Helms as “a Polarizer, not a Compromiser,” because he refused to give in on his principles. That’s cause for applause, not denigration.
I will remember Jesse Helms as he was–a true American patriot who may not have always said things in the most “diplomatic” way, but he always did what he felt was the right thing and in the best interest of America. And for the most part, it was the right thing.
That’s why it is fitting that this American patriot died on the birthday of the country he loved so much and served so doggedly.
Senator Jesse Helms, Rest In Peace.
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Jesse Helms was called a racist for this campaign ad against affirmative action. I don’t know about you, but it’s not the ad that’s racist, it’s affirmative action quotas–the ones Helms was against–that’s racist. Sadly, Jesse Helms is gone, but affirmative action quotas aren’t.
Few prominent Americans have died on the Fourth. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on this day within a few hours of each other in 1826. That makes it all the more bittersweet. We lost a great American today. Jesse Helms taught us its good to say “No” to dumb ideas. Americans need to do it more often. Go in to that good night, Jesse, and godspeed!
NormanF on July 4, 2008 at 6:07 pm