July 4, 2008

Jesse Helms, Racist, Homophobe, Xenophobe, and Troglodyte, Dead on the Fourth of July

“You needed that job, and you were the best qualified, but they had to give it to a minority, because of a racial quota. Is that really fair?” — Jesse Helms’ 1990 “Hands” ad, used to beat Democratic (and black) Senate candidate Harvey Gantt, 1990

“What really sets Jesse Helms apart is that he is the last prominent unabashed white racist politician in this country — a title that one hopes will now be permanently retired. A few editorials and columns came close to saying that. But the squeamishness of much of the press in characterizing Helms for what he is suggests an unwillingness to confront the reality of race in our national life.”

Jesse Helms, hardline Republican, dies at 86

Jesse Helms, the former North Carolina senator whose courtly manner and mossy drawl barely masked a hard-edged conservatism that opposed civil rights, gay rights, foreign aid and modern art, died early Friday. He was 86. …

In a 52-year political career that ended with his retirement from the Senate in 2002, Helms became a beacon for the right wing of American politics, a lightning rod for the left and, often, a mighty pain for presidents whatever their political leaning. …

Perhaps his most visible accomplishments in the Senate came two decades apart. One was a 1996 measure that tightened trade sanctions against the government of Fidel Castro in Cuba. The other, a 1973 amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act, prevented American money from going to international family planning organizations that, in his words, “provide or promote” abortion. He also introduced amendments to reduce or eliminate funds for foreign aid, welfare programs and the arts. …

In the 1980s he took on the National Endowment for the Arts for subsidizing art that he found offensive, chiefly that of the homosexual photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and of the artist Andres Serrano over his depiction of a crucifix submerged in urine. He later led an ill-fated attempt to take over CBS, exhorting conservatives to buy up stock to stop what he said was a liberal bias in its news reporting. …

In campaigns and in the Senate, Helms stood out in both his words and his tactics. He fought bitterly against federal aid for AIDS research and treatment, saying the disease resulted from “unnatural” and “disgusting” homosexual behavior.

“Nothing positive happened to Sodom and Gomorrah,” he said, “and nothing positive is likely to happen to America if our people succumb to the drumbeats of support for the homosexual lifestyle.” …

“Dear Jesse: I left North Carolina in 1990… but even in New York, whenever I tell someone I’m from North Carolina, they mentioned you…” — Tim Kirkman Dear Jesse (2007)

I won’t go out of my way to dance on his grave, as I do acknowledge that everybody — even Hitler — was loved by somebody.

But I won’t fake any grief over the death of a man who hated my guts with a passion unsurpassed by anyone short of Fred Phelps.

As I wrote elsewhere on the death of Jerry Falwell, I’m not going to apologize for feeling a sense of relief that someone who spent his entire life trying to destroy the lives of others has finally left this world. There is one less oppressor, one less persecutor, one less hater, one less Grand Inquisitor among us.

And, while I don’t put much faith in “signs,” I can’t let pass without note that the death of Jesse Helms comes on our nation’s 232nd birthday. For lovers of equality and freedom everywhere, we just attained a little more independence this Independence Day.

With that, I’ll leave the rest of the comments to Jesse himself — and perhaps those horrified by my apparent callousness will have a better understanding of my lack of faux grief:

On People of Color

“University of Negroes and Communists”

“To rob the Negro of his reputation of thinking through a problem in his own fashion is about the same as trying to pretend that he doesn’t have a natural instinct for rhythm and for singing and dancing. …

“The Negro cannot count forever on the kind of restraint that’s thus far left him free to clog the streets, disrupt traffic, and interfere with other men’s rights.”

“They should ask their parents if it would be all right for their son or daughter to marry a Negro.”

“I’ve been portrayed as a caveman by some. That’s not true. I’m a conservative progressive, and that means I think all men are equal, be they slants, beaners, or n*ggers.”

“All Latins are volatile people. Hence, I was not surprised at the volatile reaction.”

“I was with some Vietnamese recently, and some of them were smoking two cigarettes at the same time. That’s the kind of customers we need!”

“I’m not the least bit racist.”

On Gay and Lesbian People

“There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy.”

“Because she’s a damn lesbian.”

“Homosexuals are weak, morally sick wretches.”

“This bill attempts to make sure that President Clinton is not allowed to do by Executive Order what Congress has declined to enact in the past two congressional sessions namely, to treat homosexuals as a special class protected under various titles of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

“These people are intellectually dishonest in just everything they say or do. They start by pretending that it is just another form of love. It’s sickening.”

On Art and the Media

“What is really at stake is whether or not America will allow the cultural high ground in this nation to sink slowly into an abyss of slime to placate people who clearly seek or are willing to destroy the Judaic-Christian foundations of this republic.”

“The New York Times and Washington Post are both infested with homosexuals themselves. Just about every person down there is a homosexual or lesbian.”

On Choice

“Nevertheless, if the Administration insists on funding these programs I shall not stand in the way, so long as you agree to the following conditions: 1) that no funds be obligated to any affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Foundation (IPPF) in Haiti, including PROFAMIL; and 2) that no funds be provided directly or indirectly to any group whose programs include producing material intended to be used in a voodoo ceremony … AID is funding programs that endorse or legitimize what amounts to witchcraft.”

The Infamous Death Threat to Bill Clinton

“Mr. Clinton better watch out if he comes down here. He’d better have a bodyguard.”

Miscellaneous Lunacy

“I’m so old-fashioned I believe in horse whipping.”

“Your tax dollars are being used to pay for grade school classes that teach our children that CANNIBALISM, WIFE-SWAPPING, and the MURDER of infants and the elderly are acceptable behavior.”

“If God had wanted us to use the metric system, Jesus would have had 10 apostles.”

“I have tried at every point to seek God’s wisdom on the decisions I made, and I made it my business to speak up on behalf of the things God tells us are important to Him.”

Filed under: HIV/AIDS, Hate Speech, Homophobia, R.I.P., Race/Ethnic Issues, Radical Religious Right, Random Bigotry, Random Stupidity, Republicans, Videos

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