Conservative icon Jesse Helms dies

[NC_Nurse]

Source: wral.com


RALEIGH, N.C. — Jesse Helms, the firebrand U.S. senator whose outspoken, conservative views polarized North Carolina and U.S. voters for decades, died early Friday, according to John Dodd, president of the Jesse Helms Center.
He was 86.
His cause of death was not released.
Helms served five terms in the U.S. Senate, retiring in 2003 because of his faltering health. During his 30 years in Capitol Hill, the North Carolina Republican became a powerful voice for a conservative movement that was growing both in Congress and across the country, and he used his position to speak out against issues like gay rights, federal funding for the arts and U.S. foreign aid.

Read more: http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/1755723/

---

Finally.

[Midlodemocrat]

1. Uh, oh. This is gonna get ugly and fast.

[NC_Nurse]

5. Yep. Might as well get it over with...

Let the grave dancing commence...:popcorn:

[ret5hd]

196. Goddamned right...I'm dancing right now (i just heard a few minutes ago)

[Joe Bacon]

259. I love the UK Guardian's obit on this scumbag

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/04/usa

Roast in hell, Jesse! :party:

[Zhade]

263. Fantastic commentary - truthful and brutal.

Fuck Helms - my only regret is he didn't wind up in prison where he belonged.

[Retired AF Dem]

6. I was so happy when the Tim death weekend was over

now have to put up with this. I Think I will get off my behind and get some grass cutting done.

[George II]

172. I doubt there will be nearly as much as when Russert died.

[Gormy Cuss]

14. Wow, I just read something shocking at the link.

He was a state champion tuba player in high school. There's a side of Helms that I didn't know.

[Midlodemocrat]

21. Wow. Who knew they had brass instruments in the Paleolithic era?

:hide:

Hi, Gormy. :hi:

[Gormy Cuss]

39. Do you have any idea

how long it took to make a brass instrument back then?
:hi:

[Midlodemocrat]

40. Series. I'm guessing a fortnight or two.

[The Doctor.]

86. They didn't have 'fortnights' either...

you don't want to know how long it took to make those. :silly:

[George II]

171. Just brass balls, and Helms had a HUGE set.

[Lance_Boyle]

267. unfortunately for the world, they were functional, and the damned thing

reproduced.

[Q3JR4]

237. Yeah I see that happening and I have

yet to read the rest of the thread.

I'm not going to say that I'm glad he's dead, nor am I going to dance on his grave. I am going to quietly think what I think without adding to what's currently flying around.

Q3JR4.

[Voltaire99]

269. Sorry, I was delayed due to 4th of July festivities.

However, below I have attempted to arouse Puritans into tizzies; I know how much you need it.

[tularetom]

2. Oh well

He was a carbon based life form.

[harmonicon]

80. really?!

I honestly would have never suspected. I have a lot of thinking to do now.

[Blaq Dem]

213. I thought he was already dead

The media kept mighty quiet about him.

[tledford]

219. His soul died the day before he was physically born.

As a life-long North Carolinian, I have no qualms whatsoever in stating that he was evil personified and the world would have been better off if he'd never been born.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. I thought he'd been dead long ago

Oh, well. More room for us.

[Arugula Latte]

69. I did too. I thought he'd croacked awhile ago, for some reason.

Wishful thinking, maybe ...

[Taverner]

104. That was Strom Thurmond, another racist asshole who died way to painlessly

[eShirl]

4. oh my

:hide: :popcorn:

[opihimoimoi]

7. I recall that ugly dude.....he was a POS.....nuff said

[Endangered Specie]

8. fireworks anyone?

:evilgrin:

[Auggie]

79. Excellent idea. We should have them all over the country today.

[YDogg]

150. heh

[Connie_Corleone]

9. I thought he was already dead. Oh well. Good riddance.

The world is a better place without him.

[RedLetterRev]

158. He has been

but nobody's had the nerve to tell him for 40 years.

[Demonaut]

10. R.I.P Jesse

Condolences to his family

[santamargarita]

11. His damage is done!

-

[newmajority]

12. Goodbye Jesse

Tell Satan I said HELLo! :evilgrin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd62dptmpBk

[mac56]

13. My condolences to his family.

Before this gets too..well..you know.

[Crunchy Frog]

15. I'm just heartbroken...

over George Carlin's passing. I don't think I'll get over that one for a long time.

[NC_Nurse]

17. Me too. My husband was playing "Back in Town" last night...

made me wanna cry. :(

[Cassandra]

22. Perhaps Jesse was overcome by Carlin's death, as well....

but I seriously doubt it.
Helms is one person I won't miss at all. He caused a lot of hurt in his lifetime; that's nothing to celebrate, although I'm sure the media will try real hard.

[Sivafae]

134. It's just nice to know that the good ones, like Carlin, get to live long lives too. eom

[hlthe2b]

16. As they say in the South, if you have nothing nice to say.....

....crickets.....

[NC_Nurse]

19. Come sit by me.

}(

[hlthe2b]

25. Ah, NC_Nurse

You must be just overwhelmed with grief..... :sarcasm:


We feel your pain...(where are those dancing penguins when ya need em)

[NC_Nurse]

33. You can't imagine how frustrating it was that he ALWAYS won. We tried to

take him down SO many times. It was heartbreaking when he beat Gantt back in the 90's
after his racist campaigning...so yes, I'm glad he's gone.

[evilkumquat]

81. Mad Magazine Once Said it Best About Helms:

"What's more frightening than a powerful, racist, homophobic madman in the Senate?

The 250,000 people who voted for him."


I am paraphrasing, not knowing where to begin finding the exact issue and the exact quote, but the gist is the same.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: as an atheist, I'm almost disappointed that I can't believe in hell.

[defendandprotect]

115. I was also wondering about the area that kept him in office . . .

and who they'd be sending now . . .

On the other hand, since the death of Bill Buckley some interesting documents came tumbling

out which suggest that things are not always the way we imagine them ---

Evidently, the CIA was funneling money to Republicans in office thru Howard Hughes company

which provided front companies for them -- two of the Senators named were Sen. Strom

Thurmond and Sen. Gerald Ford.


The destroyers are always way ahead of us, aren't they?

[Athletic Grrl]

182. LOL NC Nurse!

I was just quoting Steel Magnolias earlier today. :toast:

As for Jesse, I'll see him in Hell.

[Sugar Smack]

246. I adore NC_Nurse!

:rofl:

[Thor_MN]

62. „

[yardwork]

98. That's why I'm reading this thread but not posting.

Wait, I just posted. Oh well. Crickets.

[Taverner]

106. Well, I for one am happy I'm not in the south

Enjoy feeding the worms and blowflies, Jesse!

[kentauros]

244. Or, say that not-so-nice character assassination

but just add "Bless her/his heart" onto the end of it and you really aren't saying anything "bad" about that person ;)

[laststeamtrain]

18. First Bozo, now Jesse. Who's next?

I have my preferences.

[DissedByBush]

148. Jesse was a bozo

Or do you mean Bozo the Clown died? Now that would be sad.

[laststeamtrain]

200. I guess there's some clown controversy.

This guy died:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Harmon

[DissedByBush]

253. Now *that* death makes me sad. n/t

[Buns_of_Fire]

242. Now THAT'S sad. As Chuckles the Clown once said...

A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.

Oh, yeah. Jesse. So long, dude.

[ensho]

20. good, hope he suffered a long and painful death

nt

[Retired AF Dem]

26. I just dont understand why some people

think we are such assholes.

[closeupready]

45. Don't know, don't give a shit.

n/t

[ensho]

84. what do you mean? please explain

nt

[Retired AF Dem]

105. Just be careful on what you wish on others

Karma can be a bitch.

[Zhade]

264. Yeah, because we should give a fuck about a racist like Helms.

I think the assholes are the ones who don't tell the truth about what a scumbag he was, thus giving him a pass just because he died.

[amb123]

23. Watch Fox, MSNBC, CNN show give 2 WEEKS coverage

"celebrating" the life of Jesse Helms! It'll all be about what a "great patriot" he was and how the "stinking Liberals were always out to get him!" Just you wait.

They'll make the coverage of Tim Russert look like a wet firecracker.

:sarcasm:

[Tutonic]

147. Maybe Alex Castellanos can run that "Hands" ad that he

cooked up against ole Harvey Gant. That showed that "boy" his place in North Carolina. Sort of like what Alex is busy preparing for the O man. Nobody should even care about the death of this racist "cracker".

[bean fidhleir]

24. And not beforetime, either. He disgraced North Carolina. (nt)

[Endangered Specie]

34. no kidding, we are much better off without him

[stillcool]

27. Oh boy...I wonder how..

long the lollapalooza of eulogies will go on? I hope it's another Reaganesque event, just to give people's minds a rest from the regular report to distort musings of the day.

[BunkerHill24]

28. I recall a gaffe he made when he was the Chairman of the

Senate Foreign Affairs Committee...he introduced Benazir Bhutto to the senate as the distinguished prime minister of India. That's his legacy, imo.

[Newsjock]

29. Old bastard probably couldn't bear living under a Negro president

Rot in hell, you anti-American piece o' crap.

(First time I've ever posted such a sentiment about such a marginally sentient being.)

[Ishoutandscream2]

42. Didn't think of that. Boy, that would have been rich

Can you imagine? He and ol Strom would have never known what to do with themselves. Now I wish both of them were here so they could see it.

[Judi Lynn]

53. Probably more than he could bear. It would have broken his heart, after a lifetime

of shrieking bigotry. He truly left no stone unturned. He blazed trails in incorporating seething hatred in his campaign commercials, and character.

Here's a last look at his beloved "racial quota" campaign ad which was written by the same genius who created the "DemocRATS" masterpiece, Alex Castellanos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIyewCdXMzk

Alex Castellanos' remarks on his Helms commercial:
http://www.pbs.org/30secondcandidate/timeline/years/1990_c.html#castellanos



Alex Castellanos



From the Onion....

[yardwork]

101. Helms created the filthy campaigning that bushco uses so well.

Helms and his team pioneered the use of sleaze as an election tool. bushco just took it nationwide.

Oops. I wasn't going to post in this thread. Oh well. Bygones.

[Riddler]

30. Good riddance to another racist homophobe

As a native and life-long resident of North Carolina, I viewed this man as an embarrassment to the state that I love, and someone who pandered to the most disgusting, vile, hate-filled elements of our society. I'm glad to see our state now rid of this pox.

Now as soon as the entire Bush, Cheney and Rove clans are eradicated from this earth, it will be a much gentler planet.

[LTR]

31. I thought he died a few years ago

Hmmf.

:shrug:

[MaineDem]

32. Condolences to his family

And that's all I have to say about him.

[phrigndumass]

35. As a gay American, I must say I won't miss him. Condolences to his family.

And to the only way that could possibly silence his brand of bigotry, with apologies to his family.

[heliarc]

142. Yaaay... Bubs!!!!

Where's the poopsmith? He probably dug the whole and filled it with something smelly!

[Bombero1956]

36. Oh I can see it now

The GOP and McCain will make a big deal out of the fact that Helms passed on the 4th of July just like real patriots Jefferson and Adams did. Helms was no real patriot. While I take no pleasure at his passing I can't get all worked up about it either. Best thing to do is acknowledge his death and move on with life.

[Wilber_Stool]

37. May I have this dance?.............n/t

[JBear]

188. I would love to...

Meet you at Oakwood Cemetery just after the burial. I am seriously thinking of having a square dance on his grave.

It is interesting that in general I have compassion for the family when the have such a loss. It is only considerate. For Jessie I have no such feelings at all. His legacy speaks for itself. I have no doubt his soul will experience no peace wherever it ends up (and listening to his beliefs, it is surely being tormented).

J.

[RC]

38. "He was 86. His cause of death was not released."

Here's a clue for the youngster who wrote the article, He was old! :banghead:

Anyway I hope the dirt on his grave gets packed down tight.

[RedLetterRev]

162. And put a holly stake in the middle of it

just to make sure he stays there. Just sayin'.

[ekwhite]

195. They should bury him face down just to make sure

I certainly don't want that evil bastard rising from the grave.

[kvetch]

41. Jesse Helms Dead

In the words of Michelle Malkin, "Boo Frickin' Hoo!"

[GreenTea]

43. About fucking time, these old republican racist, fascist fucks live way too long...

Fascist like George Schultz is still fucking alive, David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger, George HW Bush, will these lying, hateful, greedy fucks die already!

[abelenkpe]

47. evil lives long lives in comfort

while those who speak for the downtrodden are assasinated: think Jesus, Ghandi, Martin Luther King jr, RFK. But you know that....

Happy fourth everybody!

[newmajority]

109. Pray that Poppy Bush dies in the middle of the summer, and not in an election year.

That way everyone can safely avoid their TV for an entire month of mourning.

[llmart]

164. As Billy Joel would say...

"only the good die young."

[closeupready]

44. Shit happens.

So what?

[LeftyMom]

46. Good. nt

[Name removed]

48. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tpsbmam]

77. OMG, that's priceless!!! n/t

[rateyes]

83. Love that webmaster!!

:rofl:

[WRALeditor]

85. Incorrect link

The part with the question mark is NOT a part of the official URL and NOT generated by WRAL.com.
The official URL is here: http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/1755723/

Anyone can tack on a question mark and some words to a URL, and the link will appear to load.

It seems someone is looking to stir up trouble.

[supernova]

95. You'd better fix it.

as of 1:10 pm on Friday, "good riddance" is still there.

:rolf:

Hello from Orange County. :hi:

[newmajority]

112. Yes it would seem so indeed.

:rofl:

[SaveAmerica]

127. The person who did that is now my hero, that's excellent!!! I'm patiently waiting for the end of

this era of hate and racism.

Out with Thurmond and Helms and in with

BARACK AND MICHELLE!!

[varun]

49. He did enough damage to my family

my partner and I can never forgive him.

Good riddance

[paparush]

50. Fucking Slum Lord ! On top of being a conservative biggot, Helms owned

really, really, really crappy rental houses in Raleigh. A whole row of them that were decrepit.

[pokercat999]

51. Good news only 80 years late. nt

[dipsydoodle]

52. Maybe he was shot by Robert Ford too

:shrug:

[nashville_brook]

54. has anyone found his "collection of little shoes" yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igvJ1Mew6Go

[Judi Lynn]

59. Omigosh! I thought there might be an interesting story behind your post, so I googled

"little shoes" and "Jesse Helms" and found the following:

Hah, hoping for child sex scandals for these douchebags always reminds me of Bill Hicks on Jessie Helms:

"You know that when Jesse Helms finally dies, he's gonna commit suicide out back in a washtub underneath a pecan tree. He's gonna slash his wrists and he's gonna write in blood, "I've been a bad boy." And you know they're gonna find the skins of young kids drying in his attic, swarms of horseflies going in and out of the eaves, and on CNN over and over, his wife going, 'I always wondered about Jesse's collection of little shoes …'"

http://www.strangefamousrecords.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43235&start=60&sid=f991c117963fd3d23dd002fd26596695

~~~~~~~~~
Priceless! Thanks.

[mike_c]

55. well-- maybe there's something to celebrate this Fourth after all....

Good riddance.

[Captain Hilts]

56. Don't insult 'conservatives' by using that term on him. He was a racist shit. nt

[Faygo Kid]

57. Jefferson, Adams, Monroe, Helms all die on Fourth. Name the odd one here.

Jefferson and Adams, July 4, 1826.

James Monroe, July 4, 1836.

Jesse Helms, July 4, 2008.

Do I really hafta tell you who doesn't "fit" here?

[TedsGarage]

58. The Last Confederate

The Confederate flag is flying at half-mast today...

[JBear]

190. Maybe they can finally take it down for good...(n/t)

[SunDrop23]

225. Last Confederate my arse...

The South still has plenty. As long as there are babies being born in the South, there will be an ample supply of dilweeds who think the CSA was a noble thing.

[kestrel91316]

60. Ding, dong, the witch is dead! He was an EVIL man. I shed no tears.

[bluesmail]

61. If I lived in North Carolina I'd probably be 'celebrating'

The Fourth of July. wink wink

[Name removed]

63. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JBear]

191. We are...

Ding dong, the witch is dead

was the song that came up on the psychobabble shuffle of 4th of July music this afternoon!

:bounce:

[alterfurz]

64. my favorite Helms photo...

...knock on wood!

[tledford]

221. In the early '70s, my older brother and his suitemates in school in Chapel Hill...

...watched Helms' editorials on WRAL out of Raleigh because they were completely hilarious, almost as if they were *intended* to be satiric. My brother has stated more than once that it wouldn't have been *nearly* as funny if they'd known he'd end up a Senator, and a powerful one that did serious, long-lasting damage to our country at that.

Thank God he's gone, a shame it didn't happen 86 years earlier.

[iamahaingttta]

65. My condolences to his family.

That is all...

[provis99]

217. Careful. His family might be glad he's dead, too.

Time for me to crank up Motorheads "Dancing on your Grave", dedicated to the Dishonorable Jesse Helms.

[MnFats]

66. Remember when Helms said Clinton couldn't come to North Carolina...

without a phalanx of armed bodyguards?
maybe not verbatim but....
no one investigated possible terrorist threat law violations..

[defendandprotect]

116. Yes . .

[tledford]

220. And when he said it, Clinton's approval rating in NC was twice what W's is right now.

Or 56%.

Not one word ever came out of Helm's mouth that wasn't total bullshit.

[King Bacon Fat]

67. My favorite quote of Jesse's...

"Mr. Clinton better watch out if he comes down here. He'd better have a bodyguard."

Truly classy all of the way.

Rot in hell, you old bastard!

[LostinVA]

68. I'm not commenting

Except to say: I lived in NC from 1982-1998, and I hope he likes roasting marshmallows.

[annarbor]

102. I lived in NC from 1983-1986

I was originally from Detroit but I was stationed in Camp Lejeune. During that time period there was a senatorial race and Jesse Helms was running against a guy named "Jim" I believe it was the then governor of NC. Jesse Helms ran a commercial where he actually said, "I opposed making Martin Luther King's Birthday a holiday. Where did you stand Jim?"

The backdrop of the commercial was a photo of MLK. I, along with my friends from Chicago and New York were stunned....Sadly, once my tour was over, I couldn't wait to get back north. He left an impression of that south on me that took years to shake....

Ann Arbor

[SunDrop23]

224. That was Jim Hunt, former Gov...nt

[ekwhite]

201. I lived in NC from 1952 - 1978

I hope the bastard is turning a nice crispy brown.

[Jack Rabbit]

70. A moment of silence

Please click here.

[ronnykmarshall]

71. Oh my goodness.

:hide:

[Downtown Hound]

72. Hey, thanks Jesse

You actually gave me something to be thankful about this Fourth of July by dying. America is a much better, more free, and all around nicer place with your vile, corroded soul infesting it no longer. Happy Fourth of July everybody!

[Zachstar]

94. Nice!

[lolly]

73. Well, I for one wish to express my deepest sympathy

To his eulogist.

Can you imagine having the job of trying to say something good about this man?

I gotta feel terrible for whoever gets stuck with that onerous task.

[backscatter712]

180. It's too bad Hunter S. Thompson didn't get to write the eulogy.

He did such a good job eulogizing Nixon when he died. :evilgrin:

[Joe Bacon]

74. Burn in hell, Helms!

That evil man is finally sowing what he reaped!

[bread_and_roses]

75. Did someone finally drive a state through his heart?

If not, I hope someone does before they bury him.

[coalition_unwilling]

76. My favorite Jesse-ism: "if English

was good enough for Jesus, it ought to be good enough for the rest of us."

[rateyes]

78. The world is just a little better place today.

[Tektonik]

82. My condolenced to his family

[mountainvue]

87. Condolences to his family. That said,

all's well that ends well.

[cyr330]

88. Uggh. . .

Talk about when you've got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. . . I have "nothing" to say. . . :)

[skids]

89. Would it be too evil...

...to spread a rumor that it was a firework fatality?

I'm sorry.

And drunk.

[GOPNotForMe]

90. Bye bye you racist, homophobic cancer of American politics!

No way in hell am I feeling any differently. I wish his family well, but he can rot in hell as far as I'm concerned.

[John Kerry VonErich]

91. Wheather we agree with him or not

this grave dancing really makes us look bad.

[Jester Messiah]

120. True, but no one expects grace or decorum on the Internet anyway.

While I won't join in the grave dancing per se, I will admit to some relief that his politics are dying out. Most of the people who shared his views are in his demographic, and thus dropping like flies.

[John Kerry VonErich]

137. Even Free Republic got rid of Kennedy's cancer cheering threads,

We can hate his view. We can hate his politics. But this grave dancing can only make the opposition jusifiable if one of our beloved leaders die or worse.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

149. "our beloved leaders." Yeah, of course, because we're all Stalinists.

Bzzzt. You lose. The real you shone through.

[John Kerry VonErich]

181. All I am saying is this is a double edged sword.

nt

[Arugula Latte]

210. Personally, I don't really care what the Freeps will say when one of ours dies. nt

[Zhade]

265. I disagree. I think celebrating the death of a FUCKING RACIST is a good thing.

One less racist fuck on the planet, after all!

[Xipe Totec]

92. I feel so sad

I'm going to have to waste an onion, just to shed a tear.

:cry:

[Triana]

93. I hope he was lucid enough to see Obama get nominated...and that he died on the Fourth of July ....

...is just TOO apropos! Bwah!

[davidinalameda]

96. crickets

chirping

[ooglymoogly]

97. Goodbye bat shit crazy Cro-Magnon doood (no offense here meant to Upper Paleolithic sentient beings)

Your death is a huge blow to evil and vicious darkness; It warms the cockles of the hearts of all decent human beings searching for truth and knowledge. So a finally final goodbye. You should have been extinct a long long time ago.

[Zorra]

99. "I'm going to sing "Dixie" until she cries."

Soon after the Senate vote on the Confederate flag insignia, Sen. Jesse Helms (R.-N.C.) ran into Mosely-Braun in a Capitol elevator. Helms turned to his friend, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah), and said, "Watch me make her cry. I'm going to make her cry. I'm going to sing 'Dixie' until she cries." He then proceeded to sing the song about the good life during slavery to Mosely-Braun (Gannett News Service, 9/2/93; Time, 8/16/93).<8>

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 the late Chile dictator Augusto Pinochet.<9>

When Roberta Achtenberg was appointed Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, Helms attempted to block her confirmation, stating that he refused to vote for her "because she's a damn lesbian."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Helms

His legacy speaks for itself.

[fujiyama]

174. Yuck. What a rotten piece of shit.

There is nothing positive to be be said about him.

I hope we find more stories exposing the truth about him. The media sure won't. Jesse Helms was the embodiment of much of what was wrong with this country. He perpetuated a system of repression, intimidation, and racism. He sought to keep Jim Crow in place. He played to his constituents worst fears and instincts.

If there is a hell, he deserves to rot in it.

[FloridaJudy]

100. My mother always told me never to speak ill of the dead.

So I'll take this opportunity to STFU.

[bertman]

178. Perfect, FloridaJudy, perfect!!

[ret5hd]

198. Pffft...

tell us anything, ANYTHING you think this man did with his life that wasn't hurtful or hateful.

[lolly]

234. Well, let me think.

OK, here's a go at something positive about Jesse Helms:

As far as I know, he wore matching socks every day.


Sorry, that's about the best I can come up with.

[FloridaJudy]

240. Can't think of a single one

Which is why I'm saying nothing at all. I learned to say nothing but good of the dead...

He's dead. Good.

[Taverner]

103. GOOD RIDDANCE

Although I never wish death upon someone, I take full liberty to piss on this bloated sack of racist shit's grave.

Happy Worm Feeding Jesse!

[Edgewater_Joe]

107. Hell Just Got A New Tenant

And Jerry Falwell just got a roommate.

[Tutonic]

167. That room is probably getting a bit crowded with Thurmond,

Agnew, Nixon, Renquist, Atwater. Lester, Connor, all slumming.

[blogslut]

108. K&R!

n/t

[stevietheman]

110. I openly and proudly dance a jig on his grave.

And to those who think I should consider his family, I say any family that supports a total shit like this doesn't get any sympathy.

[bluestateguy]

111. One less vote for McCain in the swing state of North Carolina

Racist motherfucker.

[defendandprotect]

113. A man who had a great deal to do with the framing of Bill Clinton . ..

and undermining Roe vs Wade ---

[SemperEadem]

114. I thought he was already dead.

[kentauros]

243. So did I.

Do we need Chevy Chase now? "And Senator Jesse Helms is still dead." :D

Probably thinking of Strom Thurmond.

[SCBeeland]

117. I've got no remorse

Anyone who calls gays radical militants can go to hell for all I care.

[Mad_Dem_X]

118. Bye-bye, Jesse.

:hi:

[closeupready]

119. K&R.

n/t

[lonestarnot]

121. Good bye you piece of crap!

:hi:

[wellst0nev0ter]

122. Don't Know Why We Should Automatically Grieve For The Dead

maybe if I were a Republican who honored an old dixiecrat who switched sides. . .

[Thickasabrick]

123. He was probably dead yesterday and they kept him on life support

just so he could die on the 4th .....sounds like a Rove move. Good riddance you racist scumbag.

[DS1]

124. Good riddance to bad shit

[IndianaGreen]

125. A racist and homophobe finds out there is no Heaven

I spit on his grave!

[RufusTFirefly]

126. A picture to remember him by...

[Tutonic]

128. Harvey Gant. Remember what that greasy fat back Helms

did to Harvey Gant. Now let the revisionist right wing wet dreams commence.

[Prophet 451]

129. *cue gravedancing*

I'm thinking of the full Riverdance performance and a matinee on Sundays.

[MattSh]

130. Oh the irony. Larry Harmon also died today...

aka Bozo the Clown.

One guess who I'll miss the most...

[superconnected]

131. 86, egad! I hope we don't have to wait so long for Bush, Cheney and Rove.

[eppur_se_muova]

229. ... barring life sentences, of course. nt

[CreekDog]

132. This thread isn't nearly as fun as the Jerry Falwell one

:shrug:

[NorthCarolina]

133. One less small minded bigot in the world, makes the world a better place

I'm sure he will be welcomed in his eternal life :evilgrin:

[swimmernsecretsea]

135. As comedian Bill Maher said of Jerry Falwell...

Death isn't always sad.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yz5T1EEo8ws

There are some who may think what some of us are feeling is bad and bad manners, but all I really want to do is never ever think of him ever again. Ever.

[sellitman]

136. Condolences to his family but.....

Congratulations America!

[galledgoblin]

138. condolences to the family (n/t)

[Ian David]

165. Condolences to his family. Especially to his illegitimate black children to come forward soon...

That is, the ones who haven't died of old age.

[Dukkha]

139. Rot in Hell you evil scum

and if ANYONE here says anything resembling condolences you can get the fuck out now

[Lint Head]

140. The GOP is dying with him!

Fuck racists. Fuck fascists. :dem:

[MrBlueSky]

141. Let's try to be respectful people... and diplomatic...

Even though this makes the best 4th of July present...

the only good conservative is a dead conservative...

Therefore, Helms is now FINALLY a good conservative.

Perspective, people!!!

:cry:

[Zambero]

143. Reunited at last with Strom and Lester

Hopefully there's enough axe handles to go around down there!

[AlphaCentauri]

144. Cubans have many memories of the late senator

[mitchum]

145. Where oh where are my dancing shoes?

[BlueStater]

146. His death makes me sad to the extent that the death of any elderly person makes me sad

Otherwise, I don't really care.

[SOS]

151. Give his death as much time and thought

as the corporate media gave to the passing of George Carlin:

One minute.

[Pastiche423]

152. What a lovely 4th of July surprise!

That bigoted bastard was a vile man. He loved to hurt people and he did it w/glee. As a native North Carolinian, I am happy that his nastiness has finaly come to an end.

1972 was not a good year for me. I voted for George McGovern and against Jesse. McGovern lost and Jesse became the 1st republic Senator from the state of NC in my lifetime.

[Tess I Guess]

153. Jesse Helms' last words

I hear his last words were "David Duke still survives"

[racaulk]

154. As a gay man from North Carolina that was his constituent for 26 years, let me just say...

I'm glad that son of a bitch is dead! He was a hateful, bigoted, racist, homophobic old fuck, and his death could not have come soon enough. I will quite happily dance on his grave, and I will likely piss on his headstone if I ever see it in person. Jerry Falwell and Strom Thurmond have their buddy with them in Hell now, and I hope their miserable spirits suffer for an eternity for the damage they caused to the people (of any minority) in this country.

The world is a little bit brighter today because Jesse is gone, and good fucking riddance!

[Bluebear]

155. Good riddance. nt

[depakid]

156. One thing I will say: at least he retired

and didn't have to propped up in his chair like Strom Thurman.

[BreweryYardRat]

157. Goodbye and good riddance.

Given what an asshole he was, I suspect his children and grand-children are probably glad to be rid of him too.

[goodgd_yall]

159. I surprised myself

By actually saying, spontaneously and gleefully, "good!"

Should I be ashamed of myself? I'm not feelin' it.

[saracat]

160. My condolences to his family. I disagreed with his politics but he was an icon.

[Postman]

161. Fuck Him. He's on his way to Hell, if there is one....

n/t

[Ian David]

163. I doubt that where ever he's gone, they have a "Whites Only" entrance. n/t

[Doug.Goodall]

166. I hope he has gone to a better world, because this world is better now that he is gone

[whistle]

168. Have they removed his head and stabbed a wooden stake through his black heart?

[WoodyM]

169. A man who made a career

of appealing to man’s worst instincts, prejudice, fear, and hate.

[George II]

170. I feel guilty, but....

...I don't feel any sadness or pity, whatsoever. That man spend decades ruining people's lives and probably costing many blacks their lives in the South during the '50s and '60s. No sympathy at all.

In fact, one of my first thoughts was "this gives new meaning to Independence Day"!

[Bleacher Creature]

173. I'm really sad that he didn't hang on a few more months.

Would have loved to know he was around to see the nation elect a black President.

[George II]

175. Excellent point...thanks!

[Mad_Dem_X]

248. Yes, that would have been sweet!

[Tess I Guess]

176. Tonight America celebrates

Tonight America will be celebrating with speeches, parades, fireworks and hot dogs and hamburgers!

[Frisbee]

177. OK, folks...

THIS is an example of when grave dancing is not only acceptable, but should be mandatory. One less old school racist piece of shit. Smoke a turd in hell you miserable asshole.

edited for spelling.

[bertman]

179. True story: Jim Neal, a gay Democrat who just lost in a primary bid for the Senate race

in N.C. was approached after one of his campaign rallies by a young woman who told him she would be voting for him because she supported his liberal platform.

She mentioned to Jim that her grandfather had been a Senator from North Carolina for many years--Jesse Helms. Yep, Jesse's granddaughter voted for a gay male, liberal Democrat.

Adios, Jesse. We North Carolinians ain't gonna miss your slimy, racist ass.

[Arugula Latte]

211. Hopefully NC will continue to become more liberal...

I don't believe in a god or an afterlife, but I do wish there was a Hell specifically for people like Jesse Helms, and I wish he could exist in said afterlife long enough to see Obama elected and North Carolina turn bluer and bluer.

[fascisthunter]

183. Happy Independence Day Everybody!!!

[Kolesar]

199. Have fun! Hope the fireworks don't get rained out !!

[New Dawn]

184. Wow, this is great news!

What a great way to set the holiday mood. :D

[Name removed]

206. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MikeE]

185. I always said I would have a party

I always said I would have a party when he died, and I am. Too bad I didn't find out sooner I would have made it a theme party complete with the song "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead".

[BAPhill]

186. Add me to the list...

of people who thought he was already dead.

[dixiegrrrrl]

187. Death comes in 3's...

I was wondering, after Russert and Carlin, who the 3rd would be.

[lisa58]

189. On the 4th of July - really?

[Giant Robot]

192. Condolences to his family

Other than that all I am going to say is I expected this thread to be a lot worse.

[bongbong]

193. Proud Of Jesse

I am so proud of Jesse and sad to see his passing.

Why, do you ask, am I proud of him?

Simple. He did not show up on the LONG, LONG list of convicted republican pedophiles at http://www.armchairsubversive.com

RIP Jesse. At least you didn't diddle little kiddles like so, so many of your republican brethern did.

[ekwhite]

194. Guess who just started smoking?

I don't like to speak ill of the dead, but this evil old bastard was one of the vilest human beings in memory. My only regret is that he didn't die a lot younger.

[Wabbajack_]

197. Condolences to family

He may have been a loving husband/father/grandfather ect.

[AllyCat]

202. If you can't say anything nice...

...n/t

[Name removed]

205. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[closeupready]

233. I can't. I dont' even want to try.

n/t

[Joey Liberal]

203. Helms is in hell. n/t

[MrScorpio]

204. I'm not much for grave dancing, even for people that I have disliked

May he rest in peace

[Name removed]

207. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MrScorpio]

208. Couldn't you make your trollisity a little less obvious?

So I figure, you're what, twelve years old?


Smell ya later, dillweed

[RoccoR5955]

214. More like nine.

[Zhade]

266. That's okay, we'll celebrate his becoming a corpse for you.

NT!

[mathewsleep]

209. Hells yes!

Fuck that right wing child molester.

[usaftmo]

212. Normally I don't support grave dancing...

but in his case I will absolutely make an exception!
:party:

[ozymandius]

215. I'm so saddened by the death of Robert Mapplethorpe.

At least the National Endowment of the Arts still lives.

[deutsey]

216. Honestly, I thought he was already dead. n/t

[gsplfnk]

218. Piss Jesse

Rest in piss Christ, Jesse. May you finally accept in death what you so abhorred in life, about art, about humanity, about human rights and about, well...about life.

It's never too late to learn, right Jesse?

I wish for you a grand tabula rasa in your new venue.

c.

[Hawaii Hiker]

222. He was a bigot, & all around bad guy

even voted against the Ginsburg confirmation because he thought she would uphold the homosexual agenda..

"During a brief debate on Monday, Senator Helms said he had tentatively decided to vote in favor of Judge Ginsburg until he reviewed her record over the weekend. He contended that she supports the right to abortion unreservedly, and "is likely to uphold the homosexual agenda." 'Wise and Insightful' Choice".......

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEED6103CF937A3575BC0A965958260

Jesse Helms is dead, :woohoo: :woohoo:

[DarthDem]

223. Happy Fourth of July!

- - to everyone on DU.

I lived in North Carolina for seven years of education in the 80s and 90s, and after that from 1999-2003. I refuse to shed any tears over the passing of a genuinely evil person who did nothing but harm to the world. North Carolina's image is, possibly forever, tainted.

[otisjf24]

226. Stop the bad karma

Remember all, while you are all "dancing on the grave", Nature abhors a vacuum. There will come another crackpot to fill the void that has been created by Jesse Helms, Jerry Falwell, and all the rest. The other thing to remember is that these people make a lot of noise, but are only influential to the minority 20%. People like that are "famous for being famous". Their effect on public policy is minimal.
Don't bring the bad karma onto yourselves. If you have any kind of religious persuasion, he will have to stand before someone/thing and justify his actions. That should be enough. And also remember that for all of you in here that are willing to go on record as saying that he was a waste of cosmic space, there are people that will go on record as saying that he will be missed. He held onto that Senate seat somehow, and it was because the majority of people in North Carolina... probably voted on name recognition.

- Otis

[bertman]

228. otisjf24, I'm sure there's already another one. It's just nature's way.

Why would it be bad karma to say that you're glad an evil human is dead? All creatures die. This one just happened to be unredeemably evil.

Not only was he a spiteful, in-your-face racist he was also a big-time supporter of the death squads that terrorized El Salvador during the 80's and beyond. He was truly a proponent of American-funded and -supported terrorism.

For a man who invoked Christianity and Democracy at the drop of a hat, he was THE LEAST CHRISTIAN AND THE MOST TOTALITARIAN representative ever elected to Congress during my lifetime; although, I suppose Dick Cheney is his closest competitor.

defendandprotect, the folks who elected Jesse were your average North Carolinians of ten years ago. Unenlightened, bigoted and supposedly Christian folks who were/are against just about anything that you or I would call progressive.

I'm glad to say that even though he did win his elections he was steadily losing ground in a state that is now becoming less conservative. Not liberal, mind you, but due to changing attitudes and changing demographics, it's opening up to the more progressive side of the political spectrum. There's a decent chance that Obama could take the state if he is willing to court working folks by challenging NAFTA. N.C. has lost A LOT OF JOBS overseas.

[otisjf24]

230. Its still bad karma

"Judge not, lest ye be judged."
"Vengence is Mine."
"Let he that has never sinned cast the first stone."

(I wish I had gotten around to reading the Koran and the Torah so that my religious arguement wasn't so one sided. Damn. Oh, shit! I think that it is bad... something or other to swear and quote the Bible in the same post. Of course when I swore in a church and my friends looked at me mortified my respose was: "What? Is the reception better here???")

[unkachuck]

227. so jesseh....

....died on the 4th of July?....ain't that a bitch....

[PatGund]

231. In the 80's.....

Helms placed an amendment to a bill that would have directed the IRS to revoke tax-exempt status to those in my faith.

Right now I take a certain amount of pleasure that Sen. Helms has now been granted the honesty to look at his life for what it was.

Dan Sen. Helms. Dan. Best of luck next time on the Wheel.

[superconnected]

232. Well, the waiting for them to die of old age approach, doesn't seem to stop the thugs

from doing the most damage they can do.

If anything, I'd like to see the right wing thuglicans die of old age in prison.

[Lugnut]

235. I have nothing nice to say.

Therefore I will say nothing and certainly not what I'm thinking.

[jzodda]

236. R.I.P.

I don't like the idea of anybody dying, especially over politics. He obviously lived a long a full life being a US Senator for so long. Too bad he didn't see things more our way but o well. We can't get everybody to see the light. We will ALWAYS have people who are racist in one form or another. If there is a God then maybe he will forgive this guy, but I would make him work in purgatory for a few million years first.

[CreekDog]

238. Can someone die of karma?

:shrug:

[badgervan]

239. Finally Gone....

... to join his fellow bigots in that "hottest" of places. Damn, I've hated this cretin for many decades. Hope he's enjoying face time with his boss, Lucifer.

[Vidar]

241. Visit Jerry Falwell, while you're on your very long tour of hell, Jesse!

[indepat]

245. Jesse Helms: the epitome of most of what is wrong with America

:D

[Mad_Dem_X]

247. To paraphrase Bette Davis:

One should only speak good of the dead.

He's dead. Good!

[loves_dulcinea]

249. enjoy your stay in hell Mr. Helms n/t

[dweller]

250. now that the collective mourning has passed...

anyone interested in tearing down the fence?

"It was Jesse Helms who opposed the creation of the North Carolina Zoo by suggesting they just put a fence around Chapel Hill and referred to UNC as the "University of Negroes and Communists". But ole Jesse is gone now and there may be hope for the rest of the state in its quest to join the 21st century."

So long Senator No, onward to the era of Yes (we can).

dp

[Moloch]

251. I'm glad he's dead.

Hopefully his death was slow and painful.

This isn't someone who was merely a bigot, its someone who made bigotry his lifes work.

We are all much richer for having lost him.

[D23MIURG23]

252. Cause of Death: Throttled to death by an angel...

Who'd been stuck in an 86 year traffic jam.

Good riddance Jesse. Don't let the gates of hell hit you in the ass on your way in.

Praise Bob!

[tomg]

254. John Donne said that

"Everyman's death diminishes me," but for the life of me I can't quite figure out how with Jesse. I'll keep working on it. Yeah, right.

[Skittles]

255. the death of a racist piece of SHIT asshole does not diminish us, tomg

John Donne was a twit

[tomg]

257. Oh damn, I didn't think I really

had to use one of those sarcasm things. Did I?

John Donne, though, was far from a twit (even if I find his Meditation XVII quite wrong on old Jesse).

[Doctor_J]

256. woo-hoo!

we should meet at his grave for a group piss some time next month. I hope he didn't have time to change into his asbestos underwear.

[bmichaelh]

258. Helms and the "White Hands" Ad.

Jesse Helms came close to losing his Senate seat to Charlotte mayor Harvey Gantt.

Gantt was the first African-American student at Clemson.

In 1990, Helms pulled a last minute racist ad.

It was known as the "White Hands" Ad.

It showed a laborer with white hands losing a job due to racial quotas.

http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/profiles/harvey_gantt

[xxqqqzme]

260. '...He became one of the most powerful

and baleful influences on American foreign policy,...'

Now there's a word to to do helms justice!

baleful adj.
1. portending evil; ominous 2. malignant in intent or effect

my personal aside - I thought helms died years ago.

and that's all I'm going to say about that.

[gtar100]

261. Lending proof to the adage "only the good die young"

Stuck around long enough to make his fair share of the mess we're in. Good riddance. Hateful man, hateful legacy. The Jesse Helms Center - that's one place I will not be visiting. I mean, wtf...

[Zhade]

262. Good riddance.

NT!

[Voltaire99]

268. Off to Hell with you, then.

Reagan, old boy? Meet your new bunkmate.

[0rganism]

270. I regret that he did not live long enough to see the USA's first black president

'nuff said.

[seafan]

271. Mother Jones, 1995: What You Need to Know about Jesse Helms

What You Need to Know about Jesse Helms

By Eric Bates
May/June 1995 Issue

The senator from North Carolina is racist, divisive, pro-government (when it favors the wealthy), and anti-democratic. So why did American voters swing towards Helms and the extreme right last November?

.....

After nearly a quarter century in the Senate, Helms understands how a determined minority of one can influence the national agenda. Whether he is suggesting that the commander in chief needs a bodyguard or demanding that Fidel Castro leave Cuba "in a vertical or horizontal position," Helms is well-known for his use of innuendo and diversion. Even the Republican Party treats him as a rogue elephant, powerful yet dangerously erratic. But the recent GOP stampede has given Helms a respected position from which to trumpet his bitter opposition to abortion, gay rights, racial equality, arts funding, and aid to what he calls "foreign rat holes."

His agenda is driven by a lifelong opposition to democracy and diversity. In his first months as Foreign Relations chair, Helms called for tougher sanctions against Cuba, accused Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide of unleashing "vigilance committees," and moved to gut support for developing nations. On the home front, he introduced a bill to eliminate all affirmative action programs, which he denounced as "reverse discrimination at the hands of ruthless bureaucrats."

How did someone so mean-spirited end up in a position to act on his divisive politics? For the most part, Helms wins political battles by keeping the spotlight on the morality plays he stages. To hear conservatives tell it, Helms is a personal friend of Jesus Christ, a populist defender of the little guy, and a bitter opponent of big government.

This man made a mockery of looking out for his constituents.

Shifting the spotlight reveals a different Helms. A former bank lobbyist whose fundraising machine has been fined for breaking federal campaign laws, Helms favors a big-spending, activist government—one that aids those in economic power. He voted to bail out the savings and loan industry, for example, and has seldom met a big-ticket missile system he didn't like. By contrast, he has voted to slash school lunches for impoverished children, medical care for disabled veterans, prescription drugs for the elderly, and wages for working families (see "On the record").

"Looking at the record, people ought to understand that Helms is not representing them on the great majority of issues," says Rep. Melvin Watt, a North Carolina Democrat. "They perceive that he stands up for the little guy, but he really stands up for rich people rather than poor and working-class people."

.....

An investigation by The Independent, a weekly newspaper in Durham, found that the Helmses employ two rental agents to manage their properties—one in low-income black neighborhoods and another in middle-class white areas. Some of the low-income units are in disrepair; Harrington's house has a rusty fuse box, peeling linoleum, missing doors, and a leaky ceiling.

If Helms the landlord neglects some of his tenants, Helms the senator fails to provide for many North Carolinians. Only four states receive less per capita in federal funds; only eight have more residents living in poverty. The state currently ranks 42nd in the release of cancer-causing toxins, 43rd in manufacturing wages, and 44th in infant mortality.

To obscure his record, Helms relies on a potent combination of money and fear mongering. Since he was first elected to the Senate in 1972, Helms has raised hell, introducing amendments he knows will be defeated simply to force recorded votes.

.....

A look at his earlier history provides an ominous picture of his future Senate career.

Unlike many of his Republican counterparts, Helms has changed little over the past 50 years. Long before Rush Limbaugh, Helms pioneered the use of television to rally public sentiment. While Ronald Reagan was losing primaries to Gerald Ford, Helms mobilized the religious right and built one of the most profitable political fundraising machines ever. And long after die-hard segregationists like George Wallace and Strom Thurmond began courting black voters, Helms fueled white fears by opposing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whistling "Dixie" while standing next to Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, and supporting apartheid in South Africa.

"His racial politics are deeply held convictions, not simply politics of convenience," says Christopher Scott. "He has a view of a fundamentalist Christian society in which everyone is not welcome. If you could pick up the South Africa of 20 years ago and transplant it to America, that's what he would do."

.....

And he was an "unofficial" researcher for conservative Willis Smith, whose 1950 Senate campaign is still considered one of the meanest and most racially divisive in the country's history. (One of Smith's ads featured a doctored photo of the incumbent's wife dancing with a black man. Helms has denied any involvement, but a newspaper advertising manager later told Helms biographer Ernest Furgurson that Helms personally cut up the photos.)

Smith won, and Helms was rewarded with a job as staff administrative assistant. In 1953, Helms returned to North Carolina as executive director of the state's banking association, spending the next seven years fighting to enrich his bosses. He won a seat on the Raleigh City Council and, in 1960, took a job as a TV commentator. He spent the decade railing against King, "Negro hoodlums," the media, "sex perverts," and anyone on welfare. As he explained in one of his nightly five-minute broadcasts, "A lot of human beings have been born bums."

Since Helms won election to the Senate, no "bums" have felt his rage as fiercely as citizens of poor nations. Over the years, the senator has proposed hundreds of measures to slash foreign aid, overthrow governments he doesn't like, and block administration policies. As the new chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, he has made it clear that his first priority is to enact deeper cuts to a foreign aid budget already slashed nearly 30 percent in the past decade.

.....

Those cuts will hit hardest in the Third World, where Helms has long been a staunch ally of right-wing military rulers like Augusto Pinochet in Chile, Raoul Cedras in Haiti, and Roberto D'Aubuisson in El Salvador. Confronted with evidence that D'Aubuisson directed death squads to murder civilians, Helms made it clear that some things are more important than human life. "All I know," he replied, "is that D'Aubuisson is a free enterprise man and deeply religious."

.....

And, there was a bloodthirsty element to his appetites.

Helms has long maintained an extensive network of contacts in Latin America that serves as a sort of shadow State Department. "For years he had a cadre of young people who were very well-connected," says a committee staff member. "You could have set them down in any South American junta and they would have been right at home."

The problem, say those familiar with his network, is that the information it provides is one-sided. "When I bring people to his office to tell him what we've seen, we aren't even allowed in," says Gail Phares, who leads delegations to Central America through Witness for Peace. "I remember when one delegation managed to get in and told his staff what they'd seen and heard in Nicaragua about the contras killing doctors and nurses and children, their response was, 'Well, they're just Communists—they deserve to die.'"

Such careless remarks concern the new Republican leadership, but Helms is simply too valuable—and too powerful—to silence. In effect, his unpredictable outbursts serve the GOP by tilting the agenda to the extreme right. "Helms is a wild card," says one former committee staffer. "You never know where he will pop up—and that keeps the opposition guessing."

.....

What would Helms do with a fifth term? "If you think he's bad now, wait until you see what he's like if he wins again," says Christopher Scott of the North Carolina AFL-CIO. "The biggest fear people should have is that if Helms is re-elected, he will understand that the next term would almost inevitably be his last. He will feel no constraint—he won't have to worry about political realities. It will be his final chance to shove it to those people he doesn't like."

The light of justice and hope can now burn more brightly, now that this heartless, racist homophobe no longer walks among us.






October 18, 1921--July 4, 2008


The end of an era.



May we begin to heal.