Jesse Helms

Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. (b October 18, 1921) is a former five-time Republican senator from Monroe, North Carolina. Mr. Helms was born to his formidable father Jesse Helms Sr., the local chief of police, and his wife Dot Helms. Mr. Helms, throughout his tenure as United States Senator was known for his staunchly conservative viewpoints, support for a strong defense, standing up for the little guy, and support for freedom. Like most staunchly conservative politicians who thumb their nose at political correctness, Helms was frequently derided in the mainstream media despite his former media connections . Helms stood up for equality under law for all Americans but often his positions were misunderstood and through biased reporting made to sound racist . While Helms can be called an Internationalist his support can be understood more in terms of western military alliances that strengthened US Security such as NATO as opposed to ineffective US encumbering organizations such as the UN .

Early Life

Education

Mr. Helms attended public schools in his home, Monroe County. After graduating from High School, Mr. Helms attended Wingate Junior College and Wake Forrest College.

Pre-World War II Journalist

Like President Ronald Reagan, Mr. Helms started his political career in the Media. In 1939, Mr. Helms quit Wake Forrest to work as a journalist on the Raleigh News and Observer. By the age of 21 Mr. Helms managed one of the paper's smaller papers.

Military Career

During World War II, Mr. Helms was drafted into the Navy as a recruiter. It was during his military career that Helms discovered his knack for broadcasting.

WRAL Radio and AA to Senator Willis Smith

In 1948, became a radio news director at WRAL in Raleigh, NC. Helms reported on the heated 1950 Democratic primary for the Senate. The winner of this race, Senator Willis Smith, took him to Washington as his administrative assistant a post at which he served until 1953 staying on to become Senator Alton Lennon's assistant after Smith's untimely demise. Willis, like Helms was a conservative Southern Democrat . Willis's defeated opponent, the liberal Frank Porter Graham was appointed by his supporter President Harry Truman as Ambassador to the United Nations. During his tenure in Washington Mr. Helms also worked on the unsuccessful Democratic primary presidential campaign of Richard B. Russell, Jr.

Bankers Association to Capital Broadcasting

Helms early work in politics lead him to become the Executive director of the North Carolina Bankers Association and later the Raleigh City Council where he opposed excessive taxation and supported limiting the growth of government. By the mid-1960's, Helms became the executive Vice President for Capitol Broadcasting in Raleigh, NC. Mr. Helms directed the news operation and delivered over-the-air commentaries. Mr. Helms developed a following due to his firebrand but perceptive political commentary which often attacked the decline of morality, liberal trends in society of the time, the Federal government's dubious social engineering in the southern states and Judicial activisim .

Senate Career

Democrat to Republican

The liberal George S. McGovern, the Democratic nominee for President in 1972 stood for abortion, defeatism and neo-liberalism.^{[Citation Needed]} McGovern was the final push in the Democratic party's disastrous move from American to leftist values.^{[Who says?]} Helms detested this and courageously left the Democratic party, which was far more popular in the South as a whole, for the Republican party, which had been the catalyst in the war of Northern Aggression a century before. Guided, in part, by the conservative policies of the Republican Candidate, Richard M. Nixon, Mr. Helms lead a victorious campaign against his opponent, Democrat Nick Galifianakis. Mr. Helms's campaign succeeded in associating Galifiankis to his liberal mentor McGovern. Galifianakis attempted to play the "race card" (Galifianakis was Greek), but voters saw through this to lend a 120,000 vote margin to Mr. Helms.^{[Citation Needed]}

Senator No

Mr. Helms' opposition to increasing the role of the federal government in the lives of every day citizens earned him the title "Senator No". From his first term to his last Mr. Helms rejected nominations of unqualified liberal candidates of all races, against federal spending (except his very principaled stance for the millitary and economically and strategically sound support for federal aid for farmers), . At the same time Mr. Helms did support and even befriended qualified candidates whom he felt would better the country, such as Madeline Albright for US Ambassador to the United Nations and later Secretary of State (ref: Madam Secretary, Madeline Albright). Helms was known for his bipartisan friendships despite his often strong ideological stances. However, Helms was not intractable when new information did not support his views. For instance Helms originally stood against increased funding to "stop the devastation caused by AIDS in Africa. Helms change of heart on this issue in his own words: "It had been my feeling that AIDS was a disease largely spread by reckless and voluntary sexual and drug-abusing behavior, and that it would probably be confined to those in high risk populations. I was wrong."

Moving the Party Right

Helms challenged the Republican party to engage the socially and economically conservative values of the American People. Helms's conservative values won him a 100% rating from the American Conservative Union for the entire last decade he was in office and never more than 10% according to similar liberal groups. Terry O'Neill -- of the far left feminist group, the National Organization for Women -- on hearing that Helms would reacted gleefully with the statement "He has been absolutely aggressive in his attacks on women's most basic rights for years. To call him irascible would be kind. Irrational would be more like it. It's a very good thing for the country that he's leaving the Senate."

Helms stated his disbelief in the old adage that "morality cannot be legislated". Helms took an active role in campaigning and in helping the Republican party to engage these values. First in his early work for Smith, then locally and eventually in early 1980 played a key role in helping the father of modern conservative, Ronald Reagan, win the Republican primary and take the White House back from the liberal and weak president Jimmy Carter. Helms's political action committee spent over $4.6 million dollars to help Regan capture the white house . Until recently, when Helms became incapacitated, in his home state of North Carolina few Conservative Republican candidates would dare run for state or national office without an endorsement from the godfather of North Carolinian conservatism, Senators Jesse Helms.

Foreign Policy

Helms believed that America should stand against dictators and help bring its values of Freedom and Democracy to the world. This belief caused Helms to stand against "Most Favored Nation" status for China (which the Reagan and Nixon Administrations supported). At the same time, Helms stood for a strong national defense and strongly opposed Communism and would occasionally compromise on the humanitarian part of his policy when it suited those aims, such was the case in his support for the dictator Augusto Pinochet. Helms also stood up against arms control and nuclear test-ban treaties even when some of these measures were supported by Regan himself .

Summary

Helms and his conservative values can be summed up in his own words: "Compromise, hell!" Helms said. "That's what has happened to us all down the line -- and that's the very cause of our woes."