Jesse Helms: The Death Of A Patriot

Shortly after Jesse Helms was elected as a US Senator from North Carolina in 1972, a group of about 200 Republican and Democratic supporters were invited to have dinner with him in Raleigh. Upon his being introduced to speak, we gave Senator Helms a thunderous standing ovation. He responded in typical Jesse “manner” by saying, “There are only two reasons an audience gives a speaker a standing ovation at the beginning of his speech: One; they want to show appreciation to the speaker now because they don’t know if they will feel like it by the end of the speech. Two; they want to take an opportunity to stand and straighten their underwear. I noticed several people doing the latter.”

The former US Senator and Channel Five News Commentator (Raleigh, NC), who introduced me to the quotations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, died this morning at the age of 86 in Raleigh, NC. He was elected to the US Senate five times by the people of North Carolina. He chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was a committed constitutional conservative and Christian.

Senator Helms opposed those who wanted to expand the powers of government and supported Christian morality in politics and law. He was often called “Senator No” by the secular progressives whose liberal pet projects and massive spending the Senator always opposed.

All who knew him would agree that he was a true “Southern Gentleman,” even though he could be a dauntless opponent. He fought against Communism and socialism in any form. He spoke boldly against judicial rewriting of the Constitution and supported pro-life legislation. It is fitting that he died on Independence Day. He was a great patriot who defended America’s independence and freedom all of his life.