You know, when I was living elsewhere, if people didn't know ANYTHING else about North Carolina, they knew about Jesse Helms. I am sorry for his family, because it's never good to lose a family member, but that's about all I can say.
For years, whenever I'd tell someone I grew up in North Carolina they would say 'oh, isn't that Helms person from there? oh, no, wait, he's from South Carolina isn't he?'
I never bothered to correct 'em. I figured we (NC) suffered enough, let SC take on some of it.
I'll stick my neck out and say something nicer about him:
He stuck to his guns and let you know where he stood.
A lot of people disagreed with him on a lot of things, of course, but ol' Jess at least would do you the courtesy of telling you why he thought you were wrong, instead of the silly weasel-dance I get from other politicians (Repub and Dem alike). And I think I finally threw 'em out, but I had a drawer full of those weasel-dance letters...
Jesse, on the other hand, responded personally to a friend of mine who was trying to petition to overturn some stupid drug law, something to do with tuition and drug charges. W. [name redacted] certainly didn't get the answer he'd hoped for, but the response not only answered his question specifically, but was downright witty. No form letter, no "but here's why you should vote for me anyways", none of the nonsense I get from Price, Liddy, Edwards, or the rest.
So, like or hate his politics, I'll stand up and say I at least commend his honesty.
