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'''Jesse Helms''' (born Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr., October 18, 1921, d. July 4, 2008) was a five-time [[Republican]] [[U.S. Senator|senator]] from [[North Carolina]].<ref>http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000463</ref> Helms, throughout his tenure as United States Senator was known for his [[conservative]] principles, including his support for a strong defense, individual rights, the oppressed, and support for freedom. Like most conservative politicians who eschew political correctness, Helms was frequently the target of mainstream [[media bias]], despite his former career in the media.<ref>http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/biography.asp</ref> Helms was a staunch advocate for equality under law, but due to his Southern background and incorrect party affiliation, his positions were misrepresented through typically biased reporting.<ref>http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/fictionortruth.asp#handsad</ref> However, Helms opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.<ref>Larry Margasak, Jesse Helms: Polarizer, not a compromiser, Newsweek, July 5, 2008, [http://www.newsweek.com/id/144633]</ref> Helms also opposed extending the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Reagan called Helms a "lionhearted leader of a great and growing army."<ref>[http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/1755723/ Conservative icon Jesse Helms dead at 86]

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Frequently Helms was the target of massive, heavily funded [[liberal]] efforts to defeat him at reelection, and every time Helms crushed the liberals and won handily. In 1990, a weak election year for [[Republicans]], polls just prior to the election suggested that his [[liberal]] African American opponent Harvey Gantt would prevail. Helms ran a final advertisement that became famous as the "hands" ad, showing a white pair of hands and a voice complaining that he lost a job opportunity due to [[affirmative action]], which his opponent supported.<ref>The voice in the ad stated, "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? Harvey Gantt says it is."[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92241325&ft=1&f=1003]</ref> The [[liberal]] press accused Helms of injecting race into the campaign, to which he responded:<ref>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92241325&ft=1&f=1003</ref>

== Early Life ==

Helms' parents were Jesse Helms Sr., the local chief of police, and his wife Ethel Mae Helms.<ref>http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms</ref>

=== Education ===

Helms attended public schools. He said this about his high school principal:<ref>http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5glajfJbQP2WmgGcjVzbfYrT4VKWwD91N40A80</ref>

=== 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. Another ad featured photographs Helms himself had doctored to illustrate the allegation that Graham's wife had danced with a black man. 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.<ref>http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000463</ref> Willis, like Helms was a conservative Southern Democrat.<ref>http://www.answers.com/topic/jesse-helms</ref> Willis's defeated opponent, the liberal Frank Porter Graham was appointed by his supporter President Harry Truman as Ambassador to the United Nations.<ref>http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=g000353</ref> Helms also worked on the unsuccessful Democratic primary presidential campaign of Richard B. Russell, Jr., in 1952.

=== Democrat to Republican ===

In 1970, Helms left the Democratic party for the Republican party, which had long been unpopular outside the Carolina mountain districts. His shift reflected the movement of young white conservatives into the GOP across the South. In 1972 he ran for the Senate as a supporter of Republican presidential candidate [[Richard M. Nixon]]. Helms faced liberal Democrat Nick Galifianakis. Helms's successful tactic was to associate Galifiankis with the highly unpopular liberal presidential candidate [[George McGovern]]. He won the Senate seat with 54% of the vote. He was reelected in 1978 (with 55%), 1984 (with 52%), 1990 (with 53%), and 1996 (with 53%). His margins were never large and his campaigns were always intensely fought. Although repeatedly targeted for defeat by national Democrats, he always pulled off narrow victories, and helped his allies win statewide office as well.

=== Liberal opposition ===

Some in the liberal media have questioned Helms' integrity, largely due to his standing against Affirmative Action programs and quotas and secondly for his opposition to many liberal appointees for federal office.<ref>http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/fictionortruth.asp#fic2</ref> Helms stated in his biography he has stood up for candidates in the jobs for which they were qualified. He has opposed liberal and unqualified candidates in posts for which they were not qualified. The record shows Helms enthusiastically supported African American candidates [[Clarence Thomas]], [[Colin Powell]], [[Claude Allen]], and [[Condoleezza Rice]], as well as other well qualified candidates for the positions in which they were appointed.<ref>http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/jessehelms/fictionortruth.asp#fic5</ref>

== Humanitarian ==

Jesse Helms continued to work on his humanitarian causes after leaving office until he became incapacitated. Since then others continue his work in his name. His approach encourages individual and organization charity rather than government intervention.<ref>http://www.jessehelmscenter.org</ref>

== 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."<ref>http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b8990d63719.htm</ref>

==Bibliography==

* Helms, Jesse. ''Here's Where I Stand: A Memoir'' (2005)

* Helms, Jesse. "Saving the U.N.: A Challenge to the Next Secretary-General," ''Foreign Affairs,'' September/October 1996 [http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19960901facomment3388/jesse-helms/saving-the-u-n-a-challenge-to-the-next-secretary-general.html online edition]

==See Also==

*[[Soviet diver to KAL 007 says no bodies, no luggage]]

==External Links==

*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/2012/11/lawrence-patton-mcdonald-b_15.html A Forgotten Man: Congressman Larry McDonald] the Sen. Helms/Cong. McDonald link

*[http://bertschlossberg.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-crossing-of-jesse-helms-larry.html#!/2012/11/the-crossing-of-jesse-helms-larry.html The Crossing of Jesse Helms, Larry McDonald, Noelle Anne, and Little Stacy Marie]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helms, Jesse}}