Changes

Helms' parents were Jesse Helms Sr., the local chief of police, and his wife Ethel Mae Helms.<ref>[httphttps://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/us/politics/00helms.html?_r=0 Jesse Helms Dies at 86; Conservative Force in the Senate], [[The New York Times]]</ref>

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 Helms rejected nominations of unqualified liberal candidates, against federal spending (except military spending and federal aid for farmers),<ref name="answers.com"/> and opposed naming a holiday for Dr. [[Martin Luther King]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080705044912/httphttps://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/04/obit.helms/index.html Ex-Sen. Jesse Helms dies at 86], [[CNN]]</ref> Helms supported and befriended qualified candidates regardless of party affiliation 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 ideological differences. However, Helms was broadminded and tolerant of contrary views, and unafraid to be proven in error. 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."<ref>Jesse Helms, ''Here's Where I Stand: A Memoir'' (2005)</ref>

* "If freedom is right and tyranny is wrong, why should those who believe in freedom treat it as if it were a roll of bologna to be bartered a slice at a time?"<ref>[httphttps://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/jesse-helms-battled-liberals-communists Jesse Helms Battled Liberals, Communists]</ref>