Jesse Helms: American Garbage »
Posted by: Radiofreeeuropa 2 months ago117 Comments Report this Story
What does it say about modern American politics that a proponent of racism and repression at home, and defender of fascist and military dictatorship abroad, should play such a major role? Like scum on a stagnant pond, the rottenest elements in American society rose to the top of the political system during the last quarter of the twentieth century.
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Radiofreeeuropa2 months ago
When presented with evidence that Roberto D'Aubuisson, the US-backed death squad leader in El Salvador, was involved in atrocious human rights abuses, Helms responded, "All I know is that D'Aubuisson is a free enterprise man and deeply religious." One peace activist who met with Helms staffers to describe the murders of Nicaraguan doctors, nurses and children by the Contras was told, "Well, they're just communistsâ;;they deserve to die."
Helms was the worst of the worst, the fact that he rose to such high positions in U.S. politics is an indictment in itself. The racist supporter of mass murder receives no conciliatory mercy from me just because he is finally in He11.
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memestryker2 months ago
Although most Republicans are more moderate than the right-wing loudmouths, just as most Democrats are more moderate than the left-wing loudmouths, I am always disappointed that extremists find their way to Washington--mostly by whipping the ignorant into a frenzy so they all get out and vote while others are so apathetic they stay home--or by successfully bringing pork to their constituents.
Helms truly was the epitome of all that is ugly in the far right. I don't believe in He11, except that I think people create it for themselves here on earth by their own thoughts and actions.
He and others like him seem to glorify ignorance as something to be cherished (I also see that occurring on the far left, only on different issues). I only hope another just like him doesn't pop up.
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CorbinDallasComment removed: User banned.
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Radiofreeeuropa2 months ago
The outpouring of cliches and bogus praise, designed to conceal rather than illuminate, that is churned out by the American media in lieu of analysis regarding this man and the hate consumed agenda he pursued, is simply appalling. Not a single commentator on the television networks, cable outlets or major daily newspapers addresses the central issue: what does it say about modern American politics that a proponent of racism and repression at home, and defender of fascist and military dictatorships abroad should play such a major role?
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Radiofreeeuropa2 months ago
(Snark on-)
Perhaps the news that gays were getting married in California and a "person of color" was poised to become president was just too much for the "man made from pig parts" heart of Helms.
Now if only those who followed his wretched ideology would follow his example and remove themselves as well, The U.S. and indeed the entire planet would be a far better place.
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libsRfunny2 months ago
"The outpouring of cliches and bogus praise, designed to conceal rather than illuminate, that is churned out by the American media in lieu of analysis regarding this man and the hate consumed agenda he pursued, is simply appalling."
Ted Kennedy didn't die, but you sure could say a lot of the same about him.
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earthlingerer2 months ago
Ted Kennedy is a great american and a beacon of freedom, at least according to George HW Bush.
Yeah, I know that GHWB is a little left of center evil and despotism for you neo-con totalitarianists.
But you're on the "lunatic fringe" or the far right, we already know
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mesodude2 months ago
"Ted Kennedy didn't die, but you sure could say a lot of the same about him."
--But by "you" don't you mean *you* and all the other sex-obsessed right wingers whose lives are devoted to playing self-appointed sex police to the rest of the world (unless one of your fellow cons is involved)? You know I'm right, libsy. That's why wingers' favorite subject are abortion, the Kennedys, Bill Clinton and Barney Frank. You want to control what everyone else does with their private parts but you don't like to police yourselves.
I see right through cons as clearly as Larry Craig sees through the slats in restroom stalls. You can't get laid so you've got your noses between everyone else's legs, trying to decide who we can have sex with and how often, what positions are "normal", and which circumstances are appropriate for reproducing and or raising our children. The solution to your preoccupation with Kennedy is to get a life. Try it, libsr. ;-(
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mmrhe2 months ago
I second that Radio....You could see the hate in his face.
The disturbing thing is how long he served. We are our own worst enemy I'm afraid!
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miklkit2 months ago
One can only hope.
Funny story.
My brother who lives in Missouri came to visit a couple'a weeks ago. When the conversation turned to politics he said "I won't vote for no N**g*r." We let it go. His wife is a big ol heifer. The next day he showed up with a big ol shiner. :o) Now that is family values in action.
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chuck-the-canuck2 months ago
Is it any wonder that many of us living in other countries look at America with distrust and trepidation? Any nation that could give power to such a man, is a nation that any right thinking person must be deeply suspicious of.
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bubba22 months ago
Helms was no less evil than Bush or Cheney or Rove are evil.
The amazingly sad part about it all is that at least HALF of the eligible voters in this country DO NOT VOTE!!
When HALF the country does not even CARE who is running our government, it is no wonder that people of Helms' ilk get elected and get into power.
It is the voters and the people that ARE concerned who suffer due to the negligence and the "no care" attitude of HALF of the people in this country.
To THAT extent, the people are getting what we deserve. And what a SAD, PATHETIC commentary that is on the American people.
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Georgia502 months ago
You might be interested to know of studies that demonstrate a positive corelation of voter turnout to discontent.
Perhaps your fellow Americans refuse to share your discontent.
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icono12 months ago
To support your argument FTA;
"His elections were always narrow victories, his campaigns based on motivating just enough angry white racists to the polls to give him another six years of hateful rule."
So as long as the voters of NC voted him in he could continue to be the way he was because his behaviour was rewarded by re-election to office by his constituents.
So who is really responsible for Helm's public/political behaviour?
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JoseMadre2 months ago
"The amazingly sad part about it all is that at least HALF of the eligible voters in this country DO NOT VOTE!!"
With the candidates that we are given, it's actually amazing that half of us bother voting.
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Radiofreeeuropa2 months ago
Helms simply represented the worst of the worst.
Here's a few of his quotes:
"I'm a conservative progressive, and that means I think all men are equal, be they slants, beaners or nig**rs."
Jesse Helms, North Carolina Progressive, February 6, 1985,
"The New York Times and The Washington Post are both infested with homosexuals themselves." The Post, he charged, "caters to homosexual groups. Just about every person down there is homosexual or lesbian,"
Source - Home.att.net
"Bill Clinton "better watch out if he comes down here [to North Carolina]. He'd better have a bodyguard."
-Quote according to Helms (and refuted by military personnel), the military was likely to shoot Clinton if he came to North Carolina.
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Radiofreeeuropa2 months ago
"If God had wanted us to use the metric system, Jesus would have had 10 apostles."
"The destruction of this country can be pinpointed in terms of its beginnings to the time that our political leadership turned to socialism. They didn't call it socialism, of course. It was given deceptive names and adorned with fancy slogans. We heard about New Deals, and Fair Deals and New Frontiers and the Great Society."
â;; From a Helms editorial at WRAL-TV in Raleigh.
"They should ask their parents if it would be all right for their son or daughter to marry a Negro."
-- In response to Duke University students holding a vigil after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, 1968
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Radiofreeeuropa2 months ago
"Democracy used to be a good thing, but now it has gotten into the wrong hands."
"It's their deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct that is responsible for the disease"
"There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy."
"To rob the Negro of his reputation of thinking through a problem in his own fashion is about the same as trying to pretend that he doesn't have a natural instinct for rhythm and for singing and dancing."
"The Negro cannot count forever on the kind of restraint that's thus far left him free to clog the streets, disrupt traffic, and interfere with other men's rights."
"Homosexuals are weak, morally sick wretches."
"Crime rates and irresponsibility among Negroes are a fact of life which must be faced." (New York Times, 2/8/81)
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Radiofreeeuropa2 months ago
While working on the 1950 campaign of Republican Willis Smith against Democrat Frank Porter Graham, Helms helped create an ad that read "White people, wake up before it is too late. Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and your daughters, in your mills and factories? Frank Graham favors mingling of the races." Another ad featured photographs Helms himself had doctored to illustrate the allegation that Graham's wife had danced with a black man. (FAIR 9/1/01, The News and Observer 8/26/01)
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Radiofreeeuropa2 months ago
I wonder if there will be a matching miraculous pee-stain?
http://www.crystalair.com/content.php?id=742007...
Mysterious ways indeed!
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memestryker2 months ago
Uh, scott4261, I'm afraid those aren't marshmallows! It's hell, after all!
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mesodude2 months ago
"Helms might not have been a good person, but at least he never murdered anyone. *coughs* Ted Kennedy."
--Do you have any friends or loved ones who are black, gay, or belong to some other minority group, tangy? If not, you've already answered my question. Otherwise, step away from the computer for five minutes, dial one of them up and ask them why us evil liberals here are saying such mean things about a guy who just "might not have been a good person." Let me know what you find out, tangy. Thanks. ;-)
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JoseMadre2 months ago
Agreed. As a minority and a Republican, I hope we can purge our party of weasels like this. Funny that one of the few things I agreed with him on was the protection of American jobs from absurdly unfair competition from nations that utilize virtual or actual slave labor. I don't mind free trade with nations like Canada that have employment, safety, and environmental standards, but not with places like China that have none of the above. The Democrats ae ahead of us on this issue.
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hyperbola2 months ago
Americans have not even begun to think about the real problems of globalization. It is usually NOT the people (workers) in third world countries that are profiting from our exporting jobs.
The Rise of Food Fascism: Global Agribusiness in Bolivia
Do No Evil â;; Some argue that that we are witnessing the rise of "petro-fascism" as multinational corporations and nation states struggle for control of the life-blood of the global economy. With multinational agribusiness trying to control the very sustenance of human life we may be facing an even more violent period of repression, conflict and upheaval.
http://donoevil.propeller.com/story/2008/07/05/...
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JoseMadre2 months ago
Reagan nailed Japanese auto and motorcycle makers for dumping. Pat Buchanan would be a good example of a traditional GOP position on trade - protect key industries, and disallow trade with slave labor nations. Heck, even Adam Smith recognized that a nation should protect industries that are vital to defense. The problem is internationalists like Bush, who spoke of New Orleans as "this part of the world."
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wtagg2 months ago
We still need to do work on our areas of virtual slave labor. Those areas contribute to the immigration problem we currently are suffering.
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1-2-Oscar2 months ago
Ken Layne, Radiofreeeuropa, and others condemn Jesse Helms as "human garbage" and demonstrate their own moral superiority by acting just as Helms did. That's very revealing of what is REALLY wrong with American politics.
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bubba22 months ago
Huh???
Anyone here calling African Americans "n*ggers"?
Anyone here calling homosexuals "morally sick wretches"?
Anyone here using Jesus to diss the metric system?
Anyone here threatening African Americans, saying they they have no right to be "on the streets" or to "interfere with other men's rights"?
There is no "moral superiority" in anyone's comments, except maybe for yours.
The FACTS regarding Jesse Helms speak VERY LOUDLY for themselves. What is 'revealing' about what is wrong with some Americans is that they REFUSE to accept who and what Helms really was.
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Radiofreeeuropa2 months ago
By the same token if one opposed Hitler they were just like Hitler?
His own words condemn him. Not mine.
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jordan112 months ago
They aren't acting as Helms did. They're saying the truth. If it isn't the truth, offer something to discount what they say. Was Helms not a bigot? Did Helmes not utter obscene remarks about groups of people? Did Helms not use his position of power to hold down those groups? Do you not find that obscene? Should people LIE about him? Should people remain silent, and by their silence condone his actions and those who think like him? WHAT do you want people to do?
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Grrr2 months ago
It is true, 1-2-O, that opposing the politics of division is in itself divisive, at least to those that espouse such politics. But how else are you going to work it? Seems rather necessary, always has been, and it's unfortunate that it's so, but not calling it what it is hasn't gotten us anywhere since about Reagan. When it comes to policy, pigs are pigs, racists are racists, and no, you're not just as bad as they are just because you point out that something stinks. What is revealing of America is that there are those that would not only vote for such a vile foot soldier of hate, but defend him. Truly astounding.
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JoseMadre2 months ago
Jesse Helms was a bigot. Most of his career he was anti-minority, anti-Israel, anti-"anyone different." There is a world of difference between disagreeing with someone politically - I disagree with Obama 90% of the time - and condemning someone for his/her personhood. Helms crossed that line and is rightly condemned here for it.
BTW, I'm more conservative than Reagan was and than either Bush could ever dream of being.
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mesodude2 months ago
What I find interesting is that the same people who, to this day, still fantasize about Clinton's hummer from 10 years ago (which had no significant impact on their own lives), have urged me to "just get over" Bush's litany of criminal acts (which have ended and destroyed the lives of millions) before his administration is even over. How many times have we heard the refrain "Bush is not running for office...blah blah"? It just floors me how cons are still seething with rage over something Ted Kennedy did decades ago but they want to allot exactly 15 minutes (and not a second more) of discussion to any GOP indiscretion. Insane.
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quackpot2 months ago
Rather than condemn the man for his views which, in 2008 seem totally obnoxious, it might be more valuable to understand the forces that enabled this man of hate to rise to become a senior Dean of U.S. politics.
Jesse Helms was MUCH larger than an individual. An understanding of the U.S. deserves an objective view of this senior representative of the nation and the forces that gave him his power.
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JoseMadre2 months ago
Understand the forces? Helms was a Senator from 1973 to 2003, not from 1815 to 1845. He was playing the race game long after Strom and George Wallace repented.
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mesodude2 months ago
He lived to make life miserable for others. You can worship him all you want. It won't redeem his legacy. He was a very evil individual.
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ConquerorWyrm2 months ago
Well, I must say, the author of this article wasn't much of a fan of the recently departed, that's for sure...
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memestryker2 months ago
mmrhe,
We didn't become "one nation under God" until the mid-1950s Republican sweep of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives. And since robber barrons were active well before that, I'm not sure I see your point.
We've never been "one nation under God" anyway, since that was just a ploy to distinguish us from the communists.
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JohnQPublicComment removed: User banned.
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hefaa12 months ago
Big backer of the the tobacco lobby/industry in North Carolina. Voted against anti-smoking legislation every chance he got. Kept pro lung cancer, emphysema and general COPD laws goin' for years.
Best Case Scenario:
Saint Peter asked Helms at the Golden Gates; "Smoking or Non-Smoking?", "Smoking" replies Jesse. St. Peter sends him directly to Hell where he now smolders. Irony can be fun.
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