So long, Mr. Helms

Jesse Helms dead at 86.

I don’t particularly have anything meaningful to add. I’d be lying if I said I considered this a great loss because it’s not. Pam Spaulding of Pandagon gives a good summary of Helms’s legacy without any unnecessary hateful commentary. She also hits the nail on the head when it comes to giving a reason why Helms was able to be re-elected multiple times:

I will take this opportunity, as I’ve simply let the Helms record speak for itself, to say a positive comment about the late Senator – he and his office excelled at constituent services, with prompt, specific responses to every query regardless if whether you had his support on a particular issue. He showed up frequently to meet with and take care of his constituents, and he was rewarded by winning re-election time and again. Those acts do matter; sadly, that personal touch and responsiveness enabled him to continue fomenting bigotry in the name of the state of North Carolina that did not—and certainly does not now—reflect the beliefs of most residents of this state.

And this is what I have tried to say time and time again about Strom Thurmond and South Carolina. He was a racist bastard, but by god, if you were a resident in his state and had a problem, he listened and often did some pretty awesome things to help. It doesn’t make it right to keep men with such hateful ideas in power, but people remember when they were helped and separated the men from the politics.

Mr. Helms, I’m not sad you’re gone, but I’m not celebrating either. I hope that a little more hatred in this world dies with you and that we can move away from the racist, homophobic, and classist beliefs you held. My heart goes out to your family as I know all too well the pain of losing a loved one.