The Upside Of Jesse Helms: Memorable Resistance

Throughout his lengthy career, Jesse Helms did the Republican Party no favors. A shambling, verminous bag of bigotry, Helms' presence at the forefront of the Republican party served mainly to ensure that the cartoon image of the GOP as a haven for vile racists always had a tinge of truth to it. Helms emphasized so many GOP negatives, that it's really sort of sad to see so many conservatives stumbling over themselves to praise him.

But even as Helms brought out the worst side of the fringey right, there was an opposing upside, in that he inspired some wonderful oppositional activism. Via Towleroad/Rex Wockner, we can cast our minds back seventeen years ago, to the day seven activists from ACT UP came to Arlington, Virginia, and put a giant condom over Helms' house.

Comments

[robiform]

A perfect tribute to Helms--it's really too bad that he died a few days ago. It would have been sweet if he had held out until after the November election--the result would have finished him off!!

[DasBoot]

De mortui nihil nisi bene.

Therefore about Jesse Helms:...

[bigfated]

The real "upside" of Helm's death is that the bigoted bastard is finally gone. To Hell, I presume.

[Jeffersonian1]

Amazing video and a fitting tribute to the former Senator.

Did anyone else recognize the cameo appearance by Becky Norton Dunlop (she of the big glasses, warm-up suit, small dog held by aged husband and "this is private property")?

Becky went on to serve in the cabinet of then-Governor George Allen as Secretary of Natural Resources where her actions had almost as deleterious effect on Virginia's state parks and open spaces and the Chesapeake Bay as Senator Helms' did on those with HIV.

Anyone know whatever happened to Becky and her little dog too?

[rickmv]

Yet another patriot slimed by cowardly liberals.

[VOTER]

ROFL

[Pyrrhus]

Yeah, I heard hell got a new gizmopper last week.

LOL

[Bettysdad]

"cowardly liberals" fought and died to make this country a better place to live.

People like you took the results that we achieved, but don't have the brains to realize what we gave you.

Right-wing tough-talkers like your self have never done a single thing for your fellow Americans. You just stand on the side and call real patriots names.

[Kencleanersystem]

I've been paging through Dante's Inferno trying to figure out which circle of Hell ol' Jesse is landing in right about now. I've narrowed it down, I believe, to the eighth circle, Bolgia 9 : "A sword-wielding demon hacks at the sowers of discord. As they make their rounds the wounds heal, only to have the demon tear apart their bodies again."

[OverIt]

An upside... besides the fact that he is no longer with us?

[JeremyO]

Excellent!

[JohnFromCensornati]

I always found it very confounding and disturbing that there were so many people that would vote for that hateful cretin.

[wm1066]

Wasn't Helms the reason we now use corn syrup instead of cane suger in our sodas?
Didn't he want to punish Cuba (huge cane sugar exporter) by making Coke and Pepsi switch to corn syrup?. Corn syrup has more health negatives than cane sugar. Corn syrup is more refined than cane sugar thus causing more health negatives.

[LettuceB1]

Maybe that's what finally killed him...

Ahhhhhhh, the irony!

[Bettysdad]

There has never been a cane sugar shortage.

Corn syrup is used because something had to be done with the huge overproduction of corn. That was caused by various policies, good and bad.

Corn came first, then corn syrup. It's in everything.

Helms was a lunatic about Cuba, but had nothing to do with this.

[VOTER]

Thank you!

I thought of this event when I heard Helms died.

These are the only two times his name brought a smile to many.

Glad you found the video. Perfect.