"However, I do take disagree with your characterization of those who voted for Helms, over and over again, as "ignorant." I don't think they were ignorant at all. I think those voters knew exactly what Helms stood for, in every detail, and I think they voted for him all those years precisely for that reason. They knew him well."

I lived in NC from 1975-1983, when he was at the heights of his power. NC is filled with vicious Southern racists, people who are ugly in their souls. Helms represented racists with racist statements. He was re-elected several times because he was a racist, and because small-town NC residents are mostly assholes.

Occasionally I have considered returning to NC to take jobs. I can never convince myself of doing that. There are a lot of ugly disgusting people in NC, and NC is much better than AL, MS, GA, and parts of FL. LA, TX, OK, AR and parts of TN also are filled with ugly people with ugly hearts.

I've always found your posts to be worth reading, especially considering that you bring the perspective of a long-time GOP member to the table.

Your notion of discussing just how perfectly terrible Helms was as a man and a politician makes sense... simple name-calling doesn't get us anywhere.

However, I do take disagree with your characterization of those who voted for Helms, over and over again, as "ignorant." I don't think they were ignorant at all. I think those voters knew exactly what Helms stood for, in every detail, and I think they voted for him all those years precisely for that reason. They knew him well.

This country has NEVER resolved the tension between the rebels and the loyalists of the 18th century. The modern South is a perfect example of that, as voters there continue to send one monarchist prick after another to Washington.

All those Southern voters know exactly what they're doing. They're doing what they've always done: shit all over our constitution, the revolution, modernity itself.

I would argue that the chief reason our country is in such a terrible mess right now is because of those unreconstructed loyalists who populate the South, who would really be much happier in an authoritarian state. They sent a bunch of savage, greedy, ignorant, dickwad Texans to the White House, for eight years, out of their endless sense of grievance and fear.

The South is our crazy uncle in the basement..only, we just let him run the household for the last eight years.

Until we blot out this racist, homophobic, xenophobic, loyalist-monarchist taint in our body-politic, this country will never truly realize its greatness. In fact, the only times this country has been great, was when it fought furiously against everything the South stands for, and won a battle or two..but never the war.

I don't know the answer. I just know the problem. And it's a bad problem. It goes back beyond colonization of the New World, far back into the mists of time. I don't know how we fix it. But we better figure out how, or, in their utter craziness, the South will destroy this country. They've already gone a good way down that road.

.................. Uhhhhhh............

Still thinking................

Better hold my tongue, then.

A few quotes from this "consummate gentleman":

"I was with some Vietnamese recently, and some of them were smoking two cigarettes at the same time. That's the kind of customers we need!"

“You were the best qualified for that job, but they had to give it to a minority.”

"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

"All Latins are volatile people. Hence, I was not surprised at the volatile reaction." -- After Mexicans protested his visit in 1986

"It's their deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct that is responsible for the disease." -- Justifying his refusal to give financial support to families of AIDS victims.

"Homosexuals are weak, morally sick wretches." -- 1995 radio broadcast

"She's a damn lesbian. I am not going to put a lesbian in a position like that. If you want to call me a bigot, fine." -- Explaining why he was opposing the appointment of a woman for a cabinet post.

"The New York Times and Washington Post are both infested with homosexuals themselves. Just about every person down there is a homosexual or lesbian." -- 1995

"The University of Negroes and Communists" -- Reference to the University of North Carolina devised by Mr. Helms when he worked for Willis Smith's 1950 U.S. Senate campaign

"No, I do not. And neither do the people in the armed forces. Mr. Clinton better watch out if he comes down here. He'd better have a bodyguard." -- When asked in 1994 on CNN if he thought President Clinton was "up to the job" of serving as Commander-in-Chief

Helms was a cynical demagogue, supporter of military juntas, advocate of oppressive political regimes, and avid bigot who freely used his power to batter those not so well situated. Oh, and a slum landlord to boot.

Given all that, getting proverbial knickers in a twist over "speaking ill of the dead" is absurd. Dying doesn't make you a better human being, it just means you're dead. If you want people to say something nice about you after you die, don't be an asshole.

Guardian article may interest people in the link below,

...he represented the desires of the majority of his constituency. He gave a voice to millions who otherwise would have been left voiceless by those who found their worldview untenable. He was a man of great personal honor and integrity, and a consummate gentleman who was consistently among the most responsive members of Congress to the needs of the people who elected him. Whether one agreed with Senator No or not, you knew where he stood and who he stood for, which is a rarity in modern politics. He had a graciousness that is notably lacking from this particular conversation.