Senator No

Jesse Helms today joined Thomas Jefferson and John Adams amongst American statesmen who died on the Fourth of July.

Helms was a lion of conservatism. He was a staunch anti-communist when the establishment favored weak-kneed detente. He was a lifelong opponent of the world-government wannabes in the United Nations. He fought against threats against American sovereignty from the Panama Canal Treaty to the Law of the Sea Treaty. He fought for the conservative positions on issues from abortion to guns to judges to immigration. He was a conservative before conservatism was popular (rhetorically, at least) in the Republican Party.

Helms played a key role in helping Ronald Reagan to become President. He helped Reagan win North Carolina in 1976, turning a struggling campaign into a near-winner, keeping Reagan viable for 1980.

In his thirty years in the Senate, Helms always stayed true to his principles, infuriating liberals who dubbed him Senator No for blocking their agenda.

He also made this great ad illustrating the evils of racial preferences, which has enraged liberals ever since.