Remembering Jesse Helms

To his liberal adversaries, Jesse Helms was a pain in the rear.

But I will remember him as a historic figure in my home state and the epitome of the American Dream.

The son of Monroe, North Carolina's police and fire chief (Jesse Helms, Sr. held both offices) rose from modest beginnings to become a conservative commentator recognized from the mountains to the coast, and then for 30 years, a United States Senator from N.C.

A man who knew how to get things done (or keep them from getting done) in the Senate and who put high importance on constituent service.

When I was a boy in the 1960s, Jesse Helms was a regular fixture in my family's home via the television set. I watched him broadcast editorials during local newscasts. Helms' segment on WRAL-TV in Raleigh was called "Viewpoint." Just like Helms himself, the editorial portion of the show was nothing fancy. Helms would deliver his comments forcefully, seriously and without compromise. And he would take an authentic stand on issues, not the ever-so-carefully worded drivel that would pass for TV editorials in later decades.

Helms' editorials got statewide exposure via radio and newspaper. Whether they agreed with him or not, just about everyone in North Carolina knew who he was.

Because of his broadcasting career, when Helms ran for U.S. Senate, voters knew who he was and what he stood for.

During my days in radio news, I interviewed Senator Helms in-person several times in the late 1970s when he would visit the Rocky Mount area. He also did a weekly taped interview feature. Reporters could call in a question for Helms. The questions were recorded, and at the end of the week, you would receive in the mail a small reel-to-reel tape with three or four reporters' questions and Helms' answers.

Getting a television interview with Helms was a greater challenge. It wasn't that he refused to talk to you; he just didn't make it easy.

In the 1990s I wanted to do a feature about Helms, and my boss gave me the green light. A photographer and I went to Raleigh and interviewed various people with Helms connections. I figured I'd have no trouble getting a one-on-one interview with the Senator. After all, what politician wouldn't jump at the chance for time on TV?

Jesse Helms, that's who.

He wouldn't consent to an interview at his Raleigh office, which would've been convenient and saved us a ton in transportation costs. We just couldn't seem to connect with him. By the time a member of his staff finally told us we could get our interview... if we would come to Washington, DC... we had lost interest and said forget it.

The best thing about our attempt at a Helms feature was talking with a political cartoonist at the Raleigh News and Observer. I asked him to draw a cartoon of Helms as a keepsake for me. Within just a couple of minutes, the drawing was ready, complete with Helms' classic just-ate-something-sour facial expression. I still have that cartoon tucked away at home.

Jesse Helms was someone you either loved... or hated. There was no gray area.

He loved to give his political opponents hell, and plenty of times he was on the receiving end.

When I was a student at N.C. State University in the early/mid-1970s, the student newspaper, The Technician, printed a nude centerfold of Helms (a doctored photo with a mystery man's body and Helms' face). Thousands of copies were distributed across campus.

I hear Senator Helms was very good at letting criticism glide right past him and not dwelling on it. That must've come in handy with the NC State episode.

His U.S. Senate races against Democrat challengers Jim Hunt (former governor) and Harvey Gantt (former Charlotte mayor) were political classics.

Helms despised Communists, defense cuts and tax increases.

He loved North Carolina. He loved the United States of America. He loved his family.

He had a reputation for disarming kindness and courtesy when dealing with people one-on-one.

He was an icon.

How very fitting that Jesse Helms would take his last breath on the Fourth of July.