Lorie Byrd - contributing writer @ townhall.com - insists that "even liberals can learn from Jesse Helms".
Many of those outside of North Carolina never could quite understand how Jesse Helms won reelection to the U.S. Senate so many times in what is considered a moderate southern state. It is no wonder many were baffled by Helms’ political success considering the caricature his opponents and many in the media so often painted of him. Those who knew Senator Helms had no trouble understanding his appeal to voters though. In eulogizing Helms this week, many of those closest to him described attributes he possessed that any politician would do well to follow, regardless of their political ideology.
Now this sould be interesting.
This woman is expecting her readership to believe that ALL politicians should be like Helms. Well, considering the readership of townhall.com is primarily of the conservative bent, she's really preaching to the choir.
So, what was it about Helms that 'others' can learn from.
Jonathan Hill, who worked for Helms for many years beginning in 1983, said Helms told campaign staff that anytime a young person came to his office and wanted a picture with him that they were to come “get him.” Hill said Helms always made time for constituents visiting the Senate – especially groups of young people. Politicians always seem to find time for the big donors, but not all are as generous with their time for the fifth grade class on a field trip
Ok, so be ready for your latest photo-op, especially with kids. Nothing creates the illusion that you are a 'kind hearted man' like pictures with kids.
Hill spent many hours on the campaign trail with Helms and commented on the great love Helms had for his family, and particularly the loving way he treated his wife, Dot (“He put her on a pedestal.”). Those who worked for Helms said he treated his campaign staff as his family. Hill said he never heard Helms use profanity and that he always addressed those who worked for him, as well as all those who worked in the Senate and elsewhere, with courtesy. He said if you asked those who worked in the Senate, from campaign staff to elevator operators, who their favorite Senator was, most would say Jesse Helms.
Make sure that you are nice to people's faces. Don't let your true feelings be known unless you are 'in the company of friends'.
And who is the "Hill" character? Was he the only person that Ms. Byrd could find to say something nice? Or, was he just anxious to have his name seen in a conservative article?
Anyway, there's more to learn.....
Not only did the voters of North Carolina and those in the U.S. Senate know where Jesse stood, but so did those around the world. In his 2000 speech to the United Nations Security Council (the first time a U.S. Senator addressed the council), Helms plainly commented on the “lack of gratitude” expressed by those who did not appreciate that “the U.N. lives and breathes on the hard-earned money of the American taxpayers.” When Jesse Helms spoke, there was no ambiguity, and when he said something he followed through with action to match his words.
This is is pretty much a given. Stick to your talking points. No diverting from the script - at all.
Jesse Helms never compromised on the issues of importance to him and his supporters. I recall a conversation I had with a woman in my church many years ago who was terribly upset over the prospect that Helms would not win reelection. The race was close (as all his races were) and she didn’t think he was going to be able to pull out another win. She said, “I just don’t know what will happen if he doesn’t win. If he is not in the Senate there won’t be anyone there to speak for us.” By “us” she was talking about conservatives and, more specifically, people of faith. There were other Republicans, many of them even conservatives, in the U.S. Senate who would still be there even if Jesse Helms lost that race, but she knew Helms would stand firm on the issues that were important to her and that was something she could not say of any other politician.
This is something that has always troubled me. These alleged "people of faith" in the conservative movement tend to use that faith as a shield in order to hide what they really believe. Not often will you find diversity, acceptance, and understanding in a conservative congregation when they aren't sitting in the pews.
Don’t worry about what your opponents think of you. What a contrast Jesse Helms was to so many of the politicians today who work so hard for approval from the media. On a personal level, Helms was cordial to even his fiercest political opponents, but he did not care much about what others said about him.
That's right, be as spiteful, racist, and uncaring as you want. Just be that way and whatever anyone else thinks, they can fuck-off.
In the interest of fairness to Ms. Byrd, she's not exactly drinking that last tub of bath-water that Helms' ran like Sean Hannity seemed to be. But her article only serves to further prove that conservatives will protect and defend their own, regardless of how vile they were or are.
.....and speaking of that "jesus christ pose"......
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