Jesse Helms

American politician who, since 1973, has been the ultraconservative G.O.P. incumbent Senator from North Carolina. As a former newspaper editor, radio director and senatorial assistant, he is said to have not changed his mind since 1945. Feisty, courteous and conservative, Helms is a Baptist deacon, mason and the self-appointed conscience of the American right-wing. He was an adamant racist and homophobic anti-communist. As early as 1950, he ran what has been called "the bitterest, ugliest, most smear-ridden campaign of modern times" when he unseated the existing senator as his goal. In later years, the focus of his bigotry shifted increasingly toward gays and lesbians though he continued to find way to express his contempt of any non-whites. In 1994, when Nelson Mandela visited the White House, Helms ostentatiously turned his back on him. In 1944 he was married and has three kids. Helms had a quadruple heart bypass in 6/1992, arthroscopic knee surgery in December 1997 and knee replacement surgery in the fall of 1998. He announced on 8/06/2001 that he would not seek a sixth term next year. His retirement has been hailed as "the end of an era." Hopefully. Senator Helms died at age 86 on July 4, 2008 at 1:15 AM local time in Raleigh, NC. Link to Wikipedia biography