McConnell praises Jesse Helms' kindness

[uscitizen]

McConnell praises Jesse Helms' kindness

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., delivered a warm-hearted eulogy Tuesday at the funeral of former Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, a Republican colleague who died Friday.

While Helms was a controversial figure for his fierce opposition to civil rights for African-Americans, equal rights for gays and lesbians, foreign aid to poor nations and public funding for the arts, among other stands, McConnell told an audience in Raleigh, N.C., that getting to know Helms was a pleasure. McConnell issued a statement shortly after Helms' death saying Helms was "no bigot."

According to a staff report posted by the Raleigh News & Observer, a McClatchy newspaper:

"Anyone who passed by Jesse Helms in the Capitol or worked in his office would remember him as one of the kindest men they ever knew," McConnell said. "No matter who they were, he always had a kind word and gentle smile."

http://polwatchers.typepad.com/pol_w...-kindness.html

I sure hope Mitch gets beat this fall.

[Cancel7]

McConnell has always been one of my least favorite pols to begin with. This doesn't even surprise me.

[LadyT]

McConnell praises Jesse Helms' kindness

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., delivered a warm-hearted eulogy Tuesday at the funeral of former Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, a Republican colleague who died Friday.

While Helms was a controversial figure for his fierce opposition to civil rights for African-Americans, equal rights for gays and lesbians, foreign aid to poor nations and public funding for the arts, among other stands, McConnell told an audience in Raleigh, N.C., that getting to know Helms was a pleasure. McConnell issued a statement shortly after Helms' death saying Helms was "no bigot."

According to a staff report posted by the Raleigh News & Observer, a McClatchy newspaper:

"Anyone who passed by Jesse Helms in the Capitol or worked in his office would remember him as one of the kindest men they ever knew," McConnell said. "No matter who they were, he always had a kind word and gentle smile."

http://polwatchers.typepad.com/pol_w...-kindness.html

I sure hope Mitch gets beat this fall.

I had to stop reading after that.

Pathetic. It just nice to know that generally accepted ideology like Helms is dying off with pond scum like him and the world will certainly be a much better place for it.

[Cancel7]

I had to stop reading after that.

Pathetic. It just nice to know that generally accepted ideology like Helms is dying off with pond scum like him and the world will certainly be a much better place for it.

My sentiments exactly. And I don’t mourn any of their deaths. This country has needed a big spring cleaning for a long, long time.

[uscitizen]

Mitch is just a mouthpiece of the Neos. And our other senator is the neogofer boy, he will introduce their bills that no one else will.

[China Apologist]

I'm sure Helms was very nice to anyone who wasn't gay or black.

But I'd like you all to remember that flag burning would be a criminal offense right now without McConnel's vote. If there had been a Democrat in that seat he would have voted for it to avoid conservative backlash.

[China Apologist]

In a widely publicized and controversial incident, Helms deeply offended Carol Moseley-Braun, the first black woman in the Senate and the only black Senator at the time.[39][40][41][42][43] Soon after the Senate vote on the Confederate flag insignia, which opponents saw as an overt symbol of racism - both for the history of racial slavery in the United States and for establishment of Jim Crow laws, Helms ran into Mosely-Braun in an elevator.[43] Helms turned to his friend, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah), and said, "Watch me make her cry. I'm going to make her cry. I'm going to sing 'Dixie' until she cries."[44] He then proceeded to sing the song about "the good life" during slavery to Mosely-Braun.[45][46] Helms later blocked Mosely-Brauns' nomination to be U.S. ambassador to New Zealand.[43]

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Helms[/ame]

[LadyT]

In a widely publicized and controversial incident, Helms deeply offended Carol Moseley-Braun, the first black woman in the Senate and the only black Senator at the time.[39][40][41][42][43] Soon after the Senate vote on the Confederate flag insignia, which opponents saw as an overt symbol of racism - both for the history of racial slavery in the United States and for establishment of Jim Crow laws, Helms ran into Mosely-Braun in an elevator.[43] Helms turned to his friend, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah), and said, "Watch me make her cry. I'm going to make her cry. I'm going to sing 'Dixie' until she cries."[44] He then proceeded to sing the song about "the good life" during slavery to Mosely-Braun.[45][46] Helms later blocked Mosely-Brauns' nomination to be U.S. ambassador to New Zealand.[43]



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Helms

Well, if there is a he**, he's lightly toasted by now.

[China Apologist]

I've been criticized before because I had no idea in hell what the song "Dixie" was. Like I'd be walking around with my saxophone and some redneck would yell out "Play Dixie!" and I'd be like "What?" and he'd complain for ten minutes in a stupid redneck voice. I read the lyrics on Wikipedia and it's like, shit, that's just embarrassingly racist. That's really incredible. It's not only racist, it's about slavery.

It's telling black people that they had it good under slavery and insulting them for being free. Didn't southerners "get over" this hundreds of years ago? It seems not. The song is still sung freely by a lot of people.

Including Jessie Helms.

It's part of our history, I wish it wasn't, and I wish people would stop glorifying it and the confederate flag. The Germans don't proudly wave swatzstikas around. They're deeply embarrassed by their history. Mississippians shouldn't wave the confederate flag, and glorify that they once kidnapped millions of people and beat them if they wouldn't work in the blistering heat for nothing.

[Superfreak]

completely off topic, but has anyone heard anything further on Kennedy? Is he like dead yet? Or is he unfortunately expected to recover?

[China Apologist]

Jesse Helms death proves the existence of God.

[Superfreak]

Jesse Helms death proves the existence of God.

How so? By his dying at the young age of 86?

Do you actually think before you type or do you simply spew the first thing that crosses that mind of yours?

[Cancel7]

How so? By his dying at the young age of 86?

Do you actually think before you type or do you simply spew the first thing that crosses that mind of yours?

LOl. That’s true.

I think that it’s less about Helms dying, and more about the death of that old guard, and that old anti-civil rights, racist culture dying off. And it’s a good thing for this country. That is so 40 years ago. Out with those people man.

[Epicurus]

Yup. I eagerly await the deaths of older generations of big government liberals and racist conservatives alike.

Things will be slightly better when my generation is in power, and better yet for the ones that come after us.

[uscitizen]

Never fear the big government next gen fill fill their shoes very well. It is good to see rascism mostly going away though. It will never fully go away.