When I saw that the Washington Post was running an op-ed entitled "The Jesse Helms You Should Remember," I thought, for a moment, that they'd unexpectedly let some actual liberal storm past Fred Hiatt and write about Helms' views on race, sexuality, and the irrelevance of multilateral institutions. Nope. Instead it's a whitewash by Helms' former Senate spokesperson that never even mentions the word "race." But they did repost David Broder's 2001 column marking Helms' departure from the Senate. In case you think that distaste for Helms is some freaky liberal blogger sentiment, here's the dean of the press corps on Helms:
There are plenty of powerful conservatives in government. A few, such as Don Rumsfeld and Henry Hyde, have been around as long as Helms and have their own significant roles in 20th century political history. What really sets Jesse Helms apart is that he is the last prominent unabashed white racist politician in this country -- a title that one hopes will now be permanently retired.
