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Ex-Senator Jesse Helms Dead at 86

Conservative icon had been in poor health since retirement

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 4, 2008 10:44 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Jesse Helms, a polarizing figure who represented North Carolina in the US Senate for 30 years before retiring in 2003, died today in Raleigh, the News & Observer reports. He was 86. A pro-segregation TV commentator before entering national politics, the first Republican senator from North Carolina since Reconstruction opposed virtually every piece of civil rights legislation that crossed his desk.

"I believed right would prevail as people followed their own consciences," he later wrote. One of several lawmakers known as "Senator No," Helms was known for his refusal to work out differences with his colleagues. "Compromise, hell!" he wrote. "That’s what has happened to us all down the line—and that’s the very cause of our woes."

Sen. Strom Thurmond talks with North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms in this 1980 file photo.
Sen. Strom Thurmond talks with North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms in this 1980 file photo.   (KRT Photos)
Se. Jesse Helms (D-NC), right, talks with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) in this 2002 photo.
Se. Jesse Helms (D-NC), right, talks with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) in this 2002 photo.   (KRT Photos)
Ex-Sen. Jesse Helms (D-NC) died today at 86.
Ex-Sen. Jesse Helms (D-NC) died today at 86.   (KRT Photos)
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Politics • US

 
Republican • conservative • North Carolina • Senate Republicans • civil rights • segregation • Senate GOP • Jesse Helms • conservatives

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