Nephy, is, of course, correct. Helms was a man. He did some good things and his family and many conservatives liked, even loved him.
Here are some quotes from him.
"The New York Times and Washington Post are both infested with homosexuals themselves. Just about every person down there is a homosexual or lesbian."
"To rob the Negro of his reputation of thinking through a problem in his own fashion is about the same as trying to pretend that he doesn't have a natural instinct for rhythm and for singing and dancing." (Helms responding in 1956 to criticism that a fictional black character in his newspaper column was offensive.)
"Homosexuals are weak, morally sick wretches."
"They should ask their parents if it would be all right for their son or daughter to marry a Negro." (In response to Duke University students holding a vigil after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, 1968)
"All Latins are volatile people. Hence, I was not surprised at the volatile reaction." (After Mexicans protested his visit in 1986)
Let's not dance on the grave of Jesse Helms. He was, in many ways, a little man. A small man with hateful notions. A teeny tiny insignificant guy, whose loudest voice was reserved for the worst of ideas. And now that sad, little, angry, pathetic, and ignorant voice has been silenced.
Goodnight, dum dum.