July 9th, 2008 - Yesterday, hundreds of people from all walks of life and across the political spectrum traveled from near and far to Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina to pay their final respects to United States Senator Jesse Helms and to express condolences to his beloved wife Dot and their family.
In the days since Jesse’s July 4th passing, we’ve heard it said by many, you always knew where Jesse Helms stood. As my husband Bob Dole said, “You didn’t have to look under the table. You always knew where Jesse was.”
Even those who disagreed with Jesse on the issues could respect that he always stood tall and firm – for his convictions, his faith, his family, his home state of North Carolina, and the United States of America.
When I announced that I was running to succeed Senator Helms – and I have always said “succeed” him because no one could replace him – I pledged to continue his commitment to constituent service that was second-to-none. He helped thousands upon thousands of North Carolinians, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike. No problem was too small or too great for Jesse and his excellent staff to take on during his 30 years of service to the people of our state and our nation.
I can still hear my father saying, “Jesse Helms is our watchdog. He’s a relentless watchdog for North Carolina and for America!” And Jesse often recalled that my mother was on the front row at his very first rally in Rowan County. Through the years, Jesse unfailingly phoned my mother on her May 22nd birthday, and she lived to be just four months short of 103 years old. In fact, Jesse would often stay late at his Senate office, making thoughtful phone calls and writing personal letters to constituents, colleagues and friends.
For all his small gestures of kindness and his great acts of service, Jesse Helms was not driven by self-serving motives. He did not seek recognition for good deeds or public acclaim for successes. Jesse shunned the spotlight of the Sunday morning talk shows. The people he served from North Carolina, he said, weren’t watching…they, like he and Dot, were in church.
In 1997, Fred Barnes wrote a piece in the Weekly Standard that proclaimed: “Next to Ronald Reagan, Jesse Helms is the most important conservative of the last 25 years…and the most inner-directed person in Washington.” And Fred adds, “No conservative save Reagan comes close to matching Helms’ influence on American politics and policy in the quarter century since he won a Senate seat in North Carolina.” Of course many have said that President Reagan might never have been elected at all without the help of Jesse Helms in the 1976 North Carolina primary – a win most pundits credit with rejuvenating the Reagan campaign – and setting Ronald Reagan up to win the nomination four years later.
On the national political stage, Jesse Helms was known by both fans and critics as a tough-as-nails Senator who was a relentless fighter for the causes he believed in. A Master of the Senate rules, he would use them to call up votes that required his colleagues to go on the record on difficult issues. He believed the American people were entitled to know their representatives’ positions. But it was Jesse’s kindness to Senate employees, his pride in his staff and his love for helping youngsters that made him absolutely legendary. He’d ask the Senate pages, “Would you like to go down and have some ice cream in the Senate Dining Room?” Imagine the thrill for these young people when the renowned Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee took time out to sit down and talk with them over ice cream!
A gentleman always, Jesse was known for his civility, among his colleagues, the elevator operators, the Capitol police and all who worked throughout the Capitol.
This past Monday evening, the Senate approved a resolution – cosponsored by all 100 Senators – honoring the life, career and great achievements of Jesse Alexander Helms, Junior. His public career certainly yielded many notable accomplishments as a leader in the fight against communism, as a staunch protector of United States sovereignty, as a reformer of the United Nations, and as the first legislator of any nation to address the United Nations Security Council.
That said, in keeping with Jesse’s character and his own commitment to himself not to become a “big-shot senator,” he would probably like for us to consider that his greatest accomplishments were in his roles as husband, father, grandfather and friend.
My husband Bob and I are forever grateful that we were able to call Jesse Helms our friend and colleague for so many years, and we extend our deepest sympathies to the Helms family at this difficult time.
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