# The Epiphany of Jesse Helms **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 25, 2002, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941 "2002-03-25T03:03:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/1 "2002-03-25T03:03:49Z")
I still can’t believe that I’m writing this. First the formerly dishonorable Sen. Jesse Helms met Bono, member of U2 and leading activist, and shook his hand. Then he [pledges $500 million in aid for pregnant women around the world](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&u=/ap/20020324/ap_on_go_co/helms_aids_9), in order to prevent mother-child AIDS transmission. What’s is going on here? Has the Earth’s polarity changed already? Is Satan shopping in Sears for a heater? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/2 "2002-03-25T03:29:46Z")
Say what you will about Bono, ANYONE who can make Jesse Helms CRY is a-okay in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/3 "2002-03-25T03:31:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by capacitor \* > \*\*Has the Earth’s polarity changed already? Is Satan shopping in Sears for a heater? \*\* Probably trying to make up in the Lord’s eyes before he croaks. Good luck Jesse! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/4 "2002-03-25T03:57:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Michael Ellis \* > \*\* > > Probably trying to make up in the Lord’s eyes before he croaks. Good luck Jesse! :rolleyes: \*\* Oh, great! That means he’ll have to live another 2000 years. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/5 "2002-03-25T04:00:46Z")
I’ve noticed the same thing, and I can only chalk it up to Bono. For whatever reason, they seem to have hit it off. ---
**Author:** ![Pixiegrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Pixiegrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiegrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/6 "2002-03-25T04:09:06Z")
Well, from what I understand the Christian Coalition has decided that they will accept the fact that helping people with aids is the right thing to do. Sooo…the senator recently apologized for not supporting aids programs and calling it a gay persons disease and by god, the man did one good thing. Under pressure I think, but he did it nonetheless. Will the wonders ever cease? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/7 "2002-03-25T05:10:42Z")
Whatever’s going on, it started last June. [http://www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/06/13/bono.helms/](http://www.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/06/13/bono.helms/) > [@](#): > > U2 singer, Jesse Helms discuss AIDS > June 13, 2001 Posted: 3:51 PM EDT (1951 GMT) > > By Dana Bush > CNN Capitol Hill Producer > > WASHINGTON (CNN) – U2 lead singer and activist Bono called Republican Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina a “brave and bold man” for inviting him to lunch Wednesday to discuss the African AIDS crisis. > > \< snip \> > > Bono said he was impressed that Helms “cares deeply about what is happening in Africa right now” and that "there is a move here in the Capitol to do something more historic about it. … > > \< snip \> > > The lunch, which took place in the Senate Foreign Relations reception room of the Capitol, also included Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tennessee., Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont. How many of these people are running for re-election this year? Also, I’m guessing that the Christian Coalition can handle addressing AIDS if the victims are innocent African women and children infected because their evil husbands had unprotected sex with prostitutes, but not if the victims are gay American males infected because they had unprotected sex with other gay American males. If it’s not a “gay thing”, Jesse & Co. can deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/8 "2002-03-25T05:13:19Z")
Great balls of fire! I’m surprised that hard-rock conservatives aren’t pooh-poohing this story as a scurrilous lie about “a good Christiona man” because it appeared in the “left-wing dominated media.” ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/9 "2002-03-25T07:23:37Z")
Actually, IIRC, Helms has supported fighting AIDS in Africa in the past – it’s fighting AIDS in the United States that he doesn’t give a patootie about. So this incident with Bono sounds like par for the course. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/10 "2002-03-25T17:05:59Z")
**DDG** hit the nail on the head. Jesse’s comment is that in Africa, AIDS is a heterosexual disease, and people who have not “done something to deserve it” (meaning gay sex) are suffering from it. (There are no gay people in black Africa – at least according to their spiritual and political leaders!) I’ve been disgusted by the man for years, and was looking forward to campaigning for his opponent this fall until he surprised everyone by retiring. But I’ve got to say this – given how much a threat AIDS is to virtually everyone (can you **guarantee** your internal tissues will never be exposed to the bodily fluids of someone HIV+ under any and all circumstances?), everything helps – and Jesse is using a lot of his accumulated clout to push for large sums for helping African AIDS victims and for prevention over there. That’s money that doesn’t have to be raised somewhere else to help fight it. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/11 "2002-03-25T18:53:49Z")
Epiphany? Please! The OP proceeds from the assumption that Jesse Helms is Evil Incarnate, that he’s utterly heartless and cruel, and that ANY act of kindness or compassion on his part represents a 180 dregree turn. Isn’t it possible, even LIKELY, that whatever you think of Helms, he’s a man of principle? That he regards himself as an idealist and a staunch defender of values he holds dear? If you thought Jesse Helms was utterly incapable of compassion or charity, that probably says a lot more about YOU than it does about Jesse Helms. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/12 "2002-03-25T19:08:18Z")
There is absolutely no question in my mind that Jesse Helms is a man of staunch morality who stands by his principles and refuses to bend for political reasons. Unfortunately, they’re the wrong principles. That was the point. ---
**Author:** ![Sweet\_Willy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sweet\_Willy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Willy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/13 "2002-03-25T19:11:12Z")
I live in NC. Jesse is not one of my favorite people but at least I know where he stands. I don’t agree with him most of the time but I respect his honesty, something we could use a little more of in congress. I know that Faircloth gave his endorsement to Elizabeth Dole, anyone heard anything from Jesse ? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/14 "2002-03-25T19:24:32Z")
Well, they’ve hugged each other every time they’re in public together, Liddy’s bent over backwards to talk about Jesse’s legacy, but no, he hasn’t formally made a public statement explicitly endorsing her. (Of course, there are a couple of other Republicans running, and it’s SOP down here for an incumbent not to endorse in advance of a primary, unless one candidate is so close to his/her position and the others are so far away that it’s almost obvious anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/15 "2002-03-25T20:30:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\*There is absolutely no question in my mind that Jesse Helms is a man of staunch morality who stands by his principles and refuses to bend for political reasons. > > Unfortunately, they’re the wrong principles. That was the point. \*\* Hm. Do you think that one of those principles is that “cruelty is acceptable in the pursuit of the higher good”? Jesse certainly seems to have embodied that maxim (he was frequently cruel to his political opponents – not merely honest or forthright, but thoroughly vicious, nasty, and mean), which I have trouble equating with being “principled”. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2002, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/16 "2002-03-26T20:01:10Z")
I repeat: the notion that Jesse Helms had a “conversion” or an “epiphany” of some kind makes sense ONLY if you begin with the assumption that Jesse was a heartless, inhuman fiend. IF you believe that (and, clearly, many on the Left believe just that), then I suppose ANY sign of humanity from Jesse Helms seems like an epiphany. I think it’s far more likely, however, that Jesse was and is more complicated than his (now astonished) detractors ever cared to admit. ---
**Author:** ![TheeGrumpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheeGrumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheeGrumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/17 "2002-03-27T02:31:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astorian \* > \*\*Isn’t it possible, even LIKELY, that whatever you think of Helms, he’s a man of principle? \*\* Possibly. But it’s more likely he’s a heartless bastard. As Polycarp pointed out, Jesse has said ([in so many words](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Helms+AIDS+Africa)) that he doesn’t care about curing AIDS among gay Americans. > [@](#): > > But while Mr. Helms, a conservative standard-bearer, has changed his mind, it is only about the international aspect of the AIDS problem. He has made it clear in recent weeks to reporters in his home state, North Carolina, that his concerns do not extend to AIDS in the United States. > > On March 5, he said that the “homosexual lifestyle” was the cause of the spread of AIDS in this country, and that spending on AIDS research took necessary money away from more worthy areas of study like “heart problems and other medical defects of humanity.” –originally from the New York Times ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2002, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/18 "2002-03-27T20:57:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astorian \* > Isn’t it possible, even LIKELY, that whatever you think of Helms, he’s a man of principle? Hey, wasn’t Helms the guy who was making thinly-veiled threats at then-President Clinton, warning Clinton not to visit military bases in South Carolina because someone _might_ try to take a potshot at Bubba’s head? And last I heard, threatening the President’s life is treason, and worthy of investigation by the FBI. So (assuming I haven’t misremembered anything here) can we count “traitor to his country” among the principles that Jesse holds? ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-epiphany-of-jesse-helms/99941/19 "2002-03-28T14:00:44Z")
> [@](#): > > Isn’t it possible, even LIKELY, that whatever you think of Helms, he’s a man of principle? Well, let me think, hmmm: “I’m going to do it till she cries. I’m going to sing _Dixie_ till she cries!” - Helms, to an aide while sharing an elevator with a newly-elected African-American Congresswoman … Nope! Not possible.