U.S. Senator Jesse Helms
Republican Jesse Helms is a five-term U.S. senator from North Carolina,
known for his hard-line conservative views and his
unrivaled constituent service. Helms is also widely known for his flamboyant
campaign style, his infamous attack-ads, and his
revolutionary methods for generating campaign funds. Helms has been both
lambasted for actions taken during his tenure - such as expressing racist
and anti-gay sentiments - and lauded for sticking to his principles, no
matter their nature, throughout his
entire 30 years of service in the Senate.
North Carolina's senior senator began life in small-town Monroe, North Carolina, on October 18, 1921. Helms served in the U.S. Navy during WWII, after which he became the city editor of The Raleigh Times. He went on to become a radio personality widely known in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, during the turbulent 1960s - a time when his conservative views were not widely accepted. Helms filed for and won North Carolina's U.S. Senate seat in 1972, taking office in January 1973. He went on to serve an additional four consecutive terms, during which time he cultivated his notoriety and rose to a position of influence in the Senate.
Helms currently serves on the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and
Forestry - a committee making decisions that greatly affect the farming
industry and thus rural North Carolinians. He also serves as the Ranking
Minority Member on the Committee on Foreign Relations, which addresses
legislation of great international import - such as the recently approved
bill allowing President Bush to unilaterally attack Iraq without prior
Congressional approval.
Helms also sits on the influential Rules and Administration Committee
that effectively controls the life of any bill under
consideration in the Senate. The committee has the power to direct legislation
through a wide variety of bureaucratic channels
and to a myriad of different committees that might either favor or oppose
a given piece of legislation. Therefore, the rules
committee more or less determines whether a bill is killed in committee
or makes its way to the Senate floor.
Helms committee appointments reflect both his power and the length of
his tenure. With 30 years of service, Helms' time in the
Senate is rivaled only by the likes of 48-year veteran Sen. Strom Thurmond,
R-S.C.
Sources:
Varley, Pamela. Jesse Helms vs. Harvey Gantt : race, culture, and campaign
strategy in the 1990 Senate battle. Cambridge: Kennedy School of Government,
1992. Call number: NCC Cp329 V315j
Dodd, John and David Tyson. And the world came his way: Jesse Helms'
contributions to freedom. Wingate: Jesse Helms Center, 2002. Call number:
CB H481d2.
UNC-TV (Producer). (2000). Biographical conversations with Jesse Helms
[Videotape]. Research Triangle Park, N.C.: UNC
Center for Public Television. Call number: NCC CB H481u
1. Title of Web Page: Senator Jesse Helms, North Carolina
Web address: http://helms.senate.gov/
Brief Description: Official Homepage for Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C. The
site contains a thorough biography, archived
speeches, recent press releases, information about Helms' committee appointments,
and awards Helms has won. The site
also contains information about constituent services and features several
useful links to organizations with which Helms is affiliated. This is
a good site for general information about Helms life and his service in
the Senate.
Source: United States Government, FirstGov
2. Title of Web Page: Issues 2002
Web Address: http://www.issues2002.org/Senate/Jesse_Helms.htm
Brief Description: This site lists the stance of U.S. Senators, U.S. Congressman
and Governors on different issues, including those falling under the international,
domestic, economic and social headings. For example, the site includes
information about
Helms' push in March 2001 to replace $1 in foreign aid with $2 in private
charity and to cut U.S. foreign aid bureaucracy. The site provides a wealth
of useful information about Helms' position on various hot topics.
Source: Issues2002.org & SpeakOut.com
3. Title of Web Page: Who2: Find Famous People Fast
Web Address: http://www.who2.com/jessehelms.html
Brief Description: This site contains quick bios of famous people. It
has a good general biography of Helms and also includes
information about other famous people that he knows. Unlike other biography
Web pages, this site is especially helpful because
of the links provided. One of these links to his speech before the U.N.
Security Council provides a wealth of information about the type of person
and leaders Helms is known for being.
Source: Who2
4. Title of Web Page: Jesse Helms
Web Address: http://newsobserver.com/collections/helms/
Brief Description: This Web site is an online version of the News &
Observer, but the wealth of information here can only be found on the
Internet. All the features down the side of the page (News, Multimedia
Essay, Timeline, Photo Gallery, Political Cartoons, Quotes and Speak Out)
make this one of the most comprehensive Helms' sites available. Of particular
note are the multimedia essay documenting Helms' political influence;
the timeline that helps put in perspective his many years in office; the
quotes, which show the true nature and character of Helms; and the online
forum that provides valuable insight about how his constituents feel about
their infamous Senator.
Source: The (Raleigh) News & Observer Collections
5. Title of Web Page: The Jesse Helms Center
Web Address: http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/
Brief Description: This is the home page of an educational center founded
by Sen. Helms. The Center's mission is to promote
education about democracy in American and conservative values. The mission
statement and an informative biography of Helms'
can be found under the "About Us" section. This biography is
helpful in providing caveats that the others did not, such as his
early political life and experience in higher education at Meredith College.
Source: The Jesse Helms Center Foundation