- Dec 13, 2004
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much sadness. my hero is gone. 
Former Sen. Jesse Helms dies
Published: 7/4/08, 12:00 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican who became an icon to conservatives, died Friday at the age of 86, the Jesse Helms Center announced.
Helms once said his job was to derail the freight train of liberalism.
Conservatives admired him for his opposition to abortion and what he called "indecent art," while liberals accused him of using race as a wedge issue to defeat black opponents.
The Jesse Helms Center, a private, non-partisan foundation, announced on its Web site that Helms died at 1:15 a.m. Friday in Raleigh.
The cause of death has not been announced. He had been ill in recent years.
Helms served five terms in the Senate, retiring in 2003 after deciding not to seek a sixth term.
President Bush said at the time the Senate was "losing an institution."
"Sen. Helms has been a tireless defender of our nation's freedom and a champion of democracy abroad," Bush said.
Helms' hometown newspaper, the Charlotte News & Observer, lionized him in 2001 as one of the creators of the modern Republican Party.
"Helms helped broaden the party to include religious conservatives and people who drank not just Chablis but sweet tea, and who drove not just BMWs but pickup trucks," the paper wrote when he announced his retirement.
"In doing so, Helms played a pivotal role in moving the Republican Party to the right -- changing the GOP from the party of Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller to the party of Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich," the paper wrote.
When the Republicans were the majority party in the Senate, Helms was chairman of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee, where he consistently moved U.S. policy toward the right, especially regarding the United Nations and Cuba.
He also held seats on the Agriculture Committee, where he looked out for North Carolina's extensive tobacco industry, and on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.
The Heritage Foundation's president, Ed Feulner, hailed Helms as "one of the most consequential figures of the 20th century."
"Along with Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, he helped establish the conservative movement and became a powerful voice for free markets and free people," Feulner wrote.
"The defeat of Soviet communism and the rise of Ronald Reagan would not have happened without his intrepid leadership at decisive times."
Helms was known as "Senator No" for his staunch opposition to an array of liberal causes, including affirmative action, funding for the arts, gay rights, and a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In his later years, he worked with President Bill Clinton's secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, and U2 singer Bono to fight AIDS in Africa.
Helms had an operation in 2002, at age 80, to replace a faulty prosthetic heart valve put in place in 1992, when he also had quadruple-bypass surgery.
Former Sen. Jesse Helms dies
Published: 7/4/08, 12:00 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, a North Carolina Republican who became an icon to conservatives, died Friday at the age of 86, the Jesse Helms Center announced.
Helms once said his job was to derail the freight train of liberalism.
Conservatives admired him for his opposition to abortion and what he called "indecent art," while liberals accused him of using race as a wedge issue to defeat black opponents.
The Jesse Helms Center, a private, non-partisan foundation, announced on its Web site that Helms died at 1:15 a.m. Friday in Raleigh.
The cause of death has not been announced. He had been ill in recent years.
Helms served five terms in the Senate, retiring in 2003 after deciding not to seek a sixth term.
President Bush said at the time the Senate was "losing an institution."
"Sen. Helms has been a tireless defender of our nation's freedom and a champion of democracy abroad," Bush said.
Helms' hometown newspaper, the Charlotte News & Observer, lionized him in 2001 as one of the creators of the modern Republican Party.
"Helms helped broaden the party to include religious conservatives and people who drank not just Chablis but sweet tea, and who drove not just BMWs but pickup trucks," the paper wrote when he announced his retirement.
"In doing so, Helms played a pivotal role in moving the Republican Party to the right -- changing the GOP from the party of Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller to the party of Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich," the paper wrote.
When the Republicans were the majority party in the Senate, Helms was chairman of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee, where he consistently moved U.S. policy toward the right, especially regarding the United Nations and Cuba.
He also held seats on the Agriculture Committee, where he looked out for North Carolina's extensive tobacco industry, and on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee.
The Heritage Foundation's president, Ed Feulner, hailed Helms as "one of the most consequential figures of the 20th century."
"Along with Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, he helped establish the conservative movement and became a powerful voice for free markets and free people," Feulner wrote.
"The defeat of Soviet communism and the rise of Ronald Reagan would not have happened without his intrepid leadership at decisive times."
Helms was known as "Senator No" for his staunch opposition to an array of liberal causes, including affirmative action, funding for the arts, gay rights, and a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In his later years, he worked with President Bill Clinton's secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, and U2 singer Bono to fight AIDS in Africa.
Helms had an operation in 2002, at age 80, to replace a faulty prosthetic heart valve put in place in 1992, when he also had quadruple-bypass surgery.
