-Srdja lufkovicrnbKN. JESSK HELMS’ aimounccmciitrnin August of his rctircnicut at tlie cud ofrnhis current term was an o|3portnnit torrnitu|5eration on the part of the left-wingrnnietha that has so detested the NorthrnC’arohna consenatixe througliont his entirernsO-ear political career. “It is al\a”srnteniphng,” moaned the New York Timefirnlead editorial the da after Mr. Helms’rnannouneenicnt, “when old warriors retire,rnto lament their |xissing from the politicalrnstage. In the ease of Senator JessernHelms, that is a tem]3taHon to be resisted.”rnThere’s neermueh danger that anrnspark ot gallantrx might flash through therndarkness at the ‘limes.rnThe editorial was followed a tew dasrnlater hv et another shot at Helms in thernpaper’s “Week in Rexiew” section —thisrntime h- Rick I’erlstein, author of a recentrnstud ot Harr Cloldwater’s presidentialrncampaign, attended b a selection ofrnwhat the limes eousidered choice quotationsrnfrom the senator going hack to hisrnc|uite unreeonstrneted comments on Negroesrnin 1956. Nor was the Washingtonrnl>st to he outdone h its grim sister inrnManhattan. It took the Post a week or so,rnhut eentnall, columnist and chief politicalrnreporter Daid liSrodcr unbosomedrnan 0]>ed entitled “Jesse Helms, WhiternRacist.”rnOf course, this kind of press eoxcragernof Helms is not imusual, and one marnguess that the senator, a former jounialistrnhimself who has regularK expressed contem]rn3t for most of die national media duringrnhis career, took it all in stride. Helms’rndefenders —including not a few neoconserrnati”es — insisted that Helms was, atrnleast, a ]joliheal leader who alwass stoodrnb his principles. W’rihng in the WeeklyrnStandard, k’red Barnes remarked that,rn”So tar as I know, he’s changed his mindrnon ouK one issue in three decades, droppingrncriticism of Israel and becoming arnstrong supporter” —which, of course, isrnw h’ the neocons had an thing nice to sarnabout him at all. It is true that Helms seldomrnif ecr altered his positions or thinkingrnon an- public issue and true as wellrnthat his positions and thinking almostrnncer reflected political expedience butrnrather his ow n religions, moral, and politicalrnprinciples.rnWhat was striking about Helms, howexrner, was not so much that he <)ted eonsistenth’rnin support ot eonseratie positionsrnbut that he often chose to lead, or atrnleast carrx a torch, on the most difficultrnand controversial conseratie positionsrn— one thinks not onl- of abortion,rnarms control, and various nominees ofrnboth Republican and Democratic administrations,rnhut also of his strong andrnsimple op]josition to the legitimization ofrnhomosexuality to the Martin LutherrnKing, Jr., holickn, to the Genocide Treaf,rnto arious Lhntcd Nations eonxentionsrnthat iolated both national so”ereignt’rnand conshtutional rights, and to the renewalrnof die X’oting Rights Act in 1982, arnmeasure supported b’ then-rising COPrnstar Newt Gingrich and his cronies.rnDespite his courage and integrits onrnthese and other issues. Senator f^elmsrnwas not w ithout his flaws. On more dianrnone occasion, he displa ed a repellent ingratitudernto long-time staff membersrnwhen political conenicnce dictated.rnHis sw itch on Israel, whatcer its meritsrnor weaknesses, was almost eertainl- drivenrnmore b his hunger for political sur-rnial dian the religious and moral hnselrnin which he chose to wraj) it. .And, whilernHelms emphasized issues of inunenscrnmoral and religious import, such as aborhonrnand homosexuality’, he irtuall ignoredrn—especialh in his latter ears —thernfar more central direat ot mass immigrationrnto the nation and its cixilization.rnThe immense energ- and attention hernand his staff alwas dexoted to een thernmost ohscme issues of foreign affairsrnmight hae been better spent on resistingrnHie internal cultural and moral disintegrationrnof American soeietx.rn hat distinguished Helms from irtualKrne’er other eonseratie politicalrnleader in Washington in the latter part ofrndie last eentur (and what probabK’ accountsrnfor both his irtues and his shortcomings)rnwas simph’ his utter and totalrnindifference to what die press in Washingtonrnor in his ow n state, the poliheal establishment,rnhis colleagues, or his ownrnparh thought about him. It was his calculatedrnindifference to —and een contemptrnfor —such c|uarters that allowedrnhim to sa and do preeiseh what hernwanted to sa and do, in the certainrnknowledge that he was accountable oiihrnto Ciod and the oters. At the end of hisrnarticle on Senator Helms in die WeekhrnStandard, Fred Barnes asks, “Will anotherrnHelms emerge in the Senate?” Ofrncourse not, unhl auodier senator is ablernand willing to insulate himself politicalKrnand psehologicalK- as effectixcK as JessernHelms did. If there are few willing tornbear such insulafion, diere are even fewerrnable to sustain it. And most who dornwill receie little comfort from the Standardrnand die kind of conservatism it represents.rn”l*’ew senators in the modern era,” thern.Vc’u’ ()rk Times sneered, “hae donernmore to buck the tide of progress and enlightenmentrnthan Mr. Helms.” The paperrndiat prints all the news that fits couldrnnot lune bid farewell to the senator itrnhates so much with a greater compliment.rn— Samuel FrancisrnO B I T E R D I C T A : The thud of ourrnthree new quarteriv’ columns debuts thisrnmonth on p. I >. In Sins of Omission,rnChronicles newl- minted correspondingrneditor Roger McGrath will reeal the realrnAmerican liistor —the tragedies and triumphsrnthat die politicalK’ correct commissarsrnof American culture and thernacadem’ don’t w ant ‘ou to know about.rnThere is still time to register for thern12tli .Annual Meeting of the John RandolphrnClub, which will convene inrnRockford Noxember 9-10. Tor more details,rnplease see the ad on the back eo’er.rnIf ou are planning on staing at Cliffbreakersrn(die hotel where the conferencernwill be held), please note the change inrndie room rate.rnOur first poet this niondi is CatharinernSa’age Brosman of New Orleans, Louisiana.rnHer poetr’ and prose have appearedrnin die Neiv England Review, thernAmerican Scholar, the Southwest Review,rnthe Southern Review, and the SewaneernReview, among others. Two collectionsrnof her ersc, The Swimmer and Other PoemsrnIR.L. Barth) and Places in Mindrn(LSI’ Press), were published lastvear.rnOur second poet is Bradley R. Strahan,rnwho teaches poetr) at GeorgetownrnUni’ersit’. The publisher oi Visions-International,rnMr. Strahan has had o’errn•>{)0 poems published in such jounials asrnAmerica, Christian Century, Cross Currents,rndie Seattle Review, Hie ChristianrnScience Monitor. First I’hinos, and thernIlollins Critic. His latest book. The Conjurer’srnCaller}’, was released last ‘ear b’rnCrosscultural Commuiiieafions.rnOur art diis iiiondi is presided hv )effrnDrew, who, widi his wife and four cats,rnlies in Albuqucrt|ue, New Mexico. Air.rnL”)rew, a graduate of the John HerronrnSchool of Art in Indianapolis, is a freelancernillustrator and animator. This is hisrnfirst appearance in Chronicles.rnNOVEMBER 2001/9rnrnrn