NC Senate 1984

[Flake]

Who are the five people who voted for Helms?

Really?

[Flake]

Helms (likes limited government, sound money, and opposes political correctness)

Political correctness is better than overt racism.

Even assuming that Helms may have actually been racist (which seems suspect, given the most common examples of such seem to be removed from their proper context), if there any evidence that such a predisposition mainfested itself in his record as a legislator? To my knowledge, Helms never introduced legislation proposing to infringe upon the rights of African-Americans, or any other ethnic group, but merely opposed the granting of special favors to certain groups.

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He's one of the worst in modern American politics. The fact that he served so long astounds me, but what astounds me even more are the people that would consider voting for him.

[Flake]

Helms was whistling dixie in front of Carol Moseley Braun. Come on man. Some behavior is just completely unacceptable from a U.S. Senator.

So Helms is to be considered a racist if others within earshot interpret racial malice in words that are not themselves racist? That seems to open a slippery slope into the nonsense of microaggression.

Are you saying that Helms didn't intend to offend Braun, she just chose to be offended?

Essentially, yes.

Wow.