Best and Worst Senators of the Past 50 Years: North Carolina

[Mr. Smith]

And here's NC.

[Zioneer]

Whoo, first vote!

Anyway, Sanford/Helms, for reasons that should be obvious.

[Santander]

Helms/Dole Edwards

When Margaret Thatcher first visited the US as Leader of the Opposition, she was denied use of the British Embassy to meet with American conservatives. Jesse Helms offered her his own office, and that is where she met Ronald Reagan for the first time. He was a major force in moving the GOP to become more socially conservative in the 70s and 80s. He was a courageous legislator and he is misunderstood.

[Kingpoleon]

Sanford/Edwards

Edwards, Helms, and Thillis are all pretty awful.

[Intell]

Anyway, Sanford/Helms, for reasons that should be obvious.

[Mr. Smith]

Sanford/Tillis

[Kingpoleon]

Sanford/Tillis

Tillis may be a xenophobic extremist, but there is an adulterer and an open racist on this list.

[Santander]

Sanford/Tillis

Tillis may be a xenophobic extremist, but there is an adulterer and an open racist on this list.

Please provide concrete examples on how Jesse Helms was an open racist.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Sanford/Helms

This is one of the easiest.

[Blair]

Sanford/Tillis

Tillis may be a xenophobic extremist, but there is an adulterer and an open racist on this list.

Please provide concrete examples on how Jesse Helms was an open racist.

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Referring to an African American Senator

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Supported the White Minority, and racist Government in Rhodesia

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[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Sanford/Faircloth

[Santander]

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Referring to an African American Senator

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Supported the White Minority, and racist Government in Rhodesia

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The myths around Carol Moseley Braun and Helms' opposition to the civil rights have long ago been debunked. They are similar to the myths that racist Democrats became Republicans after 1968 or that Goldwater voted against the CRA because he was a racist. These are nice stories that Democrats tell each other to make themselves feel good. Regarding his support for Ian Smith, many conservatives felt the same way at the time, and Mugabe's destruction of Zimbabwe has made history view Smith rather kindly.

Was Helms privately somewhat racist? Probably. But his "open racism" is mostly a myth perpetuated by people seeing what they want to see. Alex Castellanos is arguably more responsible for that than Helms.

[Blair]

You do know it's possible to oppose both Mugabe and Smith right? History looks at Ian Smith as a racist (and I say that with my Dad being born in Rhodesia in the 50's, and living there in the 60's)

Anyway its beside the point. Helms was a cretin, and genuine sh**t. It's possible to be a principled conservative (Orrin Hatch for example) without being like Jesse Helms. Heck if Strom Thurmond is considered less racist than you then you've got a problem

[Santander]

Honest question - is being a racist the worst thing in the world? That's the line most of us have been fed since childhood, but we're all human beings and we're all flawed. Is being a racist so bad that your life's work cannot be viewed in a net positive sense if you are a racist? I don't think so, but from what I've seen in these threads is that the "racists" are immediately branded as beyond redemption, sometimes ahead of convicted criminals and corrupt/inept lawmakers.

[RINO Tom]

Literally hating and systematically oppressing someone because of something they quite literally cannot control and were born with?  Yeah, much worse.

[VPH]

Sanford/Helms

[Mr. Reactionary]

Worst 1: Edwards
Worst 2: Helms

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I see no reason that one would choose Helms as their hill to die on for the sake of the "conservative" "movement".

[SWE]

Honest question - is being a racist the worst thing in the world? That's the line most of us have been fed since childhood, but we're all human beings and we're all flawed. Is being a racist so bad that your life's work cannot be viewed in a net positive sense if you are a racist? I don't think so, but from what I've seen in these threads is that the "racists" are immediately branded as beyond redemption, sometimes ahead of convicted criminals and corrupt/inept lawmakers.

There's 1,025,109 words in the English language and you choose to type out these ones in this order?

[Zioneer]

Helms/Dole Edwards

When Margaret Thatcher first visited the US as Leader of the Opposition, she was denied use of the British Embassy to meet with American conservatives. Jesse Helms offered her his own office, and that is where she met Ronald Reagan for the first time. He was a major force in moving the GOP to become more socially conservative in the 70s and 80s. He was a courageous legislator and he is misunderstood.

"courageous" and "misunderstood" are not words most sane people associate with Jesse Helms.

Honest question - is being a racist the worst thing in the world? That's the line most of us have been fed since childhood, but we're all human beings and we're all flawed. Is being a racist so bad that your life's work cannot be viewed in a net positive sense if you are a racist? I don't think so, but from what I've seen in these threads is that the "racists" are immediately branded as beyond redemption, sometimes ahead of convicted criminals and corrupt/inept lawmakers.

When you're Jesse Helms levels of racist, its pretty bad.

[Gass3268]

Sanford/Helms

Jesse Helms is a racist, homophobic, literal cancer promoting POS. Literally the worst Senator of the last 25 years. 

[Blair]

Honest question - is being a racist the worst thing in the world? That's the line most of us have been fed since childhood, but we're all human beings and we're all flawed. Is being a racist so bad that your life's work cannot be viewed in a net positive sense if you are a racist? I don't think so, but from what I've seen in these threads is that the "racists" are immediately branded as beyond redemption, sometimes ahead of convicted criminals and corrupt/inept lawmakers.

No- hence why many democrats/Republicans came to accept people like Bryd, and even Thurmond for moderating their views over the year. There's a difference between supporting segregation in the 60's, and being a poisonous turd like Helms.

Supporting Apartheid South Afirca, Rhodesia, Opposing Martin Luther King Day and his entire efforts to stop HIV/AIDs funding shows that Helms was awful.

[Gass3268]

Honest question - is being a racist the worst thing in the world? That's the line most of us have been fed since childhood, but we're all human beings and we're all flawed. Is being a racist so bad that your life's work cannot be viewed in a net positive sense if you are a racist? I don't think so, but from what I've seen in these threads is that the "racists" are immediately branded as beyond redemption, sometimes ahead of convicted criminals and corrupt/inept lawmakers.

No- hence why many democrats/Republicans came to accept people like Bryd, and even Thurmond for moderating their views over the year. There's a difference between supporting segregation in the 60's, and being a poisonous turd like Helms.

Supporting Apartheid South Afirca, Rhodesia, Opposing Martin Luther King Day and his entire efforts to stop HIV/AIDs funding shows that Helms was awful.

Huge supporter of the tobacco industry as well.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Huge supporter of the tobacco industry as well.

That's more because NC is a tobacco state instead of just because he's a terrible person.

[Maxwell]

Like most sane people, Sanford/Helms, with Edwards being pretty close in terms of terribleness.