Jesse Helms, the former senator who represented North Carolina for 30 years, died July 4, and according to Steven Greene, associate professor of political science, his legacy will be mixed as the country evolves.
Helms was a staunch conservative, working to move the Republican Party further to the right, Greene said, and it made him a polarizing figure.
“What he symbolizes both to conservatives and to liberals has come to stand for something larger than himself,” he said.
Scott Lassiter, a junior in political science and student body treasurer, said he knew Helms and found him to be a kind person.
“He always has a reputation as being angry,” he said. “But he was definitely a compassionate person. I remember him as a friend and someone who always wanted to help young people.”
According to Greene, Helms helped to build the political “southern strategy,” which used voters’ anxiety over race issues to influence their decision.
“Certainly most of his campaigns are known for the masterful and subtle use of race to his successful political advantage,” he said.
Helms also used “wedge politics,” Greene said, which can split the more upper-class Democrats from the working-class Democrats that may have more racial resentment, resentment over immigration and distaste toward homosexuals.
“He’s certainly seen as someone who’s been an important figure in modern conservatism and the rightward shift of the Republican Party,” he said.
Helms can be applauded for staying true to his ideals, according to Peter Barnes, a freshman in forestry management and chairman of the College Republicans.
There is something to be said of someone willing to sink with their ship, he said, as Helms stuck with his principles instead of moving “where the money was.”
While some of his positions may not be popular today, Barnes said they represented a large group during Helms’ service, as he was consistently reelected.
“Since [Helms left office in 2002], North Carolina has been missing [his type of] leadership, that leads the fight for anything,” he said.
Lassiter said Helms was representing a group similar to himself, and many of his views, while not in the mainstream today, were more prevalent in his time in the Senate.
As the United States becomes more progressive on issues of race and sexual orientation, Helms’ legacy may be damaged, Barnes said.
The “Republican brand” is broken today because of America’s distaste for President George W. Bush, but Barnes said he is not ashamed to call himself a Republican.
“The right is more and more getting blamed for stuff even if it’s out of their control,” he said.
The party is struggling, Greene said, but because the nation is almost divided in halves based on party affiliation, it isn’t without hope.?”For a struggling party, they’re really not so bad off,” he said. “But their fear is that things could get a lot worse.”
