Jesse Helms

Daily Record

Unlike so many in politics, Jesse Helms understood the responsibility that comes with public office. He therefore refused to compromise on matters of principal.

He wasn't about to waste an opportunity to fight for individual liberty and a smaller, less intrusive federal government. And he took every opportunity to extend freedom to those in other parts of the world.

It's more than a little ironic that many lesser men in politics have bent with the ebb and flow of public opinion, only to lose the next election. Sen. Helms, on the other hand, ignored the pollsters yet never lost at the polls.

Calling Sen. Helms a patriot is not an overstatement. So it is fitting that he died on the Fourth of July.

Fitting, but still sad.