Jesse Helms Suffers from Dementia

[DemoTex]

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, in increasingly poor health since he left office three years ago, has vascular dementia and has moved into a convalescent center near his home, his wife said.

''He has his good days and his bad days,'' Dot Helms told the News & Observer for a story Sunday. ''He still sees friends. Company is good for him. He is still signing books. But he is not able to conduct any business or make any speeches.''

The 84-year-old Republican has been slowed by illnesses including a bone disorder, prostate cancer and heart problems. He decided against seeking a sixth term and left Congress in January 2003.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/elect/cst-nws-helms03.html

South Carolina Public Radio just carried a piece on the Helms dementia story, too.

I shall refrain from comment. For now, anyway.

[Binka]

1. bone disorder, prostate cancer and heart problems Wow A Trifecta!

Fuck the dirty old bastard.

[Greeby]

2. This just in: fish are wet and General Franco is still dead

;)

[liberal N proud]

3. He had dementia 30 years ago!

[HughBeaumont]

4. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

POS Dixiepublican. I'd let him rot in his shorts. Hope they take his white hood away at the center.

[BeyondThePale]

5. Let's be sure to cut federal funding for research and care of the infirmed

We wouldn't want our government to spend money that actually helps society, when we could spend it on weapons to kill people abroad...

[rfranklin]

7. Now listen here, Mr. Smartypants, killing those people is profitable!

and keeps our corporations fat and happy! And keeps our economy robust so you can live like a king! So next time you hear about another military adventure, thank Jesus for great men like George Bush!

[BeyondThePale]

9. I thought George Bush was Jesus...

Sorry, I will do better next time (I wonder if I will be able to access DU from Gitmo?)

[meegbear]

13. Dial-up only ...

That's one of their interogation methods; making you download Britney Spears videos on a 33K modem (don't let Red Cross know about this).

[BeyondThePale]

14. you have an evil, evil mind, meegbear! n/t

[LostinVA]

6. I lived in NC for 17 years, watched the two Gant campaigns,

Saw this dude act most unchristian towards gays, AIDS victims, women, blacks... he did everything in his power to vote laws in that destroyed the lives of all of us.

The ONLY thing good he ever did was get Guilford Courthouse made into an NPS park. That's it. Literally.

It is very, very hard for me to feel compassionate right now...

[bigscott]

8. really, I am trying

to feel an iota of sympathy for this evil bastard - hmmmm, nope - none whatsoever.

[LostinVA]

18. Nope... me neither...

[GCP]

10. He's been an asshole all his life

One of the most mean-spirited men in the history of the US Senate.
Fuck him and the horse he rode in on.

[Catfight]

11. Just goes to prove, only the GOOD die young. This old mean spirited

homophobic hate monger isn't dead already? If his name was never in print again, that would be fine with me. He's had a diseased mind since he entered politics.

[cali]

12. I agree with you

Refraining from comment is the wisest course. Some of the remarks on this thread make us look as hateful as the people we condemn for being hateful. What ever happened to having some restraint? There are many things I won't say in a public forum that I might say in private. Is it really that difficult to curb one's tongue?

[Virginia Dare]

15. I saw him about 6 or 7 years ago and I thought...

he wasn't long for this world then. I have no idea what keeps him alive other than stubbornness. If there's any consolation, he looked like he was suffering terribly.

[leveymg]

16. "He sees friends. Company is good for him."

[hadrons]

17. how can they tell?

[American Tragedy]

19. I wouldn't wish degenerative mental illness on my worst enemy

but like others have stated and implied, it's very, very hard to feel much sympathy. I regard him as one of the worst human beings to occupy public office in contemporary American history, not just for what he said and did, but more importantly that he never seemed to evolve. Even George Wallace made some show of repentence.

The fact that he was still in the Senate up to 2003 is extremely disturbing.

[cmkramer]

20. Estelle Getty

If any of you ever watched "The Golden Girls", Estelle Getty also has dementia. Oddly enough when the show was on the air, there were articles about how much trouble she had remembering lines. That's the reason why she never takes part in any of the show retrospectives with the other women. Last I heard Rue McLanahan said that the last time she saw her, Ms. Getty didn't even recognize her.

Anyway, it's sad for his friends and loved ones. However, he was a hateful racist bigot, so I won't shed many tears for him.

[Blue_Tires]

21. i'll kick, but i'll also not give any (public) comment

[Sullivan4Congress]

22. My 2 cents

This may be the one thing in the world that makes me feel sympathetic for Jesse Helms.

Jesse Helms is the antithesis of everything I believe in. He practiced a foul, racist, reactionary brand of politics and was in most every way one of the worst members of the Senate in my lifetime.

However...

I lost a family member to Alzheimer's Disease a few years ago. Over the preceeding years, we watched her lose her memories of family members and family events. We saw her slowly lose her independence. I saw another family member spend untold hours in an fierce struggle to stave off the inevitable and help a loved one maintain a bit of dignity, independence and hope.

No one, not even Jesse Helms and his family, should be mocked when confronting something like this.

[dsc]

23. I feel sorry for his family

and wouldn't wish this on anyone. I won't say anything else right now.

[devinsgram]

24. Sorry, I'll save my sympathy for those who

deserve it. you only get what you give.

[sofa king]

25. Does he still hate black folk and furriners?

There are some things I suspect old Jesse will never forget.

(Edit: Regrettably, the great MC Hawking tune, "Why Won't Jesse Helms Just Hurry Up And Die?" is no longer available at MC Hawking's Crib. But you can read the lyrics.)